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Oxford Leadership Forum
Hosted at the sumptuously appointed Vineyard, Newbury, Investigo and Grant Thornton brought together elite leaders from the Thames Valley and Oxforshire areas. Coming together, very early in the day, to share insight, networking and ensure continual personal development over breakfast.
Topics on the agenda were; developing the role of the Finance Director. Lead by Alex Mumford, Partner at Grant Thornton, this session explored the “CFO scorecard”. Looking at operational efficiency, business protection and stakeholder management this inclusive session worked to help provide a framework from which CFOs and FDs, as well as their team, could define their abilities and challenges and work towards delivering on all fronts.
The disccusions embraced performance and transformation planning alongside the traditional roles of accounting within business and how the modern CFO/FD aspirations, and possibly challenges, now inlcude delivering financial insights that help shape corporate strategy. This session certainly engaged our guests with many sharing frank experiences from their businesses across the group alongside inspirational insight into managing high performing teams and overcoming challenges.
A session form Tom Alden from Commit2Inspire followed. Tom has an impressive pedigree with the health and fitness arena, it may only have been 8.00am but most of us were left wondering at how little we had managed to cram in today and wishing we hadn’t had that second bacon sandwich. Tom’s session was concentrating on the dynamic of team work. Knowing a little about this subject himself, he has completed numerous expeditions since leaving The Royal Marines, include rowing 3,000 NM across the Atlantic Ocean and running 250+ kms across the Sahara Desert in the Marathon des Sables.
Tom delivered a session of high performing teams and overcoming challenges. He worked through finding and working with team members individual strengths, alongside their technical ability and specialisation. We went through
working with the ‘people skills’ that individuals bring to the team dynamic – how to harness these and use them to improve productivity and output, leaving us all with food for thought.
For for more information on this event, the topics covered or to be informed of our next event in this area please contact Giles McIntyre, Associate Director Oxforshire and Thames Valley