Andrew Thornton – Habit: the Key to Delivering Purposeful Leadership. 12 July 2023

Andrew starts his talk with a short meditation – bringing awareness of the body, the quality of mind, emotion, how I feel right now, and intuition. To complete the meditation, he invites you to state two words that came up for you from this meditation.

Andrew explains a bit about himself, including purchasing and running two supermarkets! He gives a call to ‘do things differently’ given the state of the planet and the competition in the world of corporations. He believes ‘the habits you need to deliver your purpose’ is what is usually missing for businesses. Teams with high psychological safety create more engagement, connection and generally better performance. He recommends installing ‘habits’ which can work in any organisation to be more effective; active listening, giving appreciation daily (and use descriptive praise) and being on the pitch and not in the stand. The key is that if you are a leader, a Board, you must model these habits.

Andrew presents a heart-full model for business which highlights 3 areas: ‘conscious organisation’, ‘conscious individual’ and ‘habits’. He shares his experience working with businesses – including Budgens. He then calls on attendees to share their thoughts and feelings in pairs on the question “What habits would you like to implement to become a more effective leader?”. If you are watching the replay – you can do this yourself to allow yourself to explore.

Report by Natalie Mears