AT THE BEGINNING
Bold started providing leadership, management, supervisory and team training in NZ early 2008. Back then, training offerings in the South Island were a bit sparse and there was a huge gap in the market for 1st level management and supervisory training. We started off by partnering with The Chamber, some other business support agencies and working in house with companies directly.
BUILDING THE BOLD REPUTATION
A solid work ethic of good service, professional delivery and hard work paid off and our reputation grew. The content and materials that we were offering were surpassing anything that was already in the market, and our clients loved the fact that we always stayed the course and offered just a little bit more. But we couldn’t rest on our laurels. Obsessed with the fast rate of change, the latest research and best practices we worked hard to ensure our programmes were of an internationally high standard, and delivered real and tangible results.
THINGS CHANGED
After a few years, we noticed that things were starting to change. Throughout interactions with leaders and managers, it started to become apparent that what had always been an exciting role was becoming one of increasing stress and challenges. Our workplaces started to make a shift, sometimes not for the better. Experts and advisors started appearing in the market to help workplaces navigate all the problems and conflicts. At this stage, we were starting to feel as though we were becoming an ambulance at the bottom on the cliff.
Leaders from across all sectors were sharing with us that they were feeling more and more overwhelmed, stressed and disengaged in the workplace. It was becoming harder to attract and keep great staff, problems and conflict seemed to be the flavour of the day and an increased regulatory environment was fuelling a culture of trepidation and fear. Can you relate?
WE RESPONDED
We took a closer look. We found evidence that workloads have increased 33% in the last decade and 37% more people today feel more long-term stress than 3 decades ago. Interesting. What happens when great people absorb high levels of stress over a long period of time? We don’t need to answer that.
Around about the same time, the old ethos of work is work and home is home was being challenged. More and more people in society started seeking connection, meaning and a sense of purpose through work than ever before. Covid 19 only highlighted this even more. With different generations in the workplace placing value on different things, something had to change.
AND WE FOUND THE ANSWER
At the same time as all of this social change, great things were being discovered about us as human beings. Neuroscience confirmed that our brains could develop new pathways, and everything changed.
Our Emotionally Intelligent and Strengths Based Programmes have been in demand ever since. It seems the experts are right – EI is the answer. It’s the answer to work. It’s the answer to home. It’s not the answer to what shall we watch on Netflix this evening, but it’s pretty much the answer to everything else. Finally, we could stop being the ambulance. Our work became, and still is today, much more pro active.
In 2018 we made the decision to team up with Skills Converge in the UK. Skills Converge provide exceptional programmes that are cutting edge, extensively researched and future focused. These programmes are used worldwide by international brands such as Adidas, BMW, Barbican, NSW Police Force and in other amazing organisations in the UK, USA, Canada, Singapore and now New Zealand. We are proud to be their partner in NZ and know that our training and coaching deliverables are World Class.