“ Get Scottish leaders on the course, particularly young entrepreneurs; the course will balance natural ability and good old fashioned know-how!
This is what Patrick Kelly (right), Managing Director of ExtraMed had to say about the Leadership for Growth programme which Scottish Enterprise promotes.
Patrick took part in the programme in 2007. His company ExtraMed, which had started out in 2000, had started to grow rapidly and Patrick felt that he needed to develop his leadership skills further to maximise his company’s full growth potential.
Award winning ExtraMed, based in Grangemouth, develops IT systems and products for healthcare organisations. The company was started by a group of five people with experience in IT development and healthcare. The team had a number of product ideas for the healthcare sector and funded the business in its early days by consultancy for education and health organisations.
For the first couple of years ExtraMed worked to combine in-depth knowledge of the NHS with IT skills to develop real-time solutions to improve patient outcomes and hospital performance. The primary focus has been efficient A&E and patient flow management via two innovative products, ‘A&E Whiteboard’ and ‘ExtraMed BEDS’, as well as providing expert IT consultancy to the NHS.
Two years ago the company had three customers and two products. However, their drive and determination plus their belief in their products helped them secure additional funding of £500,000. The package included £100,000 from Scottish Enterprise’s Seed Fund, £250,000 from the Sigma Innovation Fund and a debt facility of £150,000 from Halifax Bank of Scotland. Stuart Ogg, Operations Director at Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley, has worked with ExtraMed for over four years. He said: "ExtraMed is an excellent example of a forward thinking company that aims high and has the drive to push forward an ambitious business plan."
Using the funding ExtraMed set out to gain new UK business and double their turnover. At the time, Patrick Kelly, said: "Our products are specifically designed to tackle key patient management challenges head on and are delivering real results and benefits. This funding will enable us to bolster our sales and implementation team creating several new posts to win significant new business." This is exactly what they have achieved. It was this investment plus the upturn in sales that made Patrick pay attention to his Scottish Enterprise account manager when she suggested that the Leadership for Growth programme could be of value to him.
“As we grew and took on more staff it became obvious that we needed more processes and systems as a business. We also recognised that we needed to be more formally trained in management and leadership.”
The Leadership for Growth programme was designed by the Leadership Factory under the guidance of Andy Kelly (no relation!). The Leadership for Growth programme is designed to support growth companies in key sectors and provides an invaluable opportunity to develop leaders with the confidence, skills and attitudes to help businesses survive and thrive. It addresses a crucial gap in the provision of support to ambitious growing businesses. At each stage the programme focuses on the personal development of the participant and the related business objectives.
The first stage of the six month programme is that each participant is taken through a 360° profile and DISC assessment. This is where the surprises for Patrick started. Firstly, he was amazed at how accurate the assessment was at highlighting the considerable pressure he was under at the time. Secondly, it was a tremendous confidence booster to find out how those round him perceived him. This was the start of an extremely challenging journey for Patrick and ExtraMed.
The next phase of the programme is six workshops, led by Andy Kelly, covering all aspects of leadership. Instead of being an intense week long course the workshops are spread over a six week period and so are more manageable from a time commitment point of view. Patrick felt that another advantage of having the workshops spread out was that he was able to go back to ExtraMed and reflect on what had been discussed. These workshops provide formal training in the skills and theory of leadership. For Patrick one of the greatest benefits of these workshops was the networking with other company leaders and the open and honest debates which often developed. It was a non-threatening environment, away from the day to day business pressures, where challenge and feedback was encouraged and welcomed.
It was during these workshops that the thought processes which had been sparked by the 360° profile started to develop, leading Patrick to face some extremely tough leadership decisions. For some time Patrick had been aware that the dynamic amongst the executive team, was having a limiting effect on the company and needed to be resolved. Patrick had the ability to deal with the situation. The Leadership for Growth programme acted as a catalyst for action and had also provided additional skills and support via the workshops but particularly through the provision a mentor.
The programme provides access to mentors from a variety of different business backgrounds. Through working closely with his mentor Patrick was able to sound out his ideas and gain valuable advice on his own situation. As a direct result of the programme ExtraMed restructured the management team and embarked on a recruitment drive. The atmosphere at the company changed dramatically and Patrick and his team were able to get on with moving the company forward in a positive way.
The programme strives to provide best practise for the participants by offering Master Classes and providing literature to support the material covered in the workshops. The programme draws to a close with a Case Study day which draws all the elements together and gives the participants a chance to try them all out.
At the outset Patrick had set out his personal and business objectives which focused on gaining new skills and improving sales, these objectives were far exceed. ExtraMed was already growing at a faster pace when Patrick attended the programme however there is little doubt in his mind that it contributed to the step change in the company’s performance.
From a business point of view the company has been transformed in the last year. The management team has been restructured, the number of employees has grown to twelve, ExtraMed how has twelve customers and the number of products has doubled, as has turnover. Next year they expect to more than double their turnover again.
From a personal point of view Patrick is now recruiting a new Managing Director. He has decided that he doesn’t want to sit at the MD’s desk anymore and that he can contribute more value in a more strategic technical role. He states that the programme has helped to develop him personally and professionally by giving him the techniques, confidence and understanding to turn his ideas into reality. It has also made him reconsider the work-life balance for himself and his colleagues.
ExtraMed have recently expanded their staff base and as a result have outgrown their original base in Grangemouth and as of January 2009 are located in new offices just off St Andrew Square, Edinburgh. They have also secured an additional round of investment in recognition of the innovation of their products and quality of service.
When asked if he thought the programme had been a good investment of his time he said:
“ I wish I had done it years ago!