Do you want to fly higher and faster with less effort? Listen to this podcast to start yourself on that path.

In this episode, Jeannette interviews Rory Underwood MBE, a former RAF flight-lieutenant, England’s rugby union record try scorer, and now CEO of his consultancy business Wingman. During his 14-year rugby career, he became England´s highest try scorer, a record he still holds to this day! His RAF flight safety role and top rugby career both taught him how to perform to an exceptionally high level. Rory has since founded Wingman, a development and performance consultancy, to help businesses, teams and individuals create and sustain high performance. During the podcast, Rory explains why he founded Wingman and the unique techniques he uses to enable his clients to perform and fulfil their potential.

Rory explains how he managed to combine family life with working full-time and playing rugby at the highest level, achieving the elusive work-life balance. Jeannette and Rory also discuss how his early life shaped his outlook and his approach to business. In the podcast, Rory shares a wealth of information that every business owner can benefit from applying, regardless of size or industry.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• With the right mindset and discipline, it’s possible to excel at several things at once - my job was flying jets for the RAF, my hobby was playing rugby for England & Leicester Tigers!
• Wingman covers all 3 aspects of Rory’s career of flying, sports and business.
• Strive to be the best you can be in everything you do.
• As soon as you know something let people know what’s going on – ‘work on the basis of no surprises’.
• It’s good to be optimistic, with a small element of pessimism, so you’re ready should things go wrong.
• A sense of resilience is really important to overcome and give things a go.
• Training, education and teamwork can be used to mitigate risk.
• Work-life balance does not necessarily mean 50:50, the split will be different for different people.
• As an entrepreneur you’re your worst boss, ‘you don’t pay yourself enough and don’t give yourself enough time off’ – it’s important to block downtime for yourself.
• Fundamentally as human beings we all make mistakes.
• Mutually beneficial relationships are key, and having the ability to work with like-minded people is a good place to be.
• For any business communication is key. In the podcast, Rory explains how to open up communication channels.
• If someone asks you what sounds like a stupid question, you have not explained it well enough.
• Being able to explain complicated things simply to potential clients helps you to sell more.
• Lots of people have the same challenges, so talk about it and you will get support and clarity
• Understanding what you as a company are trying to achieve and being customer-facing is essential.
• At some point as an entrepreneur you have to let go of the reigns
• High performance comes from having clarity of purpose, the right people, and efficient processes.
• Identify what is causing the drag in your businesses in order to lift your business and help you grow.
• Listen to anyone that wants to talk to you, but remember it is you that decides what to take from that conversation.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I´ve always been an optimist with a small percentage of pessimism. Always looked on the bright side but also been ready for when it goes wrong.´

‘The only mistake you’ll ever make is the one you don’t learn from’

‘If you can´t describe something complicated, simply, then you don´t really understand it’

‘There are lots of people out there who are facing the same interesting challenges, so talk about it’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Brave, Bold, Brilliant podcast series

www.wingmanltd.com

www.jeannettelinfootassociates.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

Rory Underwood is probably best known for his international rugby career. Not only for scoring a record 49 tries for England (95 caps, 1984-1996) but also for winning 7 caps for the British Lions touring Australia (1989) and New  Zealand (1993). Rory played first class rugby at Leicester Tigers for an unbelievable 14 years and was awarded the MBE in  1992 for his services for rugby. Rory joined the Board of Leicester Tigers as a non-executive Director in Nov 2007.

Throughout this record-breaking rugby career Rory amassed 3000 hours flying as a pilot in his 18 years in the Royal Air Force. During his RAF career he flew the Jet Provost TMk5A, Hawk TMk1A, Tornado GR1, Canberra T17 and the Dominie. He was responsible for introducing Crew Resources Management (CRM) training into the RAF, thereby developing a culture where personnel look at how teamwork and decision making is effected in time limited stressful situations.

Rory has a specific interest and expertise in the areas of effective communication and high performance leadership within teams. His experience and insight gained through his stellar rugby and RAF career has allowed him to bring a different perspective into the performance of business teams. He is an experienced facilitator, psychometric profiler and performance coach.

Rory incorporates his inspirational experiences with practical performance activities creating an environment for delegates to explore and challenge their view of teams and how they can make an impact within the business. He will explore and challenge the delegates about their understanding of teams, high performance and how to measure it.

Rory uses his experiences from his time within high performance organisations and teams that are able to bring a different perspective than the normal ‘team building’ workshop. He explores the relationship between values and motivation that is bound together by trust to enable you to create and sustain a high performance team ethos within the organisation.

Rory combines the wealth of experience from international sport, the military, extreme human achievement and the tried and tested formula of personal and team development to create processes for individuals, teams and organisations to inspire performance.

CONTACT METHOD

Website: www.wingmanltd.com

Twitter: @wingman_ltd

LinkedIn: Wingman_Ltd

Email: enquiries@wingmanltd.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Jeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 25 years of global professional business experience across the travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Having bought, ran, and sold businesses all over the world, Jeannette now has a portfolio of her own businesses and also advises and mentors other business leaders to drive forward their strategies as well as their own personal development.

Jeannette is a down to earth leader, a passionate champion for diversity & inclusion, and a huge advocate of nurturing talent so every person can unleash their full potential and live their dreams. 

CONTACT METHOD

https://www.jeannettelinfootassociates.com/

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PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Jeannette Linfoot talks to incredible people about their experiences of being Brave, Bold & Brilliant, which have allowed them to unleash their full potential in business, their careers, and life in general. From the boardroom tables of ‘big’ international business to the dining room tables of entrepreneurial start-ups, how to overcome challenges, embrace opportunities and take risks, whilst staying ‘true’ to yourself is the order of the day.