Few people will face life threatening multiple disasters in their lifetime. Fewer still have the expertise to dissect those disasters in order to understand how their leadership contributed to survival. As a professional round the world yachtsman and with his background in psychology, Adam is able to deliver just this. His four tenets of Teamwork, Leadership, Communication and Fun translate highly effectively from offshore to office and are designed to be applied in any business situation. Adam Tuffnell will show you how to find this balance.
Throughout his 20-year sailing career, Adam Tuffnell has sailed in some of the most hostile environments on the planet, ranging from the freezing wilderness of the Southern Ocean through to the debilitating humidity of the tropics.
He is one of a select group of sailors who have circumnavigated the world against prevailing winds and currents, a feat which until recently was considered impossible. He has faced hurricanes, collisions, flooding and the emergency medical evacuation of a crewmate.
"Leadership and survival are one and the same. Without leadership you will not survive." - Adam Tuffnell, September 2013.
Adam has also built a successful sailing school and trained future Round-the- World racing crews from zero-experience to a state of ocean-going readiness. His energy and passion for sailing was formed as a child in small dinghies and 'globalised' through racing the BT Global Challenge, in 2000.
As a graduate in Psychology and Philosophy and an accomplished sailor, Adam has unique insight into the practical applications of effective leadership and team development within the challenging environments of open-water and the corporate office.
What's in it?
An engaging and challenging review which references both real life experience of disaster and famous tragedies in order to assess the role of critical failures and successes of leadership in the outcome of these situations.
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Leadership
- Fun
Illustrating the importance of the four tenets through his own significant experience and by reviewing well-known disasters with an insider's expert eye, Adam discusses what lessons we can all learn about team dynamics and how we can avert disasters in our personal and professional lives.
What will you learn?
This is not simply a presentation about affective delegation and leading from the front…
Whether it is an aggressive pitch against competition, internal crisis, hurricane force winds, the same lessons apply.
Adam presents a keen understanding of facets of leadership as tested and proven in extreme conditions including:
- Value of feelings and sharing them in tensioned environment
- Leadership under extreme pressure
- Importance of conscious management of core components of team leadership
- Transparency in situational awareness - be honest with the troops
- The importance of deciding, rather than trying, to succeed
This presentation bridges the gap between offshore and office to demonstrate how to:
- Challenge the 'norm' of observations and conclusions
- Solve problems from within the team environment
- Ensure the accountability of decision making processes
- Manage team dynamics
Presentation in Practice
Whilst on the water, Adam creates a learning environment for business leaders, which illustrates that 'experience is what you learn, just after you most needed it'. Time on the water naturally creates unique situations, which invariably require unique solutions. Adam communicates how this adaptive thinking process can be applied in practice.
What's Adam done?
Adam is a round the world yachtsman who has circumnavigated the globe 'the wrong-way' against prevailing winds and tides.
He was one of only 12 skippers selected by Clipper to train amateur round-the-world crews from scratch to race readiness.
Principal of a successful sailing school
Personal development coach
Team building course leader
Skipper of numerous offshore and ocean racing teams most recently a crew of 12 in the Fastnet 2013.
Worked extensively for Tall Ships Youth Trust skippering young people from underprivileged backgrounds
Presented at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and HMS Sultan as part of Armed Forces officer leadership training course
Leading from Within
I just wanted to thank Adam for supporting our event yesterday. Adam's presentation was just what we needed to kick-start our new programme and very well-received.
Please pass on our sincere thanks to Adam - he certainly gave us food for thought, very far removed from day to day life in Higher Education!
I've worked with Adam on a number of occasions with different businesses both in his capacity as a skipper and in more formal speaking settings.
Adam able to bring to bare his experience as a psychologist, businessman and a professional sailor to deliver a highly educational training package. The overall results are as outstanding as they are unique.
Adam delivers a considered, focused presentation that challenges preconceptions on leadership and invites the audience to reflect upon their own styles and effectiveness in a compelling way.
On the water, Adam creates a learning environment that helps teams develop collectively and to react as an effective group to overcome challenges that are very different from most people's day-to-day experience.
I am writing to thank you for your presentation to the Business Club Northants earlier this week.
It was extremely interesting to see how you detailed your sailing experiences and then connected them to business practices.
The video inspired one of my members who has never sailed at all to say to me afterwards " If Adam had asked for a volunteer crew on the night that he would have signed up there and then!"
Your knowledge and insight into sailing disasters was quite thought provoking and concern was expressed that things do not seem to have improved with regard to safety drills on boats and ships.
I would recommend your services to any company or group who would like to listen to your very interesting presentation on Leadership challenges.
Mike Willis CEO The Business Club NorthantsI just wanted to express how much I enjoyed your presentation to the group last night. I was impressed with how you expanded the 4 key tenets of Teamwork, Leadership, Communication and Fun and made them thought provoking in a business environment. Even though the room was short on salty sea-dogs your message was well received and totally relevant, thank you.
Mark Burberry, BCM Business Cost Management'Adam was extremely insightful into his experiences at sea and utilised this against core competencies for everyday life. His experiences had the whole audience on the edge of their seat with his many stories of his near death experiences and how he managed to get out of them. He demonstrates how important teamwork, fun, leadership and communication are in all circumstances. I would definitely recommend him.'
Sam Cole, BAE SystemsAdam was the keynote speaker at our recent conference. His presentation was excellent. It was entertaining, gripping, funny, surprisingly relevant to my own job as Owner/Manager of a print business and a team of people. He was a breath of fresh air in what can be a very long day of presentations.
ProntaprintVery professional and provided us all with a fantastic insight to how large corporations can make what seems small mistakes but by failing to take ownership and stand up to be heard, can result in devastating consequences ... the material was world class and Adam seamlessly connected it to the business we work in, which in turn helped everybody relate to the programme and understand key management traits.
Virgin ActiveWhat was so impressive, being the final speaker on the final day and explaining the four tenets in such a simple, concise and dynamic manner, keeping the audience hooked in throughout.
Leadership, communication, teamwork and fun. THE ingredients of the presentation: simple and tasty!
VPGI just had the pleasure of hearing Adam Tuffnell speak. Being a business owner for the last 19 years I've been to many conferences with many speakers but Adam struck a chord in his ability to make his experiences as a professional sailor relatable to all those of us who manage teams of people both big and small.
His examples of how important clear communication without seeming like a bully would make things not only easier with your team but also more fun as you wouldn't get stuck in a pattern of blaming when things went wrong but also to encourage when things go right.
His ideas for team leading were relevant and interesting and had our attention through the entire presentation. Definitely a man worth listening to.
Hot DogI've worked with Adam on a number of occasions with different businesses both in his capacity as a skipper and in more formal speaking settings.
Adam is able to bring to bare his experience a a psychologist, businessman and a professional sailor to deliver a highly educational training package. The overall results are outstanding as they are unique.
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