Business leaders experience the extreme

Business leaders experienced the extreme when people development specialists Acua Limited hosted an event at Coventry University.

The subsidiary of Coventry University teamed up with polar explorer Mark Wood to host ‘Leadership in the Extreme’ at the University’s TechnoCentre.

The internationally-renowned explorer, who is one of only a few select people around the world who guides and trains people for expeditions in the Himalayas, the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica, shared his inner-most thoughts and feelings about his challenges to date – with the team from Acua relating his experiences to the world of business.

Andrew Watkins, client director at Acua Limited - which delivers leadership and management programmes for organisations across the UK - said:

It was a fantastic opportunity for business people to view leadership through Mark’s experiences and take part in an event which is very different to the norm.

Mark was very open about the extreme conditions and environments he and his team face on the mountains and how his leadership skills are put to the test.

Businesses face huge challenges every day, particularly in the current economic environment, and it was refreshing for our clients to engage in an open forum with Mark exploring elements such as resilience, adaptiveness and mental toughness while drawing parallels between leading and managing in business.

Jeannine Mortlock, managing director of Acua Limited, added:

This was the first in a series of events we will be holding and was extremely well received.

The idea for Leadership in the Extreme was born following a series of Skype calls we held with Mark while he was leading a team to the summit of Island Peak, Mount Everest.

We’re delighted to have built our relationship with Mark and for our clients to gain an insight into leading in the most challenging of circumstances and learn about how far you can take yourself and your team.