With the advent of social media and online marketing, it has become ever more important for people to consider building their own personal brands. Successful businesses have been creating strong, global brands for decades now. Companies nurture their brand to ensure they appeal to specific customers and at certain points in a customers journey. Because of this, brand maps exist in all of our minds. When we say toothpaste, you think ___. When we say fizzy drink, you think ___. When we say fashion, you think ___. When we say furniture, you think ___. A good brand is immediately associa ..read more

First impressions can profoundly affect potential relationships, either encouraging them or putting us off for life. So how do you come across to others when you first meet? This self-awareness is difficult to achieve since you can hardly ask that new friend, colleague or client ‘How did I come across to you just now when we were introduced?’ Well, you could, but not without being labelled slightly strange and neurotic. Can we remember dynamic or captivating first impressions? In her book, Complete Mind Makeover, Ros Taylor writes: I was musing on some for the purpose of this book, when I rec ..read more

We all expect something from our jobs. For some it might be money, for others a chance to fulfill potential. It is important to define what it is you want from your work, your colleagues, management and, most importantly, from yourself. A big mis­take is to think that a job is only about a pay packet, important though that may be. If you just go for the money, then you may hop from job to similar job in the pursuit of a slightly better pay offer without realizing that what you really seek is career confidence and that there are other ingredients that would inspire and stimulate you. Solving Yo ..read more

The news that PwC has appointed its first female regional leader in Scotland is a welcome development for gender equality in business – congratulations to the firm, and also to Claire Reid. Recent reports suggesting that RBS is set to appoint Alison Rose as its next chief executive are also welcome. Yet paradoxically the news also serves to highlight how much more work needs to done when it comes to gender equality in the boardroom. Such an appointment, especially one involving the development and promotion of internal female talent, is of course good news by any measure. However, there’s no e ..read more

Lorna Reid, our new Head of Learning, reflects on a recent Creativity Day in London and her new role at RTC “Confident enough to be fearless” It was a bold statement, in anyone’s book, especially at 9am on a Tuesday. This was one of the ambitions shared at our recent ‘Creativity Day’ for the team at the Plaza Hotel Riverbank London. Rob Flinter, General Manager, invited RTC Leadership to help unlock the creative potential of his team during a time of fast-paced growth. By close of play, creative sparks were flying, and innovative new ideas were being brainstormed fearlessly. One such idea ..read more

This is a very significant week for RTC as we are proud to celebrate our 20th anniversary. As well as getting together with friends to mark this occasion, it has also provided a great opportunity to reflect on what we’ve learned along the way. Here, our founder Ros Taylor, reveals a quickfire list of 20 tips gathered on the RTC journey over the last two decades. Working for yourself is not for everyone – there are peaks and troughs, and you need to be strong enough to cope with that from the start. If you want predictability and security in life this will not be for you. Learn the skill of re ..read more

To mark International Women’s Day, our founder Ros reflects on gender balance in business This week, it was reported that Scotland leads the way in the UK for gender balance in the workplace. The PwC ‘Women in Work Index’ report also found that women are highly represented in senior positions in Scotland. This is great news for Scotland and women – and very topical too, with today being International Women’s Day. While progress in addressing gender balance is clearly being made, there is still much work to be done. Stepping up Recruitment is an area which can be improved. Head-hunters, for exa ..read more

To celebrate World Book Day, we asked some of the team to share their favourite reads. Ros Taylor, CEO How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie This is one of the most impactful books I have ever read. Despite being a young qualified psychologist, I was new to business life and was required to influence potential clients to buy our services. Nothing had prepared me for this. However Carnegie’s book helped me to negotiate these relationships and I have never looked back. The stories in the book about how even the crustiest clients could be won over had a huge impact on me. The m ..read more

As today is Employee Appreciation Day, what better time to look at how leaders can develop a few key skills to engage and motivate their team. 1) Be more approachable Our founder Ros Taylor once heard a company director complain that no one came to him to chat through issues until it was too late to intervene. When Ros looked into his office, she noticed that his desk faced the window with his back to the door. It was off-putting, discouraging passers-by to make eye contact and drop in. Be approachable and employees will come to you with good news, and even more important, the bad. Create a po ..read more

We’re delighted to announce that Gill Hayward has joined the RTC team as managing director, as part of our ongoing expansion. Gill, who is originally from Edinburgh, will operate from our London office. She will be responsible for nurturing existing projects and driving new business as we expand our leadership training services in the UK and globally. Having Gill join the board will allow our founder and CEO, Ros, to focus on enhancing RTC’s global proposition in the US and China. Ros will also focus on delivering the company’s bespoke coaching proposition and quality management. In December ..read more