Why Crack On Coaching?

At Crack On Coaching, we help General Managers grow teams, and teams build businesses through coaching. But who are Crack On Coaching? Meet its founder, Jon Saunders.

Jon is immensely proud of his Welsh heritage. After finishing university, he joined a graduate scheme with Bass Brewery. He knew at that point that he was going to become a Manager, and 18 months later, at only 23, he had already reached that milestone and was promoted to General Manager.

With the benefit of experience, he is now fully aware that he didn’t have all the necessary skills at that point. However, in spite of being young and inexperienced, he intuitively knew that putting his team at the centre of everything would lead to success.

His personal experience and awareness help him to empathise with his clients to this day. It lies at the core of his proven approach to training future leaders through coaching.

Jon then joined Tiger Tiger, one of Cardiff’s most successful entertainment venues and an iconic landmark of its nightlife. Jon was an Assistant Manager for a year. The company soon recognised his leadership potential, and after a year, he again moved into a General Manager role.

It was a huge milestone in his life. He gained invaluable experience in all aspects of running a prestigious multi-million-pound business.

He is able to apply those insights and first-hand experiences when he supports General Managers at Crack On Coaching. He understands the challenges, frustrations and opportunities that being in charge of a venue with weekly takings of six to seven thousand pounds bring. His 13-year experience as a General Manager is palpable in the way that he coaches and teaches. It makes his approach relatable and authentic.

When an opportunity presented itself, Jon decided to become a business owner. He took on 10 Mill Lane, Cardiff’s late-night cocktail bar and club. He turned this closed venue into a successful venture. He also owned the award-winning The Dead Canary.

Challenges along the way

His third bar was 29 Park Place. In spite of the popularity of the venue, due to rising business rates and some misguided business decisions, in 2018 he was forced to close the bar after 2 years.

Jon is immensely proud of all three popular and award-winning venues, and his teams who helped to deliver exceptional customer service. So, losing 29 Park Place was immensely painful, but he was determined to learn from his mistake. Jon says: “Because I’ve been through that and know where I went wrong, there is that empathy piece with any business owner. I’ve been there.”

This experience shaped the next stage in his career. Jon cared deeply for his staff, and having to let them go was difficult. He wanted to give something back to an industry that he held so dear. His Grandma had always told him that he should be a teacher. Jon was now looking for a way in which he could draw on his experience as a General Manager in hospitality but also make a difference.

He found Purple Story. Their ethos ‘delivering results through people’ resonated with him. He began to work part-time as a facilitator while being head of operations at Peppermint. Building on his degree in Business and Coaching, he rediscovered the coaching world.

This ignited his passion to share his experiences to contribute to best leadership practices. He knew he wanted to play a pivotal role in nurturing and enhancing the skills and behaviours of individuals, support their professional development and contribute to the overall success of a company. He also took his qualifications as an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Practitioner.

About 2 years ago, the time was right to put his own stamp on things and Crack On Coaching was born, where the entire team of seasoned coaches is committed to driving change and elevating team performance across many different industries.

The biggest takeaways

Jon says: “Throughout my career, I asked myself. Could I have been better? And the answer is, yes, I could have been a lot better. I needed to listen more, but I also needed better tools and insights.”

Looking back at his career some things stood out:

·?????? Jon always ran his venues and teams with a focus on getting the input right so that the output would look after itself – if you get the team right and nurture them, the customer service and turnover will fall into place

·?????? Invest in your people and create trust, and they will trust you and go the extra mile

·?????? It’s never too late to address issues with dysfunctional or underperforming teams but it needs to be done compassionately, holistically and strategically

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So why coaching?

People at any stage of their careers are not the finished article. There is always an opportunity to learn, to be even more aware of oneself and others, to build on existing leadership skills etc. Coaching helps to unlock and nurture that potential. If you approach a coaching session with that mindset, it will ultimately make you a better General Manager.

It’s also about having the right tools and insights about your teams. Do you know what makes them tick and why they behave the way they do? Who is best placed to shine under pressure? Who is likely to work best with whom? Are all your boats facing the same way? Is it the right way? People analytics like The Predictive Index can help with that.

Jon feels strongly that he would have been a better manager with extra support and better insights. He is therefore keen for others at a similar point in their leadership journey to benefit from his experience and the available tools. ?

What is the ethos at Crack On Coaching?

In Jon’s experience, many General Managers are aware of issues but for many reasons – lack of time, support, information, confidence – are unsure where to start with fixing them. Crack On Coaching aims to challenge the status quo, help those managers to find a starting point and then take responsibility for implementing changes.

If a General Manager has soft skills but needs to develop them, Crack On Coaching can work with them to find the best way forward and hold them accountable along the way. Training with a coaching style means that we empower the individual to identify a goal or a blockage and then take responsibility to move things forward – step-by-step and broken down into achievable smaller goals.

It’s like being a firm but loving parent. It builds confidence and gets results.

So, when are you going to start?

With Crack On Coaching, you can expect improvement in these main areas:

·?????? Leadership

·?????? Team engagement

·?????? Improved communication and relationships

·?????? Better efficiencies

What our clients say

“Following Jon’s coaching, I feel empowered in my personal and professional life. He helped me understand myself, my role and how to provide the best from me and others. I recommend Crack On Coaching for any managers who want to be better.” Guilhem Misseri, Operations Manager at Wells & Co France

“Jon has a wonderful way of getting the best from the team he is coaching. He reads the room brilliantly and it has been a real pleasure having Jon as part of our leadership program.” Michael Harper, Avani Solutions

Why not book a discovery call with Jon today?

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Influential Leadership Unleashed – Calling all GMs in Hospitality

We, at Crack On Coaching, are excited to announce the launch of the first of our group training days 'Influential Leadership Unleashed'. This one-day session is designed specifically with General Managers in the hospitality industry in mind. Operations Managers will see huge benefits and are welcome to attend with their teams, too.

Are you and your teams really ready for the Christmas period? Are you as impactful as you can be as a leader? Do you need to improve your bottom line.

The day will help you to:

• Improve your ability to impact your team and improve your results
• Grow other leaders within your business
• Create a culture of people development
• Grow as an individual and get closer to your own goals

At Crack On Coaching, we have worked with some of the biggest brands in hospitality as well as some of the most on-trend, up-and-coming independents to help them grow their leaders and unlock their potential.

Why not join us on:

·?????? Thursday, 24 October 2024 - 10:30am - 3:30pm – Cardiff: We have a great venue at David Lloyd Cardiff, with free parking, lunch on us and a room full of like-minded people. With start and finish times to miss the rush – what is stopping you? Early bird discount applies to a limited number of tickets. Click here to book. ?

You can’t make the date or are further afield? Here is the information for our online version:

·?????? Tuesday, 29th October 2024 - 10:30am - 3:30pm: This online high energy leadership session will help you unlock your own leadership potential. Early bird discount applies to a limited number of tickets. Book early to avoid disappointment.

For group enquiries of more than six please email Ed Williams. ?

We look forward to helping you to become an even more effective leader, benefit your personal growth and improve your team’s performance.

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From the Crack On Podcast – Professor Tom Crosby, OBE

Sadly, so many people know someone with or are worried about cancer. We therefore invited Professor Tom Crosby, Clinical Director at Velindre Cancer Centre, onto the Crack On Podcast to help us all understand more.

Professor Tom Crosby has been recognised for his service to cancer services in Wales and the UK with the award of an honorary Professorship by Cardiff University and an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 2019. He is now the National Clinical Director of Cancer for Wales.

In this latest episode of the Crack On Podcast, Professor Crosby shares his vast knowledge on:

·?????? Leadership in Healthcare: What it takes to lead through complex challenges in the clinical world.

·?????? Innovation in Cancer Treatment: How cutting-edge research and practices are transforming patient outcomes.

·?????? Resilience: The critical role of resilience, both for healthcare professionals and patients, in the fight against cancer.

Professor Crosby has dedicated his career helping and supporting people with cancer and is working tirelessly to “improve and innovate, and sometimes even transform the system we are working in, as the public and patients of Wales deserve.”

Don’t miss this powerful conversation with such a prominent and influential figure in the field of oncology. His compassion and drive to improve cancer services are inspiring.

Thank you to our sponsors Metroguard Security and Kurve for their continued support.

Tune in here.

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Graduation Day at Wells & Co?

This month saw the graduation of the first cohorts of our Leadership Programme Pathways to Success at Wells & Co.

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Jon Saunders, Founder of Crack On Coaching, felt privileged to have been part of the journey of the teams at Wells and to witness their transformation. Wells & Co is truly a company that invests in their people.

Here is some of the wonderful feedback that we received:

“This course really helped me change my focus on what’s important to me, and allowed me to be better at what I do both in my personal life and work life. Understanding that a better me is a more proactive and effective leader. Would highly recommend!”

“Jon was a fantastic trainer, he made the sessions enjoyable, informative and insightful.? He was skilful in bringing together a group of people who hadn't had much interaction before the course and creating a safe space for us to learn and grow.”

“Jon’s enthusiasm and passion meant we were eager to meet each month to learn.”

“It has been a useful and thrilling coaching program. Through active listening, chatting, a practical Toolbox for managing, and more... Those 10 lessons went very fast."?

“Jon was a brilliant trainer. He made the modules fun and at no point did he make anyone of our group feel uncomfortable. It was lovely mixing with other colleagues whom I would not normally mix with, and Jon made sure we kept up our catch ups with each other regular.”

“I wish I had as much energy as Jon has!”

When a company just gets it, magic happens! Thank you and a huge well done to the fantastic teams at Wells & Co. It’s been a blast.

Would you like to find out how working with Crack On Coaching can help you improve team communication, cohesion, engagement and performance? Why not book a discovery call with Jon Saunders.

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We hope that this bumper edition of the newsletter has given you a flavour of what you might expect from working with Crack On Coaching. Thank you for your time!

See you next month and, as always, Crack On.