Modern Business Magazine March 2016 | Page 28

GETTING TO KNOW YOU Getting to Know Anneli Blundell What inspired you to start your business? What are your goals and values? I’d always wanted to do something I was really passionate about. I wanted to come to work with a fire in my belly, a passion to serve and a feeling that I had found my place. I knew my strength was in understanding people, building relationships and helping other people do the same. It seemed a natural leap to start my own coaching and consulting practice based on decoding people dynamics for improved performance. My aim is to help leaders engage, motivate and develop their teams. My values are connection, personal responsibility, courage, accountability, play, and passion. What was the driving force behind your decision to specialise in this area of business? During my time in corporate roles I saw the importance 28 ModernBusiness March 2016 of communication, strong relationships, and the impact of interpersonal ability on getting things done. The better the person’s ability to relate well to others, the better results they were able to get, the more influence they had and the stronger their reputation was as a leader. The leaders who struggled to connect with others found it harder to get buy-in and cooperation and often had more resistance to their ideas and their expertise. Ultimately their results suffered. I realised that the ability to be ‘good with people’ was not just reserved for ‘natural social connectors’. It’s a skill that can be learnt, improved and mastered. What has been the most effective form of advertising for your business? Word of mouth referrals and keynote speaking. Mine is a trust-based business. People don’t buy relationships out of the yellow pages. They want someone they can trust and relate to. If they can see you in action or get a recommendation from a trusted source (and you can deliver what they need) then the rest will take care of itself. What types of customers do you help? What experience do you have helping small business customers? I work with leaders to help improve their engagement, influence and impact with others. It’s about developing interpersonal intelligence the ability to understand and navigate the people dynamics in a given situation. How a leader shows up in the world really matters. What they say, what they do and even what they’re thinking affects people around them. The combined result is an interpersonal impact that works like a magnet; it either draws people to them or pushes people away from them. The difference this makes to a leaders’ engagement, influence and impact is palpable. Specifically I help business leaders: • Upgrade their people skills to