Back in 2000, a man had a hunch. Two decades later, that hunch has grown into a global partnership with partners and offices across 15 countries. Yes, TPC Leadership is celebrating an important milestone. We are 20 years old!<\/p>\n
Birthdays and anniversaries provide a useful moment to pause, look back and reflect on how far we\u2019ve come. So we decided to take the opportunity to talk to TPCL\u2019s founder Charles Brook and current chairperson Annelieke Jense about their journey so far.<\/p>\n
The first connections<\/strong><\/p>\n Charles says that he would love to tell everyone that TPC Leadership came to him as some incredible vision while meditating with a blanket over his head. But while there was no extraordinary experience that led to TPC\u2019s conception, there was perhaps a fitting one: a human connection.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very fortunate to get in with a good crowd,\u201d says Charles. \u201cI met three amazing people: John Whitmore, who was one of the fathers of coaching. Miles Downey, who ran the London School of Coaching, probably the biggest place globally to get trained as a coach at the time. And Sue Knight, who popularized neuro linguistic programming in the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n Inspired by these pioneer coaches, Charles pressed them to let him work with them. \u201cAnd when I say work, I literally used to carry John Whitmore\u2019s bags around for him!\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n It paid off. After serving out something of an apprenticeship, Whitmore asked Charles to become his associate.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, to earn a living, Charles was working for other coaching organisations. But he was becoming increasingly frustrated that he couldn\u2019t galvanise the people in those organisations to take an interest in building a business and thinking about how they could better serve clients.<\/p>\n To make it happen, he would need to strike out on his own. And so The Performance Coach was born.<\/p>\n The founding of the EMCC<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, the coaching industry wasn\u2019t nearly as mature then as it is today. At the time there was almost nowhere to get properly trained to a high level, nor were there any real standards or ethics.<\/p>\n Charles and John decided to change this, so TPC and Whitmore\u2019s company, Performance Consultants, collaborated to co-write an MSc in Coaching with Portsmouth Business School \u2013 the first of its time. Soon after, they became founding members of the EMCC, the European Mentoring and Coaching Council.<\/p>\n The EMCC enabled thousands of coaches to receive a high standard of training. But for Charles, two in particular would go on to become more than students. Annelieke Jense was among the first to go through the programme and soon after that Charles meet Andrea Cardillo. They were also the key to TPC\u2019s international growth.<\/p>\n \u201cAnnelieke came through the program and fell in love with it,\u201d says Charles. \u201cHopefully she and others fell in love with us a bit too. Because we certainly fell in love with them.\u201d<\/p>\n That conversation in Schiphol<\/strong><\/p>\n So Annelieke completed her MSc, living eight years in the UK before returning to the Netherlands. And TPC might simply have become a stepping stone to her very nice new job at the University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam. Except for a phone call in 2011 that would change all her plans.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Annie, you remember me?\u201d<\/p>\n It had been two years since they had spoken. But Annelieke certainly hadn\u2019t forgotten.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in Amsterdam soon,\u201d Charles said. \u201cShall we meet at Schiphol?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of course\u2026\u201d she said. \u201cFantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n Once Charles arrived, he soon began pitching. \u201cTPC is growing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we would like to be able to serve our clients better and we need to support them internationally. Would you like to start the office in The Netherlands?\u201d<\/p>\n Annelieke didn\u2019t exactly leap at the opportunity. Her answer was more along the lines of: \u201cYou have got the wrong woman!\u201d<\/p>\n She bombarded Charles with all the reasons why she wasn\u2019t suitable. \u201cFor a start, I\u2019ve never had ambition,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not a saleswoman or a marketing woman. And while I think I do a good job in coaching teams and individuals, there is not a drop of entrepreneurial blood in my body. This is just not me.\u201d<\/p>\n Nine years later, as Annelieke reflects back on this moment, she believes the TPC Leadership culture was embodied in Charles\u2019 reply: \u201cYou\u2019re all of that,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just don\u2019t know it yet. We\u2019ll support you.\u201d<\/p>\n The beginning of a partnership <\/strong><\/p>\n Charles didn\u2019t just invite Annelieke to work for TPC but to become a partner in the organisation, together with Andrea Cardillo. Charles had already been working on TPC for a decade but the moment Annelieke and Andrea started, Charles held only one third of the voting rights.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some ways some people would say I was really na\u00efve,\u201c says Charles, \u201cbecause usually you keep a business like that and then you sell it. But we wanted it to be a partnership. And TPC wouldn\u2019t be like it is now if I had kept it to myself.<\/p>\n This shared decision-making power would play a significant part in shaping the TPC culture. Many people are attracted to TPC Leadership because of the equality and shared power that is throughout the organisation. And the shared ownership meant that each partner felt ownership of their local office and the global business.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Realisations in wine cellars and wine bars<\/strong><\/p>\n Annelieke recalls a time, just after a meeting in Rome, when the partners were together in a wine cellar and Charles suggested that everyone share what TPC meant to them personally.<\/p>\n \u201cI still remember the things I said,\u201d says Annelieke. \u201cAnd for me it was profound to realise them. To realise that it has always been easy to explain to my children why I\u2019m often not home \u2013 because I believe in the good that I am doing, because I am blessed with colleagues like I have, and I love what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Charles remembers a similar moment he had on a four month trip that took him to India, Australia, China, the US, Latin America and finally South Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cI was sitting on my own in a wine bar,\u201d says Charles, \u201cAnd I was thinking, \u2018What the hell am I doing? And why the hell am I doing this?\u2019 But then I just looked around and thought, \u2018Where am I? I would never have travelled like this before. I would never have seen these places. I would never have found an opportunity to work with these great people.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Today\u2019s TPC Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n Winding the clock forward to TPCL\u2019s 20 year celebration, the company is still growing, moving forward and staying true to its roots.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just won probably the TPCL\u2019s biggest ever project with a large global company,\u201d says Charles. \u201cAnd they said that the reason they chose us is because they got a real sense that we would work collaboratively with them, be thought partners with them, and share the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps that sense of collaboration stems from the partnerships that are at the heart of TPC. Our shared ownership and shared passion to build something that lasts.<\/p>\n