{"id":4962,"date":"2021-02-17T01:45:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T01:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/pl-en\/uncategorized\/how-tpcl-has-thrived-for-two-decades\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T16:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T15:00:10","slug":"how-tpcl-has-thrived-for-two-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/pl-en\/tpcl-news-views\/how-tpcl-has-thrived-for-two-decades\/","title":{"rendered":"How TPCL has thrived for two decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

TPCL Leadership has just turned 20 years old! It has been a long journey since our early training courses and our first clients. We\u2019ve grown into a leading consultancy with a coaching and leadership academy, offices and partners across the globe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But from a certain angle, it\u2019s not the growth that we\u2019re happy about. It\u2019s that TPCL is still, at its heart, what it was 20 years ago \u2013 a culture worth celebrating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To mark the occasion, Charles Brook, founder of TPCL, and our chairperson, Annelieke Jense, reminisced about the highlights and setbacks of the last two decades \u2013 and why the TPCL culture has remained special.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why people joined TPCL<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever we found that someone wasn\u2019t the right fit,\u201d says Charles, \u201cit\u2019s nearly always been because the values alignment wasn\u2019t quite there. It has been amazing to see how everyone has ultimately been attracted by the culture.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Annelieke recalls the moment she decided to join TPCL in 2011. She was working for an Amsterdam university at the time and had plenty of reasons not to leave. But having trained as a coach through one of the first TPCL programs, she knew the quality of the professionals who were offering her a partnership role.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they weren\u2019t just fantastic professionals but fantastic human beings,\u201d says Annelieke, \u201cI wanted to work with these people I felt such connection with. People who went for impact rather than quick fixes \u2013 and whose clients invested in people. And as a result, I\u2019ve always believed I\u2019m in the right profession.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenges of being a TPCL partner<\/b><\/p>\n

The full tale of how Annelieke became a partner <\/span>seems like a chapter from a storybook. But finding the right partners for TPCL has sometimes been a much trickier process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming a TPCL partner is about more than being a leadership coach, or even a consultant. You need to be a business developer who can manage a regional office while taking ownership of the global development of the company too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not hard to find good professional coaches,\u201d says Annelieke, \u201cbut to find someone who can take a real stake in the organisation and have real equity\u2026 it\u2019s like you\u2019re searching for this entrepreneurial sheep with five legs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What we can and can\u2019t control<\/b><\/p>\n

TPCL now has partners and offices all over the world. But like any success story, it comes at a price of setbacks and disappointments. Some international offices simply didn\u2019t work out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles found it easier to bounce back by using a reflection model called the Three Circles, produced by Steven Covey, which asks what\u2019s in your sphere of control, what\u2019s in your sphere of influence and what\u2019s only in your sphere of concerns. The logic goes that if you don\u2019t have any control or any influence over a problem, there\u2019s not much benefit in worrying about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I walk into my living room and accidentally smash the best bit of cut glass,\u201d says Charles, \u201cI might think, \u2018Damn it, that was beautiful. I\u2019m so annoyed that I did it\u2019 but then that\u2019s it. There\u2019s nothing I can do now that it\u2019s broken. And although this mindset means I probably don\u2019t fully learn all the lessons of a bereavement process, overall it\u2019s been helpful to move on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The enduring sense of team<\/b><\/p>\n

The reward of facing such challenges and overcoming disappointments is that TPCL is what it is. Even though the team has been working virtually since long before COVID-19, they have always felt connected to one another and the work each partner is doing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnly our Italian and Netherlands branches actually have an office,\u201d says Charles, \u201cAnd still there\u2019s an amount of affiliation which I don\u2019t think other organizations have got yet, even though we\u2019re a virtual team. So I\u2019m super proud of that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a real desire in all the TPCL partners to leave a legacy, whether it is about climate change or reducing poverty or supporting global SDGs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about wanting to make a difference,\u201d says Charles. \u201cAnd finding other people who want to make a difference with you. This is what happens when you attract people to the cause through your values. You end up with a team that wants to do projects for the third sector, for the United Nations and for women leaders in Ethiopia.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Playing the long game<\/b><\/p>\n

When reflecting on what has made TPCL work so well over the years, Charles believes that they have opted to grow only as quickly as their values allow. And one of these values is to relentlessly do what is best for the client, even if it means losing business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember turning down a huge global project,\u201d says Charles, \u201cand the company was beside themselves. They wanted to change their company culture to make it a coaching culture and they wanted to do it by running two-day workshops around the world.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles had said to them, \u201cWhat is it you really want? Do you want to help people have some coaching skills?\u201d But they said, \u201cNo, we want a coaching culture.\u201d So Charles laid down the facts: \u201cYou\u2019re not going to do it by running two-day workshops around the world. That\u2019s not going to change your culture.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And even though this company said they were committed and had set a budget of over a million pounds to achieve it, Charles told them it simply would not work. And so TPCL never saw their business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But other companies saw TPCL\u2019s restraint as a sign of trustworthiness. Annelieke recalls that when she asked several of our clients, \u201cWhy did you choose us?\u201d They said, \u201cYou were not pitching. You were just asking the right questions.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The future of TPCL<\/b><\/p>\n

As we look back on 20 years, there is a lot to celebrate. And there is also a lot to look forward to. But while TPCL is readying to grow globally and become more sustainable in each local office, Charles\u2019 hopes for the company he founded are primarily to do with its culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore than anything else I want it to be a home for people with like-minded values, where they can live and be the person they want to be,\u201d says Charles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause in many organizations you have to conform to fit in. And you don\u2019t feel you can be who you are, live the life you want, make the difference you want. So I would love for us not to lose that in the next five or 10 years. For people to still come because they can find a place where they can express themselves and live their potential.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So here\u2019s to the next five, 10 and even 20 years of TPCL. In case you missed it, you can read Charles and Annelieke\u2019s story of how TPCL came to be <\/span>here<\/span>. And if you want to learn more about creating or sustaining a company culture, don\u2019t hesitate to <\/span>get in touch<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

@ TPCL (2021)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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