Inspiring Conversations with Paul Crick of The Elevate Partnership Limited

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Crick.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I sat on the end of the bed in a plush hotel in the West End of London in 2007, stared at the wall, and thought to myself, ‘Is this all there is to my life’? To everyone else, I had the trappings of success. The big house, posh car, holidays, international travel, turning left on every plane, staying in big hotels. Yet I was miserable and dying on the inside.

In 2007, I began the journey to figure out why I felt like this and to do something constructive about it. I turned my life upside down and, in the process, learned to clean up, grow up and show up. It has been quite a ride and could fill at least one book. Now I’m debt free, a non-smoker, and t-total. I’m about to take my black belt test this July, and I have married the love of my life and could not be more content than I am today. I’ll spill the beans when we meet.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Failed my A-Levels but ended up with an MBA. Told I wouldn’t make it to University, graduated from Cambridge, and taught at 4. Told I wouldn’t ever be a management consultant but had a 20+ year career in management consultancy.

Told I would never start my own business, but now I have my own business Repaid personal debt of $250K over nine years and nine months and lived on cash for that time Handed the keys back to my house because I could no longer afford it. Married and divorced twice but now happily married for nine years (this week!) Made redundant twice. Non-smoker for 23 years. Gave up alcohol for good almost three years ago.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Elevate Partnership Limited?
Paul is the Founder and Managing Partner of his own leadership development consultancy, The Elevate Partnership. He specializes in helping leaders and leadership teams to expand their inner character and capacity to enable them to lead at the next level. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Adagio College of Performing Arts and, until recently, served on the European Mentoring and Coaching Council board and the UK as Professional Development Director.

As a connector of dots, Paul brings a new perspective to the leadership conversation. He has a gift for deep listening and upbeat facilitation and can draw out what needs to be said. Clients feel reassured in his presence and safe in speaking their truth. Paul has been a management consultant, coach, educator, facilitator, and trainer for over 20 years, working worldwide with Fortune 500 and Times 250 corporations, public sector institutions, and voluntary organizations. for PriceWaterhouseCoopers Capgemini and IBM.

Paul previously co-led IBM’s Global Coaching Community of Practice and helped grow this to over 4,000 coaches across 80 countries. In addition, he served as an Executive Coach in IBM’s Professional Coaching Service. He has taught and coached leaders individually and in groups across 22 countries, including C-Level Executives. He is listed as one of the world’s Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Coaching 2023 by Thinkers 360 and Leaders Hum.

Paul holds an MBA from Henley Business School, a BSc in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester, and is a seasoned, accredited coach with certifications spanning several psychology domains. Paul lives happily in the middle of nowhere in the UK, nestled in nature with his wife, Tina, indulging his passion for Aikido and writing music.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think the key to risk-taking is to figure out what the worst can happen and then work backward from there to decide whether to take the risk. It is easy to be foolhardy and to simply jump without thinking but having seen a couple of people close to me suffer harsh consequences, then taking our brain with us before and as we leap is – IMHO – important.

Practicing martial arts has given me a new perspective on this in that as we are all going to die, then the only thing we have control over – usually – is to choose how to live. Thinking like this has helped me decide on what matters most and to accomplish those five things before I take my last breath and to live to the fullest I can as I reach for those things.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theelevatepartnership.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulhcrick/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulcrick/
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/paulhcrick

Image Credits
Phil Askew (Luminous Lives)