Interview with an Accredited Trainer: Stuart Gillis

By now, you have hopefully heard all about our directors, Nick and Darren – and if not, feel free to catch up on all the info here and here. Now, we feel it’s time to introduce you to some of our wonderful Seventh-Wave® accredited trainers. On this blog, we will be posting a spotlight piece each week of February about a different trainer, to brighten up even the dreariest winter day. So, enough with the formalities, let me introduce you to the first in this series of amazing accredited trainers, Stuart Gillis.

A fairly recent addition to the Seventh-Wave® family, Stuart joined our ranks in early 2020 after a 37 year career spanning all aspects of retail, for companies such as SavaCentre, Iceland, and B&Q, and taking him all over the country. In his final role before making the leap of becoming a self-employed trainer, Stuart enjoyed a ‘wonderful decade’ working for Warburtons, where, he said, ‘you felt like you were working directly for the family’. This atmosphere and close relationship between all employees made this his role within the company extremely enjoyable, and it is this aspect of Seventh-Wave®, too, which Stuart notes as his favourite aspect of being part of our training network. He even goes as far to say that ‘it’s the closest thing to what I experienced at Warburtons’, and there’s really no higher praise than that!

“It’s the closest thing to what I experienced at Warburtons”

As well as working closely with Seventh-Wave®, and recently starting his own golf company, I couldn’t write a spotlight blog on Stuart without mentioning Time To Think. Accredited as a Time To Think Facilitator, as well delivering our Seventh-Wave® programme, Stuart has devoted a great deal of his time to learn about the theories surrounding this concept. A book written by Nancy Kline, Time To Think emphasises the importance of truly listening. As Stuart puts it: ‘Listening to be intrigued. Listening to generate independent thought, through (amongst other things) never interrupting’. As a trainer, Stuart believes this skill to be vital in order to get the most out of clients. It ‘supports everything you want to do as a leader’, is a quality present in the all of the greatest leaders Stuart has met, and is ‘one of the most important lessons’ Stuart has learned in his life – so maybe we should all read it, too. Coming from a man with 3+ decades of experience in both leading  and being led, it would be crazy not to listen to this advice (see, listening is everywhere).

“Listening […] supports everything you want to do as a leader”

As well as combining Time To Think with the existing Seventh-Wave® programme, finding ‘ways that I can adapt elements within Time To Think to make that experience even more impressive for the delegates’, Stuart places great importance in each of the models the programme contains.

Not only that, when asked which was his favourite, he uncharacteristically chose to ‘sit on the fence’. Having been trained, overseen training, organising training, and now providing the training himself, Stuart recognises that each of the models chosen are integral to becoming a great leader, ‘each one holding its own and adding great value’. But, if he had to be pushed (and he was), Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team is a model that stands out to him. Not only does it tie nicely into the art of listening, it makes it so that the work within a team becomes so effortless that ‘you don’t have to try’. Having experienced both great teams and, as Lencioni put it, more dysfunctional teams, this aspect of leadership is something close to Stuart’s heart.
When he’s not thinking about listening or training the next set of great leaders, Stuart spends his time with family, walking the beautiful Ridgeway National Trail, cooking, and, when it’s sanctioned by the government, playing golf. 2020 may have been a difficult year for many, but for Stuart it has meant more time at home with the people (and dog) he cares about the most, and more time to hone his kitchen skills. He did mention a recipe for a vegan chocolate tart, so it sounds like this practice is certainly paying off.

“Each [model] holds its own and adds great value”

So here we are: our first trainer spotlight blog has come to an end. If this one is anything to go by (which it is, trust me), there will be some amazing trainers’ stories coming up in this series. Like Stuart, each of our trainers have a significant amount of experience under their belts, and passion to boot. We will be back here next week with the next spotlight blog, so stay tuned! For now, though, feel free to get in touch with Stuart if you want to hear more about Seventh Wave or Time To Think – or come to think of it, that vegan chocolate tart recipe.

Find Stuart on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-gillis/