We had the good fortune of connecting with Ian Chisholm and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ian, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
For any of us who are practitioners in human dynamics (executive coaching, mediation, negotiation, facilitation, leadership development) this is a complicated question.

We don’t know exactly how the world will call on the skills and mindsets we possess – only that it will. And that when the world needs us to be masterful at something, it will be too late to start practicing. So we practice now and focus on becoming as good at what we do as possible. Our work shapes us – in the same way that we shape it, every time we do it. Hopefully, we will choose practices that shape us to be who we would like to be in the world. For me, I doubt that it will ever end. The last years of my life will represent a time when I am most discerning at what I do. I’d like to be surrounded by the practitioners that I am handing the torch to and maybe even the apprentices that they will pass it on to. I’d like to be facing the kind of daunting challenge that makes us question whether we have what it will take to address it. And I’d like to be surrounded by the kind of laughter that you can only get when you are all ‘in it’ together.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
When Anne-Marie and I returned to Canada from our work in Scotland, we knew we wanted to start our own company. We had worked closely with some remarkable practitioners in Scotland, and sought to emulate the kind of value we saw their work create for their clients. In the event that we had found an existing company that was as passionate about quality as we were, we may have been convinced to get involved.

I was passionate about immersing leaders and teams in coaching skills. Anne-Marie was passionate about immersing them in ways of working with conflict. We wanted to do challenging work and we wanted to learn from everything our clients were facing. We wanted to share what we knew – and to invite our clients to the path of practice.

Quality was more important to us than anything. More important than time, or the discretionary effort that it takes to create it. It was even more important than profit. If you pour your heart into the quality of each and every engagement you do for clients, your work will go from strength to strength – and the rewards will follow. Life is too short for poor quality work. One of our mentors named Robert Henderson had an expression that ‘Great bakers bake great bread.’ It is a reminder to put our focus into the bread – and not worry about our reputation as ‘great bakers’. That too will follow.

Our little company has grown and attracted some exquisite team members. We now have Practice Leads serving enterprise, government, education and social impact client verticals. We have a growing body of thought leadership focused on the threshold between leadership and mentorship. Our work has taken us into combining research, experiential learning, team practice and executive coaching – to create the kinds of team cultures that are unstoppable.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would get them to check the schedule to see if the Horned Frogs had a game. Whenever I come to Fort Worth – there are always two stops on the schedule: Fuzzy’s for margaritas and tacos and The Silver Fox steak house.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I need to acknowledge a very special group of mentors at TCU in Fort Worth.

I first ‘found’ TCU in the early 2000’s when I was working at the Columba 1400 Leadership Centre on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. Then TCU Chancellor Mick Ferrari had introduced the concept of ‘Vision in Action’ – an invitation to everyone who worked at TCU to lead – to carve out some aspect of what the University was capable of and to bring it to life. It was this work that would bring me to work with TCU leaders like former Provost Professor Nowell Donovan, Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross of the Purvis Institute of Child Development. Dr. Mike Slattery at the Institute of Environmental Studies. Dr. Barbara Herman of Student Development. And current Chancellor Victor Boschini. They led/and lead every day.

It is because of them that TCU has a very special place in my heart.

Website: https://roygroup.net

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-chisholm-a64a38/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ijchisholm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ian.j.chisholm

Youtube: The Essence of Roy Group https://youtu.be/WUF5AxWBXiU

Other: Mentorship in Compex Times (2021 Lougheed Lecture). https://vimeo.com/605091570

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