Best Leadership Development Business Leader 2023 (East of England): Nigel Hughes
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The further we step into the digital age, the more we start to disconnect from one another. It becomes far easier to approach certain methods of development through technological means, as opposed to face to face. Whilst this may be convenient for most, it starts to strip away our ability to connect with one another on a more holistic level. Enter Nigel Hughes, multi-award-winning CEO of Outstanding.Global, who has set his sights on reminding us how beautiful being human really is.
Based in a small cottage in the East of England, Outstanding.Global has been at the forefront of encouraging big changes in the aspiring leaders of tomorrow. By adopting a holistic approach towards leadership development, the company managed to break down the process into its fundamental pieces, and adapt these pieces into an uplifting, empowering form of tutelage that’s wholly focused on preparing clients for the next steps in their career. As a result, it’s fostered an all-encompassing experience through open-hearted leadership programmes, through which people of all backgrounds, races, and genders can become the best versions of themselves.
Outstanding.Global doesn’t believe in solutions to which individuals are expected to adapt – instead, it seeks to reinvent itself in order to suit the client. It ventures into every level of self, and utilises the modules that it’s developed to create a tangible scenario that’s fully catered to individual needs. Whether this is a female client looking to break the glass ceiling, or someone simply struggling to amplify their own voice, Outstanding.Global deploys an experience that dares individuals to be bold. This, in turn, promotes a very humanised approach towards leadership development, a counter to the rise of technology.
It’s thanks to Nigel’s ingenious leadership development strategy that Outstanding.Global has been able to touch the lives of so many throughout its four-year lifespan. He’s been at the forefront of overseeing each individual method that the collective takes towards assisting its clients, all to ensure a holistic approach through ‘bringing inspiration from life, business, and The Arts’. As such, Outstanding.Global has managed to encourage clients to make the transition from past to present, in the hopes that they can go on to create their own future using the skills that Outstanding.Global has equipped them with. Nigel places a resounding faith in every individual he meets, tirelessly working to encourage them to be ‘the master of their creativity, and to become outstanding’.
However, Nigel’s dedication to his clients is just the beginning. In addition to his relentless pursuit of holistic teaching on a global scale, he has gone above and beyond to represent exactly what a leader should look like. One that, before the conversation of environmental and rainforest protection became a hot topic, was already taking action to build the foundations of change. One that, through daring to trust his dream despite the challenges faced, has overcome language barriers, cultural clashes, and the divide between nature and capitalism, has fostered brilliance again and again on a monumental scale. Nigel’s story is one that’s filled to the brim with resilience, which has allowed him to transfer his skills and experience to those around him.
Nigel is a strong believer in the notion that leadership is everywhere, no matter who you are. Anyone can lead at any given moment, but sometimes a little assistance may be necessary in order to truly refine what it means to become a leader. Nigel created Outstanding.Global for those who need a little guidance in their leadership development journey to excel in a loving and uplifting environment. All of us have an inner leader, and Outstanding.Global is at the ready to help each person uncover their true potential in the most holistic way possible.
Of course, it wasn’t an easy process to get Outstanding.Global to the point that it finds itself in today. It was born from Nigel’s adventures with his husband Ric, travelling to Papua New Guinea in search of primary rainforest. Here, their belief in global kinship helped forge lifelong bonds with the people of the East Sepik. Together, they fought to protect the virgin rainforest and their friendship ultimately led to the founding of Green Light Trust. This Environmental Education Charity was the first big step that Nigel took towards recognising that he had the ability to make a difference for the better, and it’s this epiphany that laid the groundwork for Outstanding.Global’s inception.
It was due to this period of Nigel’s life that he was able to determine each element of leadership with which Outstanding.Global operates today. His experiences and learnings have acted as a cornerstone for his practices, throughout which he not only conquered sustainable operations when founding a new HQ for Green Light Trust, but managed to win The Foundry the RIBA East 2006 Innovation and Sustainability Reward as a direct result of his carbon-neutral approach towards building. Nigel has always been dedicated towards achieving the best for people and the planet as a harmonious unit, and this is clearly showcased throughout his wealth of experience in making our world a better place.
Following over 30 years of working within both corporate and NGO sectors, Nigel quickly came to understand his own definition of a leader. His principles have since been explored, tested, challenged, and reinforced along his personal journey, and the result is what we see today in Outstanding.Global. Thanks to his guidance, the collective has managed to strike the perfect balance between effectiveness, humanisation, and versatility. Though times and markets may be changing, Nigel is committed to ensuring that Outstanding.Global remains true to what it believes in, all whilst delivering on its promise of exceptional leadership development.
Nigel Hughes truly is a remarkable individual. His unwavering love for being the best version of himself, all whilst assisting others in discovering their potential, is simply astounding to witness in practice. He utilises all of his best qualities to help forge the leaders of tomorrow. He listens, understands, and goes above and beyond for both people and the planet alike. Refusing to back down from a challenge, he’s found himself in a staggeringly influential position, where his kind-hearted values are able to truly shine through the people that he supports. We’re very proud to present Nigel with this award title, and we’re beyond excited to see how his unbreakable moral compass continues to invite brilliance into the world.
