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Kevin Hoult, Partner at Sagars - DLiP participant

Author: Learning and Professional Development

Published: 07 Jun 2021

Kevin Hoult, Partner at Sagars provides his account on why he chose to enrol on ICAEW's Developing Leadership in Practice (DLiP™) programme.

Kevin Hoult

Partner,Sagars

Kevin works at Sagars with over nineteen years’ experience in practice. Now a partner, he talks to ICAEW on the benefits of a training programme that helped him find out what kind of partner he could be.

“DLiPTM was brilliant for me. I loved it. I thought it was very good for the people it was aimed at, like senior managers wanting to progress and move into partnership.”

“Everyone will get something different out of it, but for me, the main benefit was increasing confidence in who I am. It was a real journey because it changed my outlook on how I saw myself. It took the course for me to realise that I should focus on developing my own style as a leader, and not on emulating other partners.”

“I did get promoted as a partner after the course. DLiP™ helped me prepare for the change in role but mostly helped me in wanting it. I learnt to embrace the role as a way to help others progress, to manage and develop a team."

“Personally, and as a firm, we are very grateful for the support of the trainer and team at ICAEW in our bespoke manager development programme. The feedback process, which we have implemented since, has really made positive changes to how we work with our clients – and each other. The way the trainer delivered it, the way she challenged us, and the way she supported us was fantastic. We were involved all the way through. I was a bit doubtful beforehand when it came to soft skills, but I have been converted into the positives it can bring.”