Profile - Paul Flitcroft

I have held executive director, senior management and leadership roles for over 30 years. I enjoy the strategic perspective that comes with this responsibility. I also appreciate the opportunity to deepen cross-functional experience, and most importantly to work with great people. It was this set of experiences that opened the door into consultancy and coaching: to support people and organisations through change, challenge and opportunity.

Applying skills in different contexts is a great way to learn and accelerate development. I have worked for global brands like Barclays and The Guardian, start-up businesses like Compliance & Risks, small charities - SANE, Prisoners Abroad, Brain and Spine Foundation, and large INGOs like VSO.

I’ve worked in B2B and B2C environments – both in the non-profit and private sectors. I’ve prioritised international experience - in Europe, Africa, Australia, Russia, and America. This wide range of cultures and ways of working has been a practical immersion in the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. I value this humanitarian and global perspective.

Self-enquiry has been at the heart of my own journey through change, development, and growth. Self-realisation (self-awareness) is the constant thread of my adult life – exploring the profound questions of existence. This has led to a deep investigation of human consciousness – a living practice that continues to the present.

Being successful is dependent on creativity, emotional intelligence, and enlightened leadership, as much as it is about technical skills. To be creative requires a number of conditions, one of which is being present. I believe in education and lifelong learning - as a professional I wish to be curious and open-minded. This has influenced my career path and decisions to try new things.

My professional formation was Financial Services - B2B sales and account management. In 1990, I moved to California to explore retail and consumer marketing. In 1997, I came back to Europe and set up a consultancy in Florence, Italy. I returned to the UK in 2002 to do an Executive MBA at Ashridge (now Hult International); as well as studying strategy, finance, marketing, operations and HR, I was introduced to coaching and leadership development. During my MBA I went to South Africa and this experience had a profound impact. Post-MBA, I did further consultancy, before working in technology marketing and sales (SaaS).

Psychology, mental health and wellbeing have always held a deep interest. From volunteering at non-profit organisations, I made a career move into the charity world when I joined SANE as Director of Fundraising & Marketing in 2009. I have enjoyed fifteen years with charities and INGOs helping to raise the profile of, and build funds for mental health, human rights, neurology, and ending global poverty. In 2020, I set up Aum-Consult to be able to work on a variety of non-profit and commercial projects.

Formation and Principles

In 1986 (aged 24), I went travelling around the world searching for ‘something’ that I couldn’t define. It would have been accurate to say I was looking for my self (although I didn’t have the self-awareness to see this at the time). I imagined I could find a new way to live and/or escape from the conventional lifestyle I had slept-walked into.

This journey led me to a Fourth Way School in the Gurdjieff-Ouspensky tradition. This system offers the central idea of self-remembering (an advanced form of ‘mindfulness’) i.e. being present to, and a deep acceptance of one’s life as it is.

Self-remembering is a simple and profound idea; it requires a subtle inner shift of awareness and consistent application to bring it alive. This environment promoted deep work on self-knowledge, and the transformation of suffering. I was part of this organisation for 22 years. It’s not easy to find words to describe this inner work on consciousness, acceptance and awareness, perhaps an intense spiritual enquiry and deep psychotherapy might touch some of the experience (much of which occurred while I lived in a semi-closed monastic environment in California).

My spirituality now focuses on Vedanta, Yoga and Ayurveda. In Eastern philosophy, we encounter the concept of a householder; a person who works to support themselves and their family, serve society and follow a spiritual path. For the last thirty five years I have lived this householder lifestyle. Being in leadership and management roles has provided a rich context for learning e.g. understanding my empath and intuitive nature, and developing emotional intelligence. It also created a strong desire to build environments where people feel creative, purposeful, and fulfilled.

I find spiritual practice an effective way to embrace the challenges of management, leadership and living a fulfilling life. We have to appreciate the human body/mind/spirit is a complex system. Our ‘issues’ reside in the physical body and the subtle (energetic) body. This means we have to apply a range of techniques - practices like meditation, mindfulness, breath work (pranayama) and body work (asana yoga postures). Good diet, nutrition and rest are also crucial, as are networks of friendship and creative pastimes. This 'whole person’ strategy builds a deep feeling of connection and inner calm/stillness, combined with a strong sense of being in ‘the right place’, ‘doing the right thing’.

Although I am a qualified teacher of meditation, pranayama and postures, I prefer the term ‘guide’. I integrate these authentic practices into coaching and development programmes, along with the principles of Ayurveda. These ancient sciences – of consciousness, mind and body – have profound relevance today for performance, wellbeing, contentment and love – of ourselves and other people.