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Rebecca Mander
Executive Coach | Founder of award-winning business, GuruYou
Executive Coach | Founder of award-winning business, GuruYou
Rebecca Mander is the Founder of the award-winning coaching business, GuruYou. Previously the Managing Director of a global consumer goods company, Rebecca led the UK subsidiary from a loss, following the economic crisis, into a ÂŁ14m turnover. Her unique leadership style gained her a fellowship with the Institute of Leadership and Management.  Rebeccaâs time in leadership brought both professional challenges and personal hardship, including the loss of her son and mother. Motivated by her experiences, in 2014  she decided to retrain at Warwick University as an executive coach and now specialises in supporting senior leaders through personal setbacks.
Rebeccaâs clients include some of the Top 50 law firms in the UK. In a sector that can bring stress and challenge to its employees, she is highly valued for her straightforward honest approach, compassion and understanding. Her 15 years of board-level experience, combined with her accredited skills in executive coaching, make a winning combination.
Rebecca is an accomplished speaker and a specialist in career confidence, sharing her story to inspire career resilience. Rebecca is also the author of the award-winning Bounce Forward Resilience programme and will be launching a podcast to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of GuruYou.
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Choosing Resilience: A Journey Through Loss and Leadership
Rebecca Mander shares her deeply personal journey of navigating immense tragedy while maintaining her career and leadership roles. In 2007, as a Sales Director returning from maternity leave, Rebecca faced the unimaginable loss of her 13-month-old son, Charlie. Devastated and questioning her faith, she made a pivotal decision not to let this tragedy define her.
Rebecca recounts how, despite the overwhelming grief, she chose victor over victim, leaning on her faith, family, and friends for strength. Shortly after, she suffered another devastating blow with the sudden loss of her mother. Yet again, she was confronted with a choice â whether to succumb to despair or continue moving forward.
Taking over as Managing Director of her family’s business during the financial crisis, Rebecca faced more life-changing choices, and challenges, including gender biases and the pressures of leadership. She chose to lead with integrity, honesty, and trust, ultimately turning the company around.
Rebeccaâs talk is a powerful testament to the choices we make in the face of adversity. Her journey illustrates how resilience, faith, and support can transform personal and professional setbacks into opportunities for growth and empowerment.
Learning Outcomes
- Charlieâs Star©: Rebeccaâs own coaching tool to help her audience move through challenge or out of oneâs comfort zone.
- Stephen Coveyâs Circle of Influence: Consider how we can focus on how we can take a proactive approach to our challenges and choose to be accountable for the outcomes.
- Resilience in Adversity: Understanding how to cultivate resilience in the face of personal and professional setbacks.
- The Power of Choice: Recognizing the impact of choices in shaping outcomes during challenging times, and learning how to make empowered decisions.
- Balancing Career and Personal Life: Gaining insights into managing career responsibilities while navigating personal tragedies, and how to seek and accept support.
- Leadership Through Trust and Integrity: Learning the importance of leading with honesty, trust, and integrity, and how these values contribute to building strong, effective teams.
- The Role of Faith and Support Systems: Appreciating the role of faith, family, and friends in overcoming adversity and maintaining mental and emotional well-being.
- Transforming Setbacks into Growth: Understanding how to turn personal and professional challenges into opportunities for growth and empowerment.
- Empathy and Compassion in Leadership: Developing an awareness of how leaders can create supportive work environments by being open about their own struggles and showing compassion to others.
This session can be adapted to a length of the client’s choosingÂ
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Chelsea Ireland, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust
Rebecca Mander FInstLM you rung home how we all have a choice, and no matter how hard life may test us at times we have the choice on how we decide to move forward. I have never listened to someone speak the way you do, I couldnât help but be so invested in every word.
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Partner, Wright Hassall
Rebeccaâs workshop was inclusive and interactive and her warm, empathetic approach is a real tonic to those of us who work in a demanding environment. She encouraged us to think about how we can better support ourselves in a hectic world and how focusing on the ânowâ reduces stress and anxiety. As lawyers, we often feel we need to âget on with itâ and rarely do we take the time out for ourselves or seek support when we need it. We now have better tools and techniques to cope with stressful situations thanks to Rebecca (which I personally put into practice within 24 hours!) and we certainly look forward to seeing her again! I would recommend her to anyone who works in a demanding, stressful working environment.
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Michelle Beat, Business Development Director, Irwin Mitchell
I was so inspired from just being on the phone with Rebecca for half an hour planning the webinar- I couldnât wait to get it out there for our clients!Â
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F. Sadiqhui, Wesleyan
Thank you for delivering such a life changing course! I will never turn down any opportunities going forward after such a sad but inspiring insight to your story that really reinforced it . My imposter and negative thoughts will be left behind by using evidence to overcome this.