Build the Engine
DARA LAWLOR - MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT & EXECUTIVE COACH

You're running a medium-sized business on the engine of a small one

I work with founders, MDs and senior leaders whose business has outgrown the way they run it.

Where organisations become over-reliant on one person

When an organisation depends too much on the leader, it is usually for three reasons.

Behaviour at the top
The leader becomes the system

1
You're on the phone at half six in the morning, sorting out something your team should already be handling. Every decision and relationship runs through you.

Strategic thinking
Direction lives in one place

2
The business grew by taking whatever came along. Ask three people what it stands for and you'll get three answers. The plan is in your head.

Execution
Results depend on whoever steps up

3
Your good people stay late and plug the gaps. It works, until one of them leaves and you end up doing their job.

Until you deal with these issues, all progress depends on one person staying close to everything.

Better clients, bigger contracts and stronger people go to businesses built to compete for them.

Stop Reacting.
Start Building.

A Quick Diagnostic

Here is a simple scorecard aligned to the issues above.

It will help you step back and see what is actually going on.

TAKE THE TEST

Where to start

You don't have to fix everything at once. Each of these stands alone or can lead into a bigger piece of work.

1

Decide what you are building

THE STRATEGIC PATHFINDER

A session with your senior team to clarify the objectives and the decisions you need to make.
Learn more »

2

See where you stand

The Organisational Diagnostic

A structured assessment of how the organisation really operates, looking at behaviour and execution to surface the gaps in capability.
Learn more »

3

Understand how you win work

The Business Development Review

A close look at your pipeline, process and proposals, plus interviews with your people, to find where you are losing revenue.
Learn more »

WAYS TO START

My background

I'm Dara Lawlor, a management consultant and executive coach.

For more than 20 years I've worked with established businesses in technology, telecommunications, financial services, media, engineering and events.

I help leaders build the structure and judgement to turn their business into something that can run, and grow, without them.

Most of the time the business is viable, the people are solid and there's real potential. But the structure underneath hasn't kept up with the ambition.

It usually comes down to three things: getting the leader out of the middle of everything, getting clear on where the business is really going and building the systems so it doesn't need them for every decision.

Outside work, I train and race as a triathlete. Preparation, discipline and knowing what matters under pressure guide how I approach my work.

Dara Lawlor
Dara Lawlor

If this is familiar, let's talk

I work with a small number of organisations at any one time.  

A short conversation is usually enough to decide whether it makes sense to take things further.

GET IN TOUCH

Testimonials

Dara has been working one-to-one with a number of my senior team over the last year and a half. He has steadily built their leadership capabilities and as a result has accelerated their careers – some to the extent that they are now ready to assume even more responsibility. I highly recommend him.

Stephen Murphy
Head of Service Delivery, Circet Ireland & UK

Dara has been working with key members of our team, equipping them with new levels of confidence and preparing them for the next levels of responsibility within our small organisation. His work has been seminal, both for the individuals concerned, and their contribution to our company’s future. I unreservedly recommend him as an empathetic coach who helps professionals clarify personal mission and vision, find and focus their mojo and, ultimately, make a difference.

Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner
SoolNua

Dara was a port in a storm as I began a new role in a new industry. He was quick to engage and establish a relationship of trust and support. Every time we met he steered me through known and unknown issues at hand, and helped me move forward with tangible plans and confidence. His own wealth of senior experience in people, projects and challenges was a key differentiator as a coach and I would thoroughly recommend him.

Senior Executive
Government Agency

I gave Dara an employee who showed great potential but who lacked an understanding of the mechanisms of business. He gave me back a probable leader who has taken the lid off her perceived limitations and grown in stature in the eyes of those who matter to her career progression.

Kieran Killeen, Managing Director
Marketing Network Group

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