“When I joined the Birmingham City Council team two years ago, there was lots of negative feedback on their own ability in increasing membership sales and income.

I’ve worked for Alliance Leisure for 12 years, and the 20 sites across the city of Birmingham are the most diverse I’ve ever experienced. When I started there were very large sites with lots of casual usage traffic, as well as very small sites with relatively few members.

Initial responsibilities involved coaching managers on the commercial opportunities that were unique to Birmingham – citywide members, caring staff, creative classes, etc. I created an ‘inspiring change’ training module which looked at the role of a GM to inspire and change culture among staff.

I visit Birmingham weekly. At the start of each year, I create an annual support plan with the senior managers to tackle priorities such as marketing, promotions, foundation sales training, customer retention, culture change and customer service.

Tasks and activities vary from week to week. For instance, last week I went out with a small team of very apprehensive staff on an outreach appointment to promote their own leisure centre, and it was rewarding to see the team gradually grow in confidence.

My favourite sessions are still basic foundation sales training as this gives new, inexperienced staff in health and fitness a clear understanding that we’re here to help our customers achieve their goals – that staff are responsible for changing lives. Who wouldn’t want to do that as a job!”