Gymshark | How CEO Ben Francis' dramatic leadership journey set him up for success

Leadership development is a pressing concern in many businesses.

In 2019, InfoProLearning found that 77% of companies were experiencing worrying gaps in their leadership development. This is the case despite 83% of employers believing that developing leaders at all stages was ‘crucial’. Even more concerning is the revelation that just five per cent of businesses are actually implementing what they believe to be effective training.

But what is ‘effective’ training? It’s undeniable that the leadership skillset is as broad as it is specific to the function, meaning that many may not be able to see the gaps in their knowledge. Identifying flaws in your own skillsets takes both introspection, and a very honest internal conversation that, it seems at least from the above statistics, many don’t have.

And for those wondering what this personal development looks like when put into practise, there are few cases as inspirational than that of Gymshark Co-Founder Ben Francis.