#BWSMAGAZINE
HOW TO LIVE
YOUR LEGACY
Jayne and Jo MacLennan are Mother and
Daughter and also Joint Managing Directors of
MacLennan Norman - a bespoke consultancy
organisation based in Edinburgh delivering to
clients within the private, charity and public
sector across the UK. MacLennan Norman
officially launched in 2016 with Jo solely at the
helm and Jayne joining the year after.
Jayne opens: “People often ask us the reason
why we went into business together and our
answer is that we want to live a fulfilling life and at
the same time help others to do the same – that
way we can not only create but we can live our
legacy. Most people think about leaving a legacy
- but we are determined to live ours, now.”
Jo recounts when she heard the statistic that the
average person is alive on this earth for 4,000
weeks. It challenged her to think about what she
has done so far to ensure she is living her legacy.
“Hearing this was a turning point to consider what
I really wanted to do with my career and life.”
Jayne begins: “We wanted to build a different
type of life, one where we are able to empower
ourselves and others which extends to offering
an alternative approach to how business issues
are solved. Alongside our independent and busy
careers Jo and I trained as mediators and it would
be no exaggeration to say that this changed the way
we approached and engaged with others, seeking
to understand how relationships can easily break
down, not only by not communicating but through
not listening properly.”
Jo goes on to explain: “We then trained as executive
coaches which further deepened our understanding
of how important the role of emotional intelligence
plays in influencing behaviours. In addition, in
the field of transformational change feeling
fundamentally valued is, not only personally but
from an organisational perspective is absolutely
critical to success both in the short and long
term. We had both witnessed organisations that
had gone through change processes to varying
degrees of success and we knew that there was
a need for a different, more personalised and
creative techniques. Our approach is strategic and
challenging but also collaborative and focused on
creating the right solution for that particular client,
not just a generic option then leaving before the
problem is resolved. The common feature however
in all our work is that we address how people and
their behaviours will influence both the solution
and the right outcome.
6