Who are we?
“Leadership is not an event, but rather a full contact sport practiced on a day-to-day basis with real human beings, not an academic study in theories or models only talked about. True leadership is all about responsibility, influence, service and stewardship.”
Orange and Blue UK provides leadership development programmes, executive coaching and apprenticeships alongside profiling and assessment services to the wider business community. It is the culmination of over 20 years of practical experience, delivery, and customer service experience in the training sector of its two directors, Mark & Nicky Tonks.
Mark spent 20 years working in engineering and surface coating prior to establishing his first training consultancy, alongside Nicky, as part of the global Leadership Management International team, a worldwide business excelling in leadership development.
Born out of his passion for seeing people achieve more both personally and professionally Mark quickly established himself as one of the leading regional directors and holds a position within LMI’s global Presidents Honours Club which recognises the most successful LMI directors around the world. Leadership Management International was established in 1966 by Paul J. Meyer and is now active in over 80 countries with programmes translated into 28 languages and over 2 million clients.
Mark loves sport, especially rugby, football, and cricket, listening to rock and blues music, reading about people in leadership roles, learning more about leadership, motivation, success, life, exercising, hit training, walking, travelling, helping others succeed. A frustrated blues guitarist and golfer.
“If you want to work with a business professional who really knows his stuff ~ a consumate professional who delivers what he promises, to the highest standard, then look no further than Mark. As a training professional and a professional facilitator - he is of the highest calibre and as a colleague he is a real gentleman. Highly recommended”
Nicky enjoys watching most sports and participates in Yoga, Qigong and Pilates, enjoys walking, travelling, films, musical theatre, reading historical novels, life stories, DIY, gardening and is a partner in a successful MLM business.
Having survived a life threatening health scare in 2015 Mark began a self-improvement process as a means to aid his recovery, and in 2016 graduated from the UK College of Personal Development with a Business & Life Coaching Diploma as well as an NLP Practitioner Certificate.
To compliment and improve the overall service provision, Prevue HR profiling, job fit benchmarking and assessments were added to the portfolio in 2016 enabling clients to improve their recruitment, staff development and retention as well as helping with succession planning and company growth.
Responsible for all aspects on business administration Nicky takes care of the important processes behind the scenes that enable the organisation to function smoothly. Having had a career in office administration, sales support, document management, retail and the care sector Nicky also heads up the assessment, job benchmarking and profiling processes within Orange and Blue as well as acting as an “in house” resource for many of Orange and Blue UK’s profiling clients.
“We have used the services of Orange and Blue in the last 12 months to profile potential new staff and the results have been fantastic, there response has always been extremely fast and to date has been extremely accurate. I would highly recommend the profiling service offered by Orange and Blue as we now see it as the final piece of the jigsaw in the recruitment process”
Michelle brings a laser focus to understanding and meeting business needs, particularly when it comes to leadership. After 20 years in the housing sector, Michelle took her talent in coaching individuals, teams and organisations to navigate complexities and thrive personally and professionally.
Experienced in supporting remote workers for over 10 years, Michelle’s golden characteristic is her ability to generate enthusiasm and optimism in others, she is influential in challenging the status quo to create fresh vision. Michelle will help you develop insights and actions for strategies and actions to achieve growth, potential and satisfaction.
Michelle is an avid nature lover and enjoys exploring the nearby AONB (Cannock Chase) with its varying fauna, flora and migrating birds along with her two miniature schnauzers. Michelle is a voracious readers who also enjoys experimenting and getting creative.
“Our focus is to always help identify and deliver measurable business and personal improvement results for every client. 94% of our clients have come from introduction and recommendation over, a 20-year period, and by focusing on measurable outcomes around 75% return time and again for additional support. We’re working on the 25% that don't!”
JT enjoys pop music, horror movies and listening to podcasts...about pop music and horror movies; there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure.
JT is a London-based actor and screenwriter, having worked professionally on stage and screen for the past ten years. His time as an actor has provided the opportunity to travel, taking him from London's West End to Los Angeles, Vancouver, Cape Town, Malaysia and more, while his more recent work in screenwriting has created exciting opportunities within the world of film.
As an independent creative artist, JT has developed a keen understanding of personal branding and promotion and as Head of Social Media & Marketing, JT is excited to implement these skills into the Orange and Blue UK organisation.
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- Compared to the 50+ courses I have taken in my career so far, this is by far the most transformative. From strategies to effectively manage time on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to understanding how to organise priorities in both professional and personal realms - the results have been priceless."
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From working in 29 countries over 32 years of running her business, Lorna’s passion for Communication Skills Training & Coaching saw her launch the Lichfield Speakers Club some 16 years ago - taking her role in the business world into her leisure time.
Her expertise in speaking and presentation skills has seen her work across all types and sizes of corporate, commercial, charity and public sector organisation, as well as interesting opportunities such as the Krugersdorp Correctional Facility in South Africa.
Lorna sees communication not just as a fundamental business skill but equally as important a way of building self-belief, confidence and self-image on an individual level.
A great lover of writing humorous articles, Lorna also has a passion for American crime movies.