About

About Cultivated Management and Rob Lambert

Over the course of our lives we spend around 90,000 hours at work - Cultivated is here to help you get the most from these hours. 

My name is Rob and I run Cultivated.

Cultivated is about personal growth and organisational improvement, with learning being at the heart of both.


“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

We help people and organisations unlock their full potential by putting learning and development at the heart of everything we do.

We empower individuals to grow in their careers, while helping organisations improve their management practices, communication, and creativity.

When it all comes together we get smooth and rapid delivery of business goals and an organisation that enriches the lives of all who work in it. Oh yes, you get employee engagement for free too.

Individuals

You will find courses, books, blog posts, podcasts and videos centred around learning, creativity and communication. 

My goal is to help you get the most from your 90,000 hours and advance your career by developing high performing behaviours in business, communication, creativity, and critical thinking, with a focus on lifelong learning and professional growth

Companies

Many of the courses on this site will help your leaders and managers, but Cultivated also offers management coaching, training and consulting

We work with organisations to build better workplaces by improving management practices, enhancing communication, and fostering creativity, all through a foundation of continuous learning.

We help you move smoothly and quickly towards your business goals (something we call Releasing Agility) whilst cultivating a positive, engaged, creative and learning organisation that enriches the lives of all who work in it (retention). 


Three Key Themes

(1) Learning (and teaching)

Learning (and teaching) is at the heart of everything we do. Not rigid, rote learning but dynamic learning that grows and shifts as your business does too. This is personal on-going development and a learning organisation.

Cultivate - "improve by labour or study, devote one's attention to".

(2) Creativity, Communication, and Critical Thinking

I often say that 99% of problems in business are due to ineffective communication and a lack of critical thinking. I’m likely not far from the truth.

That’s why we focus on developing creative problem-solving, strong communication skills, and critical thinking.

"All problems are interpersonal problems" - Alfred Adler

(3) Management and Leadership Improvement

Our broader mission is to cultivate managers fit for now, and the future. We help organisations transform the work culture through better management practices, communication, and decision-making.

In all of our work we aim to be supportive, inspiring and pragmatic. Our advice is instantly actionable and is supported by evidence, scientific research and experience. 


Resources


Cultivated Management has been helping clients in telco, mobile, oil and gas, energy, professional services and finance for over 10 years now.

The founder, Rob Lambert, has held various roles including Vice President of HR, Vice President of Software Engineering (twice) and Interim CIO. He is also an award winning communication trainer, writer, Media Scientist and experienced consultant and coach.



Here's a few short snippets about me.

Short “About Rob” snippets

  • Built a “frighteningly agile” team named “UK top start-ups to watch in 2017”.
  • Built a team voted “Best companies to work for 3 years running”.
  • Took the team (DevOps) from Investment to successful sale
  • Vice President of HR
  • Vice President of Engineering (twice)
  • Vice President of Agility
  • Interim CIO
  • My HR Team was described as the ”least evil HR team ever” (A compliment I believe)
  • CIPD Level 5 HR practitioner (no longer a paid member of CIPD)
  • Blogger, podcaster, keynote presenter, writer
  • Former newspaper editor and journalist
  • Coach and trainer
  • Author of several books on leadership, career management, management, agile and squirrels
  • Husband and Father to three boys
  • Media Scientist obsessed with mixed media storytelling – and fast cars

Values.

Creativity – creativity is a core value. I like to create, bring together seemingly disparate ideas and come up with new potential futures. If your company is exceptional, then creativity is essential to stand out. Why copy when you can create? If your company is exceptional, then you should be an exception...

Humour and Playfulness – tied to the above – there’s fun to be had. After all, if we’re not having fun with it – we should be done with it. Better futures rarely manifest without energy, joy and engagement

Appreciation of Excellence – there is excellence all around. We often just need to learn to see it – and then appreciate it. Or create it.

Do no Harm – the advice and support provided through Cultivated Management should lead to no harm if you implement it. There’s some shady advice out there from people who are simply spouting theory – our advice is grounded in evidence.

Critical Thinking – I don't take theories and platitudes on face value. I apply a critical eye to get to the heart and essence.

Inclusivity – I am HR qualified and spent years as a VP in HR, I therefore blend a bias for action with a bias to cultivate great workplaces. My work should also be accessible and relevant to a diverse audience. I make content for people from all walks of life – everyone.

Curiosity – at the heart of all I do is curiosity. Is there a better way to do something? How does this thing work? How can we get better? What futures are more interesting? Curiosity ripples through all that I share and do.

Accuracy – I show you how I do my work, how I come to conclusions, how I research and how I form the ideas I share. I use data where data exists. I aim to be accurate in all that I share.


Cultivated Charity

I believe ALL organisations exist to serve the greater purpose of society. Mine is no different.

I believe very strongly that every person (and animal) has the right to the best quality of life they can, even if that life may be short.

That’s why we donate 5% of all profit from products and affiliate links to charity.

2.5% always goes to Naomi House – a hospice in Winchester for life-limited children and their parents.

The other 2.5% goes to a different charity each year.

  • 2015 – Unicef (complete)
  • 2016 – Pencils of Promise (complete)
  • 2017 – Saving Linnea (complete)
  • 2018 – WWF (complete)
  • 2019 – Naomi House (complete) – Full 5% this year.
  • 2020 – British Heart Foundation (complete)
  • 2021 – Shelter Box (complete)
  • 2022 – Naomi House (complete)
  • 2023 – Become and Naomi House
  • 2024 - TBD

Thank you for reading this far 😄