Business Growth & Recruitment Partner
I’ve spent 37 years building businesses, leading people and solving problems.
From boardrooms to building sites, I’ve spent more than 25 years leading and growing businesses, managing £50m+ portfolios and leading teams of 150.
Today, I use that experience to help business owners build stronger leadership and teams, make better hiring decisions and create businesses that depend less on them.
Nicola Anderson
Founder & CEO, Capacity to Grow
Business Performance & Recruitment Partner
About Me
I’m at my best when there’s a problem to solve.
I’ve always been drawn to the bit that doesn’t quite add up the team that isn’t working as well as it should, the manager who isn’t stepping up, the role that doesn’t quite fit, or the opportunity nobody has quite worked out how to pursue.
I’ve had a pretty varied career, working with organisations as diverse as The Telegraph Group, Aberystwyth University and Portakabin, across technology, commercial, operations, leadership, recruitment and business growth.
But whatever the organisation or role, I’ve always been drawn to the same thing, working out what’s really going on and how we fix it.
Today, I work with business owners who need stronger leadership and teams around them, whether that means developing the people they already have, changing how the team is structured, recruiting someone new or simply having an experienced person alongside them to help work out what needs to change.
Most of that work happens through Capacity to Grow.
How I Think
Often, the problem you think you have isn’t the real problem.
A sales problem might actually be a leadership problem.
An underperforming team might be dealing with unclear expectations or accountability.
And before recruiting someone new, it’s worth asking whether another person is actually what the business needs. Could the work be delegated differently? Could AI or automation take some of it away? Or is there genuinely a gap that needs the right person?
I’ve learned not to jump straight to the obvious answer.
I listen, ask questions, look at what’s happening across the business and keep digging until I understand what’s really going on.
Because once you understand the real problem, working out what to do about it becomes a whole lot easier.
What I Do Today
I help business owners build the leadership and teams they need around them.
I work with business owners whose businesses have grown to the point where too much still depends on them.
Sometimes the answer is developing the leaders already in the business. Sometimes it’s strengthening the team, creating clearer ownership and accountability or changing the structure.
Sometimes it’s recruiting the right person into a key role.
And sometimes what they really need is an experienced person alongside them, someone who can see what they can’t when they’re in the middle of it, challenge their thinking and help them make the right decisions.
Most of that work happens through Capacity to Grow and when recruitment is the answer through Recruit to Grow™ my fixed-fee solution to making better hires.
Leadership · Teams · Recruitment · Growth
Speaking & Media
I talk about the realities of growing a business.
Not the polished version. The people problems, difficult decisions, things that don’t go to plan and what it actually takes to build a business that can grow beyond its founder.
I speak about business growth, leadership, teams, performance, recruitment and the changing world of work, drawing on 37 years of experience and plenty of lessons learned along the way.
I’m available for keynotes, panels, podcasts, interviews and business events.
You can listen to my most recent conversations on my YouTube channel.
Topics I Talk About
Business Growth
What changes as a business grows and why what got you here won’t necessarily get you there.
Leadership & Teams
Building capable teams, developing leaders and creating real accountability.
Founder Dependency
Moving from being at the centre of everything to leading a business that doesn’t depend on you.
The Future of Work
AI, technology, changing teams and what businesses need from their people for the future.
Let's Connect
If something in your business isn’t working as well as it should, you’re facing a decision you’d value another perspective on, or you simply want to explore whether I might be the right person to help, let’s start with a conversation.
