11 Self-Managing Teams, Reflective Leadership & Why Relationships Beat Ads Alastair Robertson Artwork

What One Thing?

One business. One lesson. Every week.

Real businesses. Real stories. Real-time.

What One Thing? is the straight-talking weekly podcast for growing UK businesses with a team who are on the move — building, scaling, and figuring it out as they go.

Join co-hosts Hayley Baxter (Corbar Accounting) and Phil Davenport (Affirm IT) as they chat with fellow business owners and share their own lessons from the journey — the things they wish they'd known, the wins, the wobbles, and the one thing that made the biggest difference.

Each episode is 15–25 minutes of real-world insight, a few laughs, and practical takeaways to help you grow a better business — without the fluff.

🎙️ Expect:

Honest interviews with business owners on the grow
Topic episodes on key business challenges
Straight answers, no jargon
One clear lesson, every week

👀 Also on YouTube — because yes, it’s filmed too.
📍 Based in Derbyshire, speaking to businesses across the UK.

New episodes every week — follow to catch the next one.

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What One Thing?

11 Self-Managing Teams, Reflective Leadership & Why Relationships Beat Ads Alastair Robertson

September 10, 2025 • Phil Davenport and Hayley Baxter

In this episode of What One Thing, hosts Phil Davenport and Hayley Baxter interview Alastair Robertson (Supportive Solutions & CB Training). Alastair shares how he scaled to 34 people by prioritising self-sufficient contractors, using a simple outcome-focused review after every project, and building pipeline through relationships rather than advertising.

We cover:

Contractor-led delivery models and expectation setting
Turning mistakes into marginal gains (the Dyson approach)
Resilience and emotional intelligence for leaders
Relationship-first selling for B2B/B2C training services
Alastair’s one thing: invest in relationships with clients, prospects and your team

Ideal listeners: Owner-managers and directors of 5–50 person firms aiming to grow without adding managerial complexity.

Call to action: If this helped, please follow the show and share it with a business owner who’d benefit.

Alastair Robertson
Managing Director, Supportive Solutions Ltd & CB-Training by Supportive Solutions
www.supportivesolutions.co.uk | www.cb-training.com

Connect with Phil & Hayley
https://corbar.uk/
https://affirmit.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayley-baxter-/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-davenport-affirmit/

Time-Stamped Topics

00:00 Intro & context
00:28 Alastair’s background
00:47 Team structure (employees + contractors)
01:21 Ownership, acquisition & merger
02:35 Why work for yourself; neurodiversity
04:34 Hands-off management and standards
09:21 Learning from mistakes; Dyson example
11:15 Reflective practice: outcome-focused reviews
13:58 Resilience & EQ
17:31 Practical tools: reading, marginal gains, avoiding cognitive dissonance
25:36 Winning clients via relationships
29:07 What One Thing: relationships first
33:54 What’s next & ideal client
38:21 How to connect
39:06 Host reflections

What One Thing Podcast – with Phil & Hayley

Each week, business owners share the one thing that made the biggest difference in their business journey — and hosts Phil (Affirm IT Services) and Hayley (Corbar Accounting) dive into the lessons, laughs, and lightbulb moments along the way.

If you’re a UK business owner looking for real stories and practical insights on growth, leadership, IT, and finance — this is the podcast for you!

Connect with the hosts

Phil Davenport | Affirm IT Services
LinkedIn
https://affirmit.co.uk/

Hayley Baxter | Corbar Accounting
LinkedIn
https://corbar.uk/

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