For 30 years I’ve worked with senior leaders around the world, both as a coach and a trainer. I’ve built up a good deal of compassion for these people over that time, for what I see as the universal challenges that come with the job – balancing being a really good leader of people with the day to day demands of the job. The KPIs, the tasks, the accumulated technical expertise they’re being asked to delegate in favour of being strategic; yet feeling their job security depends on delivering concrete results - now.
When it comes to leadership development, most have read the books, attended the training and been through the programmes. In other words, the theory of what leadership excellence looks like has been well and truly drummed into them.
Yet they know there are aspects of their leadership which are still not serving them. At least those who are self-aware, of course. They recognise there are behaviours that need to be modified, or skills they don’t feel they have the time or the means to really to work on.
What they really want is a mechanism in which they can build specific leadership ‘muscle groups’ at pace, that they currently don’t work enough.
They need a personal trainer, not a tutor.
That’s exactly what we offer in our 1:1 Skills Workouts.
Time is a precious commodity when you are a senior leader. And learning alongside a room full of peers can sometimes feel like maintaining reputation and ‘looking competent’ is the unspoken priority.
Which is why for some time now we’ve been offering an alternative approach to supporting senior leadership development – that of 1:1 skills practice.
What a relief it is to be able to take the mask off and work in a way that gets results, fast. Working 1:1 increases psychological safety, but it also enables us to up the challenge in a very productive way. The spotlight is well and truly on you, and we drill down on what is specifically applicable to your needs. It’s about helping you push yourself in a way where you feel the difference in the moment, and where growth is tangible.
So how does it work?
If we draw a parallel between a Skills Practitioner and a Personal Trainer, what do they both do?
- They watch your technique.
- They spot what’s not working.
- They give you precise feedback.
- They get you to re-run it until it improves.
- Your improvement builds your confidence.
- Your confidence drives motivation.
- Your motivation drives results.
Why it works (and why it works fast)
Most senior leaders already know what “good” looks like.
But in the moment, under pressure, in conflict, in an emotional conversation, or when nerves kick in, it can be difficult to perform as you intended. Repeated practice and feedback in a safe environment helps lock in new habits.
And that’s the difference. When you work with a skills practitioner the conditions in which you practice feel real, so you respond as you would in the situation you’re preparing for. Our 1:1 skills team bring a particular set of skills and experiences to the table. I realise I sound like Liam Neeson when I say this and, of course, he offers an altogether different service!
What are those skills and experiences?
One thing is an acting background, where the study of behaviour and the impact it has is a passion that has become an expertise. It’s not just about feeling comfortable with creating a sense of reality for others, it’s about being obsessed with the minutiae of body language, tone and words. That obsession provides the basis of being able to give specific and concrete feedback, an essential part of the process.
The second is years of experience in learning and development, understanding the theory of what good leadership and communication looks like – being able to call upon these theories and models and bring them to life. We have a deep knowledge of how businesses operate and how people in the workplace interact. The universal challenges that every leader comes up against when working with colleagues, clients and customers.
We also have the privilege of working with some excellent leaders, who in turn we learn from.
If I say so myself, it’s a potent mix that gives practice and rehearsal an edge that is difficult to replicate.
Practicing skills in conditions that feel real, leads to rapid development. Even relatively small changes in our approach can make a big difference.
- Change the way you open a conversation, and you change the outcome.
- Change your tone, and you change the relationship.
- Change your pacing, and you change your authority.
- Change one sentence, and you change someone’s willingness to engage.
Trust and vulnerability
Because I ask people to put themselves on the line, Skills Workouts only work if trust is established quickly. That’s on me. It’s critical clients know that I’m wholeheartedly there for them and what is said and done, stays in the room. No judgement here.
My number one goal is to help you get where you want to be. Humility, warmth, humour and a demonstration that we will adapt to your needs always, goes a long way too.
It does require leaders to be willing to be vulnerable because the work is a great leveller. It pays less attention to seniority and more attention to behaviour. It doesn’t matter if you’re a CEO or a new director, if the behaviour isn’t working, it isn’t working.
And in a 1:1 setting, there’s no audience to impress. No peers to compete with. No hidden hierarchy games. No politicking. Just you and the skill.
In the nicest possible way, it cuts through all that nonsense - that’s why it works. And it’s also why it can feel liberating. So many senior leaders are starved of spaces where they can be honest. They spend a lot of time managing impressions.
This work gives them an environment where they don’t have to pretend.
The method: practice, feedback, reflection, re-runs
Sessions are highly interactive.
After getting clear on outcomes, we usually start with a real scenario, not theory.
It might be:
- An upcoming challenging conversation
- A feedback moment you’ve been avoiding
- A negotiation
- A high stakes meeting
- A presentation
- A conversation with a peer
- A conflict within the leadership team
- An influencing moment with stakeholders
Then we choose one or two key skills to focus on.
And then we rehearse. We run the conversation or the key message. I give very specific feedback, not generalities.
Not:
“That was great, just be more confident.”
But:
“Try going half the pace and remove the filler words I’m hearing, specifically ‘like’, ‘um’, ‘so’. They’re undermining your authority. Here’s the challenge, every time you do we go back to the beginning”.
Then we run it again.
Like an athlete drilling a technique or a musician repeating a passage until it becomes natural.
That’s what builds confidence: competence.
Then we work on the next skill and so forth.
The hidden barriers: assumptions leak through language
Another key part of the work is unblocking the assumptions leaders carry about themselves.
I often hear phrases like: “I’m not good at being direct.” “I can’t think on my feet”. “I’m not the kind of leader who…”.
Language reveals how people see themselves. People aren’t just describing skill gaps; they’re describing who they believe they are. And that has often become a ceiling. So, part of what we do is test those assumptions through action.
By trying out different behaviours, safely, in rehearsal, and proving you can challenge others without sounding aggressive or use techniques to keep on track when you are under pressure.
The best leaders aren’t the most “polished”. They’re the ones who are in tune with themselves and those around them.
Not a replacement for coaching - an accelerator
1:1 Skills Workouts aren’t a replacement for leadership programmes or coaching.
They’re something different. They can be an alternative for leaders who don’t want (or don’t need) a full programme. But they also work brilliantly as a complement to both.
At Management Futures, for example, we offer an approach called Coaching+ where skills sessions like these can sit alongside broader executive coaching or leadership development.
This work bridges the gap.
How leaders use it
Leaders have distinctive needs and unique circumstances. We personalise the service we give, but there are four common ways leaders engage:
- One session - a single powerful deep-dive before a critical moment.
- A series on one area - e.g. feedback, influence, presence, conflict, performance conversations.
- A range of topics over several sessions depending on their role and development goals.
- A blended approach working in tandem with a leadership programme.
It’s short, intensive, and practical. And it creates progress that leaders can feel in real time. In the modern leadership world, we can sometimes focus too much on insight. But insight doesn’t always change behaviour.
Practice does.
If you make decisions about leadership development in your organisation and want to explore how 1:1 skills sessions might be able to help, feel free to get in touch with me via info@managementfutures.co.uk
