“It is the best course I have been on and the most useful one to me in my entire life, not just at work.” - NCR
“The best course I have completed. It has really transformed my outlook.” - England Rugby
“I’ve experienced dozens of trainings… only three matter because actionable: Manager-as-Coach was one of them.” – PMI
“Miles ahead of any in-house program relating to Coaching that I have been involved with.” - IKEA
“A 10/10. This is the most important four days of training I’ve had in a very long time. This transforms me.” - GE Healthcare
“Then, this year came to me with a gift, a precious and immeasurable gift: Manager-as-Coach training.” - PMI, Switzerland
“I really like the online format. Zoom works perfectly and it is great to be able to attend from the comfort of my own home.” - Killik & Co UK
“An extremely useful and unusual experience and it is really motivating to do everything possible to use it properly.” - Hilti, Russia
“Such an insightful course, the learning has already impacted my management style across the board.” - Royal Free
“I truly believe now that the key to influencing people is by empowering them.” - Alinma Bank, Riyadh
“Our CEO rated the Coaching Skills for Leaders session as 10/10.” - Delivery Partner, Olympic Delivery Authority.
“People always enjoy the courses and often say it is the best training they have attended” – GE Healthcare
“I cannot expressed enough how grateful I am for the opportunity to be part of this training programme.” – Royal Free London Hospital
“A positive, enjoyable and insightful course.” – PMI, Nordics Cluster
“Excellent facilitation. I am amazed by the connect and rapport James could build 'virtually' in just 3 hours.” - Johnson & Johnson
“I honestly have never had such consistent positive feedback from any course” – ESF, Hong Kong
“The experience gave me a broad perspective of how coaching can be a very powerful tool.” - Alinma Bank, Riyadh
“A huge thank you – it was an excellent course.” - Deputy Head
“The reason I believe in coaching and your model is that it makes me be the best person I can possibly be.” – ESF, Hong Kong
“Very easy content to digest. There is a world outside technical life.” – IG, India.
“This is the first time I have used GROW in a group setting and it has been incredibly powerful to see the tangible benefits.” – Royal Free
“Feedback was that it was the ‘best training ever.” - PMI Czech Republic
“I’ll just come right out and say – it was perfect. The things that really matter to me have all scored highly.” – Arts Council England
“I think this course is fantastic – It’s exceeded my expectations.” – Nectar Loyalty
“An excellent course that has made me self-aware of taking a coaching approach.” - England Rugby
“The Manager-as-Coach program helped me to build the right mindset.” – PMI, Poland
“My confidence levels have surged because I feel better equipped to facilitate discussions.” – Royal Free London Hospital Trust
“We have really valued the training provided by you.. It really adds value to people’s life – both work and personal.” - GE Healthcare
“The facilitators were excellent; great mix of humour, information-sharing combined with great modelling.” – Teacher
“The manual was well structured and helpful. I found Carol Wilson’s book very readable.” – Deputy Head
“Very valuable for my leadership development, and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.” - England Rugby.
“An engaging and motivational course. Very empowering and confidence building.” – Nectar Loyalty
“Four years later I am still using coaching almost on a daily basis.” – PMI, Nordics Cluster.
“People who attended the training have been keen to praise the course and are delighted.” – North Somerset Schools
“I have completely changed my approach to management. I could not recommend the training highly enough” – Royal Free London Hospital
“It is rare that one course meets needs/expectations in all areas.” – Arts Council England
“Really positive – much less pressurised and better than previous coaching course.” – Nectar Loyalty
“The Coaching Training was not only useful at that time, it is still the case today.” - PMI
“It’s really been fantastic with the level of practice and feedback we’ve been offered alongside the theory.” - Nectar Loyalty.
“The depth of the course was great and gives hope for real behavioural change across our organisation” – England Rugby
“I cannot recall any other training that has had such a profound and immediate impact on me as this.” – Royal Free London
“There were some significant learnings from the Culture at Work course which have improved my leadership skills” – England Rugby
“I’m very satisfied to have attended to the training, because it definitely help me to be a better leader.” – Philip Morris Products
“This has been one of the most useful courses I have ever taken part in.” – Headteacher
“I feel non-stop like I have to say thank you very much for this opportunity.” – Hilti, Russia
“None of the previous courses I ever attended has brought me such a powerful and impactful method.” – PMI, Switzerland
“Excellent as always! Lots of new tools to take forward and use immediately.” - Kent County Council
“The coaching sessions I held were transformative for me in terms of what coaching can bring to individuals” – PMI, Switzerland
“This has put a whole other angle on coaching for me – like finding the missing part in a jigsaw! Thank you.” London Borough of Bexley
“The best course I have attended – huge potential for personal development and the development of the school.” – Teacher
“I could implement my learning right away and see the impact on people.” – PMI, Poland
“Great pace. Very clear to understand.” – Emilie Diop, Nectar Loyalty
“Great content – a great way to become more confident and adept at coaching.” – Nectar Loyalty.
“Very relevant content and awesome explanation. The training is very exciting and motivating” – Pedro Ramos, Snr Planning Executive
“The most valuable training I have received in my 6 year career- but has also had a profound influence on my personal life too.” – Teacher
“By investing in coaching training for our teachers we are shifting our cultural outlook and enhancing resilience.” – KLASS
“It has been a real eye-opener and a revelation of what a coach is.” – PMI, Switzerland
“The results from our 2017 staff survey were striking in terms of the positive upturn.” – KLASS, Kuala Lumpur
“A huge thank you for setting up and delivering the inspiring coaching course.” – North Somerset Schools
“After five years, I regularly coach people from other functions,” – PMI, Nordics Cluster
“The facilitators were real experts who guided my development without ever preaching.” - Headteacher
“I have improved my capability to the true role of any manager – to develop others and help them to GROW!” – PMI
“The facilitators were inspiring, motivating, challenging, fun and adaptive. Thank you so much!” – Teacher
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CASE STUDY: Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Leading without Formal Authority
The Trust required a leadership development programme for colleagues who have to influence people who do not report to them, including junior doctors, clinical fellows, project managers, operations managers, clinical practice educators, physiotherapists and healthcare science practitioners.
NHS participants on the Leading Without Formal Authority course.
The purpose of the programme was to equip participants with knowledge and practical skills to achieve the following:
Understand the attitudes and behaviours of leaders who know how to get work done through collaboration, influence and persuasion
Increase awareness of self and the impact that one’s behaviour as a leader has on others
Acquire practical skills to communicate effectively, engage, inspire and influence others who have different values, priorities and ways of working
Working closely with the Trust to provide bespoke training, we designed and delivered a training course comprising four one-day sessions, each delivered approximately one month apart, with practical assignments in between each session.
The training encompassed a variety of topics, systems and exercises, including:
MBTI analysis plus practical learning exercises, to understand differences in approach and ways of working;
Body language;
Unconscious bias;
The Balance of Assumptions, highlighting the tendency to make assumptions and act on them, and provide to practical ways of recognising and evaluating them;
Exercises around the OK Corral, to explore the act and effect of bullying;
An introduction to coaching skills;
Neuroscience in goal setting
Techniques for achieving constructive conversations;
Stakeholder mapping;
Types of power;
The decision-making quadrant;
Kotter’s eight-step change process.
Participants undertook practical assignments in between each module, working in pairs to explore and embed the skills, and applying the skills in their workplace.
A comprehensive handout was provided after each session.
At the end of the training, participants delivered an essay on how they had applied the skills and received an ILM Development certificate.
Outcome
Participants unanimously agreed that the training had been useful and that they would recommend it to others, and the feedback was outstanding. Their essays demonstrated that they had understood all the models and tools delivered, and were using them in practical situations on a day-to-day basis.
Excerpt from a participant essay describing the Leading Without Formal Authority course
“Utilising the skills I gained on this course I have been able to empower and motivate through simple coaching techniques and leadership skills. My communication style is more structured and I am more conscientious of the relationships that I hold dear at home and at work effectively influencing for results.
A recent meeting between me and a fellow colleague allowed me to apply the coaching and leadership skills that I acquired during the “Leading without Formal Authority” course Although I don’t line manage this member of staff I was able to influence them.
One of the first things I did was to ask their permission to hold the discussion in my office and set the time according to their availability. The request for permission was a new concept I learned on this course, but a vital one, as it sets the rules. It is often missed, and hence conversations can steer off in another direction.
The MBTI personality indicator was one of the earlier tools I discovered and enjoyed learning about on this course. Learning about MBTI was an eye opener, and helped me understand how to get the best out of situations by learning to gauge the other personality, and how that can help me set the tone of the conversation.
The Balance of Assumptions was another useful tool that I have successfully taken away from this course. It has enabled me to question my assumptions, look for the facts, and to derive whether an assumption is true.
Stakeholder mapping was one of the more recent tools I gained on the course – where I could place people with varying interests invested in my project on a map, and monitor how their interference, or lack of, will favour or hinder my project.
Learning about the Five Levels of Listening has made me re-assess my communication style, and has swayed me to move from my traditional listening style of “hijacking” (taking over the conversation) to now seeking to be higher up on the levels of listening, either actively or attentively: allowing the speaker to continue freely; and listening behind the words; using intuition; and prompting the speaker to facilitate their self-learning and awareness by clarifying and reflecting on their words.
A highlight of this course was learning about the GROW coaching model, which stipulates a lot of unconscious self-reflection and often has the individual answering, or finding their own answers/ solutions, with minimum effort and advice from the coach. It enables the individual to keep moving forward with positivity and solutions, with an aim of achievement, by answering “Goal, Reality, Options and Will” questions.” – Tahmin Ahmed, Clinical Trials Practitioner.