These quotes are taken from our post-course feedback forms and three-month follow-up surveys. We have included the participant's name, role and sector with their permission.
"I went in thinking I already knew how to delegate. By lunchtime on day one I realised I had been doing it wrong for two years. The delegation exercise using my own real task was a turning point. My team has noticed the difference."
"The change leadership day helped me prepare for a restructure that affected twelve people on my team. I used the communication templates the following week. Two team members told me afterwards it was the clearest they had ever been briefed on a change."
"I was sceptical about the coaching. I have had coaching before and it felt like paying someone to ask me questions I could ask myself. This was different. My coach had run a department similar to mine and gave direct, practical input when I needed it, not just reflective questions."
"We sent eight of our newly promoted supervisors through the foundations programme. Within three months, five of them had started running regular one-to-ones for the first time. That alone was worth the investment."
"The senior leadership programme made me realise how much time I was spending on tasks my direct reports could handle. I have freed up roughly six hours a week, which I now use for strategic planning. My director noticed the shift before I even mentioned the programme."
"I appreciated that the trainer had actually managed teams in healthcare. She understood the constraints we work under: shift patterns, union dynamics, clinical governance. The examples she used were immediately recognisable."
Two examples of how our programmes have worked in practice, with measurable outcomes.
This Aberdeen-based firm had grown from 40 to 120 employees in three years. Most of their site managers had been promoted from trades roles and had never received any management training. The MD contacted us after an employee survey revealed that 62% of staff felt they did not receive enough feedback from their manager.
We ran three cohorts of the new manager foundations programme over six weeks, covering all fifteen site managers. Before the programme, we interviewed each manager and their direct reports to understand specific pain points. The most common issues were inconsistent communication about project changes, reluctance to give constructive feedback and a tendency to redo work rather than coach someone through it.
Each cohort of five managers went through the two-day programme, with exercises tailored to construction scenarios: briefing a subcontractor team on a design change, giving feedback to an apprentice who keeps arriving late, running a Monday morning toolbox talk that people actually listen to.
The MD told us six months later that staff turnover among site operatives had dropped from 28% to 19% year-on-year. He attributed a significant part of that to improved management practices, though he acknowledged other factors (a pay review, better equipment) played a role too.
An NHS trust in central Scotland was merging two community health teams into one. The change affected 45 staff and four team leaders. The trust's organisational development team asked us to run the leading through change programme for the four team leaders, plus a half-day session for the two senior managers overseeing the merger.
We conducted pre-programme interviews with all six managers and a sample of eight frontline staff. The biggest concern among staff was not the merger itself but the lack of clear information about reporting lines and working locations after the change. Managers, meanwhile, were anxious about handling emotional reactions during team meetings.
The one-day programme included a simulation based on the actual merger scenario (anonymised but recognisable). Each team leader practised running a team briefing, answering hostile questions and following up individually with a staff member who was visibly upset. We video-recorded the simulations and reviewed them as a group.
The trust's OD lead told us that previous restructures had typically generated two or three formal grievances. This time there were none. She credited the team leaders' communication approach, which closely followed the templates and techniques from the programme.
If you are considering management training for your organisation, we would be glad to discuss which programme fits your situation. Every organisation is different, and we will tailor the content to your context, just as we did for the clients described above.
Call us on +44 1561 862380 or email [email protected] to arrange an initial conversation. You can also use our inquiry form.