Why I never start with the workshop

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a prospective client who said something I hear surprisingly often.

"We'd like a workshop on difficult conversations."

On the face of it, that sounded straightforward. But after 30 minutes of talking, it became clear that difficult conversations weren't really the problem at all.

People weren't avoiding feedback because they lacked the skills. They were avoiding it because:

• Expectations weren't totally clear

• The leadership team weren't always modelling the behaviours they wanted to see

• The trust required to successfully deliver developmental feedback wasn’t in place 

After a period of rapid growth, people had inadvertently adapted to ways of working that no longer served them.

If I'd simply designed a workshop on feedback, I suspect everyone would have enjoyed the day - but very little would have changed afterwards.

That's why I never start with the workshop.

Practical leadership development starts with understanding the problem

One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership and team development is that you begin with the content.

In reality, I think you begin with curiosity. Before I design anything, I want to understand what's really happening.

• What keeps repeating?

• Where does the tension sit?

• What conversations aren't happening?

• What does success actually need to look like six months from now?

Quite often, the first problem a client describes isn't the one we end up working on.

• A request for a ‘feedback session’ turns out to be about trust

• A request for ‘driving greater accountability’ turns out to be about unclear roles

• A request for ‘stronger leadership’ turns out to be about leadership alignment

The better I understand the context, the more practical the work becomes.

There isn't a leadership model that fits every organisation

I love leadership research and I’m constantly looking for new sources of inspiration. But I don't believe businesses typically need another complicated framework.

Every organisation has its own culture, its own history, pressures and personalities. The principles of good leadership don't change but how you apply them absolutely does. That's why I've never believed in off-the-shelf programmes.

I want people to leave a workshop thinking:

"That felt like it was designed for us."

Not:

"That was interesting… but I'm not sure how much of it applies here."

What I'm really designing

People often think I'm designing workshops. I'm not.

I'm designing:

• Better conversations

• Clearer expectations

• Healthier challenge

• Stronger trust

• More confident leaders

• More connected teams

The workshop is simply the vehicle. The real goal is helping people work together differently long after the session has finished.

That's why I try to keep everything practical. If someone can't use an idea in tomorrow's team meeting, feedback conversation or one-to-one, then I probably haven't made it simple enough.

What to do

If you're thinking about leadership or team development, I'd encourage you to pause before deciding on the solution.

Instead, ask:

• What problem are we really trying to solve?

• What keeps repeating?

• What do we want people to do differently afterwards?

• What's unique about our team or organisation that the development needs to reflect?

The answers to those questions will usually tell you far more than any leadership development catalogue ever could.

—----

PS. I've never believed the best leadership development starts with a slide deck. I think it starts with understanding people.

PPS. Every organisation is different and the best development reflects that.