The REAL. Leadership Consultancy
Experiential Coaching Methodology for Leaders by a Leader

The REAL. Leadership Consultancy challenges the traditional norms of leadership, they believe anyone can lead, they just need to focus on their inherent strengths and obsess about their impact on the people they lead. It coaches leaders across the spectrum, from start-up founders to senior executives of large organisations, providing tailored and cost-effective learning and development tools. The firm is established around the four critical pillars or traits of leadership –focusing on Results, showing Empathy, being Authentic, and continuously Learning.

In an interview with Manage HR magazine, Steve Charlton, founder of The REAL. Leadership Consultancy, talks about how the firm bridges the gap between leadership theory and the realities of everyday life as a leader, navigating the ever-changing work environment.

The REAL. Leadership Consultancy: An Overview

The REAL. Leadership Consultancy was established in 2020. Based on 25 years of experience in various leadership roles, and a passion for recruiting and developing hundreds of employees at all levels, I realised the rising need to change how we teach leadership and expect leaders to operate. During the pandemic, traditional leadership practices were challenged as leaders were expected to exhibit conventionally ‘soft’ skills, such as empathy and vulnerability. Many leaders struggled to do this as it wasn’t part of their personality and it also challenged the traditional ‘command and control’ beliefs.

The classic leadership blueprint requires us to fit into the numerous assessments to certify our leadership capability. But the reality is leaders come in all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. Many are young, not necessarily trained to be traditional leaders, and have not spent years climbing the corporate ladder. This requires us to treat everyone as an individual leader and develop their inherent strengths.

We believe anyone can lead.

The New Leadership Blueprint

We are all learning something new every moment. Since I am not a world-qualified coach, I do not have more experience than most people but I have done and learned things that are relevant to today’s leaders. The way I coach is based on my beliefs and experience from 30 years of talking to people, practicing, and getting things wrong! I approach my clients with an honest and open conversation, following a simple three-step model.

Looking Back - We look into the individual’s history — their education and upbringing, career trajectory, and their best and worst leadership role models. This gives us an idea of why the client leads as they do.

Looking Around - The next step is to validate how they believe they lead with the people around them. For me, leadership is all about how other people experience you. This exercise enables us to find the gaps between a leader’s perceived ability and the reality of how people experience them. Many of our clients find this both enlightening and challenging as they often don’t take the time to ask for feedback on their leadership style.

Looking Ahead - The final step involves looking ahead and reflecting on the traits and values clients want to adopt to become successful leaders. This often includes key learnings from the second step. It is followed by devising strategies tailored to the individual, helping them reach their full potential. Engagements can run from three to twelve months and include access to me and my network for any day-to-day challenges the client may be experiencing.

Experiential Training for Leaders in a Rapidly Changing Environment

Due to the rapidly changing work environment, leaders are constantly challenged as they have to care for their teams, themselves, and their own families. Experiential training provides hands-on coaching to help leaders move through these difficult circumstances. It provides a safe space for clients to be agile, try different methods, and discuss how to approach a particular situation.

For instance, diversity and inclusion are crucial elements organisations cannot ignore. However, leaders haven’t been historically trained in how to uphold these values. They need a safe space to discuss the challenges, and play out different scenarios rather than making costly mistakes.

I believe in hands-on coaching and not abandoning my clients after coaching sessions. I describe myself as a ‘terrible’ consultant as I get too involved with my clients and always want to see the impact of my coaching. Sometimes, 50% of my coaching sessions involve reflecting on real-life situations happening in their lives. Again this is critical because the more senior a leader is, the fewer people they can trust to give them honest advice.

Client’s Challenges

In the search for gaps in an individual’s leadership style, there are many common challenges, like lack of self-belief or imposter syndrome and loneliness. I coach leaders from a wide variety of businesses, from those starting their leadership journey to those more experienced. Often overwhelmed with so many advisors or interested parties, it leaves them no time to reflect on their leadership style.

Another challenge hindering many senior leaders is being at a career crossroads. They have spent most of their careers climbing the corporate ladder to be better leaders. Yet after the pandemic, they are now questioning the validity of their leadership journey, perhaps searching for a side hustle, some pro-bono work, or mentoring to keep their minds balanced while focusing on their jobs.

The volatile employment market has also compelled leaders to think hard about how they retain their employees and attract passionate and brilliant people. As with many things in life, challenging situations also throw up opportunities.

A Success Story

A newly promoted commercial director overseeing the European side of a U.S. business faced difficulty overcoming cultural differences. Hailing from Europe and working remotely, it was the leader’s first step into senior management. We talked about his previous experience as a manager, getting involved in his team’s day-to-day activities, and how he must position himself as a senior-level executive in meetings and respect other cultures. Sometimes there was a lack of self-belief, which we worked through by role-playing real-life challenges that might occur.

Another client was the founder of an innovative tech company. They used data and numbers to make decisions and confessed to lacking empathy. We helped her recognise and strengthen the necessary traits through our sessions. A few tips, such as keeping a small notebook to track important events in their colleagues’ lives and checking up on them frequently, helped them become more empathetic.

Setting Themselves Apart in Leadership Coaching

I believe anyone can lead by tapping into their inherent qualities and focusing on their strengths. We all have varying levels of empathy and authenticity, but a client can possess other characteristics that we also want to on, making them a unique kind of leader, which is why we always tailor our coaching around the individual.

Furthermore, our testimonials clearly show that many leaders are searching for an experienced coaching firm where they can talk to someone who has experienced what they are currently going through. The REAL. Leadership Consultancy provides leaders with the assurance of being in a safe space, playing the critical role of a sounding board or an external viewpoint for those who need it.