Blog

Many organisations struggle with performance, engagement, and delivery for one simple reason:

They confuse management with management consultancy.

On the surface, the roles look similar. Both talk about performance. Both discuss strategy. Both aim to improve results.

But here’s the truth most businesses learn the hard way:

Consultants recommend change. Managers make change happen.

If your managers aren’t equipped to lead effectively, no amount of consultancy will fix the problem.

Want managers who deliver, not just manage? Explore practical, results-focused training here: Management Courses.

What a Manager Really Does (When They’re Properly Trained)

A manager isn’t just

One of the biggest misunderstandings about training is that it is mainly about slides and presenting information. Many people believe that good training means standing at the front, clicking through slides and explaining content. This misunderstanding is exactly why so much workplace training fails. Train the Trainer is important because it shifts the focus away from talking at people and towards helping people learn.

Training is not a performance. It is a process that supports understanding, confidence and real application.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Why PowerPoint is often overused in training

• What effective training actually focuses on

• How Train the Trainer changes the way people deliver learning

What Do We Mean by Talking at People

Talking at people usually means delivering large amounts of information with little interaction. Slides are packed with text, the trainer speaks continuously and learners sit quietly trying to keep up. While this may feel efficient, it rarely leads to real

Military spouses and partners may face multifaceted barriers to finding and maintaining work. These challenges are not caused by a lack of ability, ambition or motivation. They are often shaped by the demands of military life, frequent change, and the reality of living around postings, tours, and unpredictable timelines.

Relocation, limited childcare availability, isolation, mental health pressures and gaps in accessible training can create a cycle where career progression becomes disrupted and confidence gradually drops. It is common for military partners to feel like they are always restarting, always rebuilding, and always trying to find stability in a lifestyle that rarely stays still.

The ILM recognised Empowering Military Partner Programme exists to change that. We provide employability support that is practical, supportive and realistic. The course includes coaching, led by Claire, look here to find out more. Because military partners deserve careers that work alongside military

A Management Development Programme is a practical development pathway that equips managers with the real skills to lead people successfully. In this guide, I’ll explain what it is, what it should include (and what it shouldn’t), and the outcomes I’ve seen first-hand after more than 20 years of delivering management development across the public and private sector.

After more than 20 years of designing and delivering Management Development Programmes, I can say this with confidence:

Most organisations don’t have a management problem: They have a development problem.

People are regularly promoted into management roles because they’re

Many people step into training roles without ever planning to. They are good at their job, knowledgeable in their subject and suddenly asked to train others. While this can feel flattering, it often comes with nerves, self doubt and a sense of not really knowing what you are doing. This is where Train the Trainer becomes so important.

Train the Trainer is not just about learning how to run a session. It is about building confidence, clarity and belief in your own ability to help others learn.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• How Train the Trainer builds confidence in people who never planned to be trainers

• Why training skills often unlock new career opportunities

• How confidence and clarity change how people see themselves at work

What Do We Mean by Confidence in Training

Confidence in training is not about being loud or outgoing. It is about feeling calm, prepared and capable. Confident trainers know how to structure a session, explain ideas clearly and involve learners without fear. They trust

Through my coaching experience one of the biggest misconceptions about coaching is that it is only for people who are struggling, failing, or “not coping.” This is not true, in reality, coaching is often most effective for people who are already performing well but want more clarity, better focus, stronger confidence, and more consistent progress.

In fast-paced workplaces, people can feel stuck even when they are capable. They may appear productive on the outside, yet internally they are dealing with overthinking, stress, dips in motivation, or uncertainty about direction.

So coaching offers a structured space to slow down, reflect, and create an action plan that supports personal development and sustainable results.

As we all know coaching is not about being told what to do. It is about strengthening thinking, building self-awareness, and improving decision making so that change becomes intentional, not reactive. Tand there is nothing wrong with mentoring in the same

Over the years, we have worked with thousands of trainers, managers, and supervisors across a wide range of industries. One pattern appears again and again: learning happens in the room, but reflection and improvement often stop once people return to work.

Training does not fail because people are not capable. It fails because people are busy, distracted, and rarely given the space to think properly about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how they could do it better.

We are well known for our term Throwing the Monkey and that is exactly why we created the Monkey Journals.

Reflection Is Where Learning Actually Happens

On our Train the Trainer programmes, we place a strong emphasis on learning transfer. Training is not about what happens during the session; it is about what people do differently afterwards.

The same principle applies in management development. On our Leadership and Management programmes, we regularly see that managers improve most when they take time to reflect

Most organisations invest in training with good intentions. They want people to perform better, feel more confident and deliver stronger results. Yet many training sessions fail to achieve this. Poor training often looks harmless on the surface, but beneath it sits a significant cost to productivity, morale and revenue.

Train the Trainer is important because it helps organisations avoid these hidden costs and create training that genuinely supports performance.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Why poor training creates long term business costs
• How disengaged learners affect productivity and morale
• How Train the Trainer skills protect performance and revenue

What Do We Mean by Poor Training

Poor training is not always obvious. It often looks like people sitting quietly, slides being read aloud and sessions being delivered because they have always been done that way. Learners attend because they have to, not because they want to. They leave with notes, but little confidence in what to do next.

One of the biggest misconceptions about decision making is that better decisions come from having more information, more experience, or more confidence. In reality, the quality of our decisions is often shaped by the quality of the questions we ask ourselves and others.

In fast-paced, high-pressure environments, decisions are frequently made reactively. Powerful coaching questions slow the moment just enough to create clarity, challenge assumptions and support more intentional, values-based decision making. This is why powerful questioning sits at the heart of effective coaching, leadership and performance.

In This Article You Will Learn

• What a powerful question is in coaching
• How powerful coaching questions influence decision making
• Why powerful questioning is critical in high-pressure environments
• Examples of powerful coaching questions used in decision making
• How great leaders and managers use powerful questions to support clarity and ownership

What Do We Mean by “Powerful Questions”?

Presentation skills training is often misunderstood. Many organisations invest in it because they want people to stand up and speak more confidently, deliver information professionally, and represent the organisation well.

Confidence is a major driver. For many people, standing up in front of others is uncomfortable, intimidating, and stressful. Organisations hope that presentation skills training will help people overcome this fear and give them practical tools to present with confidence.

However, confidence alone is not enough.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Presentation skills training is about confidence, structure, and engagement, not slides.
• Many people can present information but struggle to engage an audience.
• Reading PowerPoint slides is not presenting and causes people to switch off.
• Effective presentations rely on questioning, storytelling, and involvement.
• Poor presentation skills damage learning transfer, decision-making, and credibility.
• Presentation skills are both a workplace