As you may know, it has been over a year now since my business partner Gerard unexpectedly passed away.
This has left me working largely solo … until this week.
I had a fabulous conversation with a fellow practitioner in the UK who also teaches structured communication techniques.
Something came up that I think is worth sharing.
Growth happens best when learning hard things over time.
What do I mean?
It’s tempting to delay learning hard things because they are … hard. Structured communication techniques being one example, even though on the surface they look easy.
Peter and I talked our way around this for our clients and had independently landed on the same conclusion.
Although our programs are not identical, we have adopted the same principles.
Programs beat one-off workshops. Single-session events are enjoyable for facilitators and participants alike, but phased programs deliver durable results. One-off workshops, less so, unless you are learning something easy.
Practice beats presentations. If I had to choose, I’d dump the workshops altogether and go for small-group coaching on live work. Peter feels the same. Structured communication seems easy but requires practice to do well.
Pacing beats one-size-fits-all. Learners absorb fundamentals best at their own speed, freeing live sessions to complete simple exercises and apply concepts to their own real work. We've both built on-demand modules to enable this and adapt our workshops and coaching to meet our clients where they are at.
Partnership beats solo study. On-demand learning is too easy to multi-task through or postpone. Layering in workshops and coaching creates the accountability that drives real progress.
Platforms beat plane tickets. Online programs work better than many expect. They naturally support a phased rhythm, strip out travel costs, and give participants real flexibility. When incorporating small-group work and the associated accountability, they are also great for team building.
I was fascinated that we had both come to the same place and thought this might help you think about your own next learning journey.
More soon,
Davina
Whenever you're ready, here are five other ways I can help you:
Elevate, the book – helps leaders set their teams up to set up a new dynamic across their team that will elevate everyone’s skills, helping the team get better, faster decisions.
Engage, the book – helps individual contributors prepare papers and presentations that leaders can approve without reworking.
Engage, the self-paced course – supports both individuals and leaders prepare more insightful papers and presentations for senior leaders and boards.
Extreme Clarity, the 2-hour workshop – introduces techniques for structuring your messaging.
Board Paper Bootcamp, the 2-week program – helps you clarify and convey complex ideas to senior leaders and boards.
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ABOUT AUTHOR: DAVINA STANLEY
I love what I do.
I help senior leaders and their teams prepare high-quality papers and presentations in a fraction of the time.
This involves 'nailing' the message that will quickly engage decision makers in the required outcome.
I leverage 25+ years' experience including
- learning structured thinking techniques at McKinsey in Hong Kong in the mid 1990s before coaching and training their teams globally as a freelancer for a further 15 years
- being approved to teach the Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto in 2009
- helping CEOs, C-suite leaders and their reports deeply understand their stakeholder needs and communicate accordingly
- seeing leaders cut the number of times they review major papers by ~30% and teams cut the amount of time they take to prepare major papers by ~20%*
- watching senior meetings focus on substantive discussions and better decisions rather than trying to clarify the issue
My approach helps anyone who needs to engage senior leaders and Boards.
Recent clients include 7Eleven, KPMG, Mercer, Meta, Woolworths.
Learn more at www.clarityfirstprogram.com
(*) Numbers are based on 2023 client benchmarking results.
