Leaders

To lead is to communicate. True yesterday, truer still today.

But are you communicating as well as you could and should? And are you the leader, or leaders, you could and should be?

However simple the output, communication is always a challenge. It takes rigour; flair and humanity; and, critically, emotional intelligence.

That’s a big ask without specialist support.

Which is where we come in.

We help talented individuals prepare for, sustain and refresh their leadership by communicating the very best of themselves.

We help people speak with confidence and conviction.

And we write clear, compelling, human content:  speeches, corporate narratives, thought pieces…

In essence, we help people know themselves, be themselves and express themselves.

Services

One-to-one personal communications coaching

In what ways does the manner of your communication, or that of your senior leadership team, help or hinder, as you seek to bring people with you and get things done and take on new challenges? Our one-to-one coaching, with its focus on personal authenticity, emotional intelligence and practical communications training, has been our flagship product since our foundation. We help leaders capitalise on their strengths, overcome or mitigate their weaknesses, and grow in confidence. It can be a transformative process. This is a highly personalised approach that allows for individuals to build real rapport with their coaches and create an enduring relationship. We work with complete discretion.

Longer-term leadership coaching

We have a strong track record in helping senior leaders, particularly at times of change such as when they step into a new role or lead a new venture. At these moments, expectations are high, conditions uncertain and relationships yet to be fully formed: it is a risky and difficult period, and the first two to three months are crucial.

Specifically, across six-to-twelve-month engagements, we can help our clients:

  • Formulate and articulate a strategic vision;
  • Set direction and mobilise the energies of others;
  • Enhance their own authentic personal impact;
  • Influence key stakeholders, including c-suite colleagues, clients, investors, the workforce and the general public;
  • Build a strong new network of trust-based relationships inside and outside their organisation;
  • Engage with mainstream and digital media to help promote a positive external narrative;
  • Discreetly gather and interpret high quality information from within the organisation and beyond;
  • Provide a safe space for supportive and confidential conversations and in which to test ideas and explore vulnerabilities.
Public speaking

We write high-stakes, high-quality, high-impact speeches, generally in close collaboration with the client. We then coach the client in their delivery, an important part of the process. Typically, we write speeches from scratch, following a detailed conversation with the client, but we are also happy to work on the basis of a client draft. We help our clients prepare for public-speaking events of all kinds, regardless of whether a set-piece speech is involved: everything from town-halls to panel discussions, conferences to main-stage presentations.

Insights Discovery Model

Any leader needs to be able to read a room quickly and adapt to their audience, so that he/she can build trust, strengthen relationships, and extend their influence. 

And whilst credibility, knowledge, and experience will always underpin our ability to get others listening, it’s vital we understand how they like to be communicated with. In fact, neuroscience research shows that our chances convincing someone are significantly higher if we can adjust our communication style to match theirs (HBR, Sytch & Kim, 2020). 

At AGL, we have developed an approach based on the Insights Discovery model that will help our clients to profile their audience’s preferences quickly and understand communication strategies and tactics that will materially enhance your influence with your most important stakeholders – so that you bring people with you and get things done.

Virtual communication

Virtual, and especially video, communication poses particular challenges for us all. We help our clients recognise and overcome these challenges, and to prepare them for specific interventions.

Written communication

We write, and help write, clear, compelling, human content on behalf of our clients. This might be for a blog, a website, a newspaper or a magazine: a personal view on some aspect of government policy, for example, or the announcement or explanation of a new strategy. It might also be destined for clients only or for private or purely internal consumption: a thought piece, say, or a letter of special importance or sensitivity.

Corporate narratives

A corporate narrative is a document that describes the history, values, personality, methods, strengths, difference and raison d’être of a company or organisation; and thus makes sense of it, and brings it to life, for internal and external audiences alike. It is a document that sits at the heart of a company or organisation, clarifying, guiding and motivating it, and driving it forward. It follows that corporate narratives require extremely close collaboration with the company or organisation concerned, wide consultation with employees – ideally clients, too – and, finally, adoption by the entire company or organisation but especially by its senior leaders and managers. The alignment process – in effect, the explanation and sale of the narrative to the company or organisation as a whole – is something with which we can also help.

Media training

Our coaches, a number of whom have frontline media experience, help clients prepare for everything from panel discussions to debates, press conferences to print and broadcast interviews.

Voice coaching

We have two specialist voice coaches. Vocal communication needs vary greatly, and native speakers have them, too, but voice coaching of the kind and quality that we offer can be especially useful for clients speaking English as a second language.

Storytelling

Whether selling an idea or driving change, leaders need stories. Our coaches will help you understand how to craft stories that you truly own; that stay in the memory of those that hear them; that others will repeat; and that win hearts and minds, and inspire action.

Gravitas

What are the ingredients in communication that drive personal gravitas? We help leaders understand what gravitas is, where it comes from and how to acquire more of it.

Challenging conversations

Challenging conversations are a regular and healthy part of professional life, even an essential element in relationship building and business growth. The question isn’t how to avoid them. It’s how to understand the interpersonal dynamics at play and how to manage them effectively.