Navigational Coaching™
WHAT DOES A COACHING PROGRAMME WITH DANIEL TOLSON LOOK LIKE?
People often ask what a coaching programme with Daniel Tolson actually looks like.
Daniel’s clients invest anywhere from $AUD 15,000 to $150,000 in developing their leaders.
Some work with Daniel weekly. Others monthly. Some begin with one leader and eventually develop an entire leadership team.
And many stay.
Daniel has clients who have worked with him for 7, 11 and 14 years.
“My job isn’t to keep coaching the same leader forever. My job is to develop the leadership capability the business needs next.”
— Daniel Tolson
Businesses change.
People get promoted. Teams grow. New leaders emerge. Markets change. Problems change. And the leadership capability required to take a business from one stage to the next changes with it.
“Leadership success isn’t simply developing today’s leaders. It’s developing the leaders who ensure the continuation of the business tomorrow.”
— Daniel Tolson
That is why Daniel doesn’t believe in off-the-shelf leadership programmes.
ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL
Books are an excellent source of knowledge, but knowledge can be difficult to apply to the realities of your business.
Seminars can create motivation, but they rarely provide the specificity required for an individual leader.
Public programmes are cheaper, but your leaders spend valuable time listening to other people’s problems.
Group programmes can be entertaining, but clapping, hugging and high-fiving don’t necessarily move the needle.
Masterminds can be exciting, but there are some conversations a business owner or senior leader shouldn’t be having in a room full of people.
“I don’t believe in off-the-shelf leadership development. Leaders are complex. Leaders are different.”
— Daniel Tolson
They have different strengths.
Different weaknesses.
Different responsibilities.
Different teams.
Different pressures.
Different starting lines.
And different finishing lines.
Yes, the goal is to Finish First.
But the development required to get there is different for every leader.
“We all want to Finish First. But we’re not all starting from the same line, and we’re not all trying to cross the same finish line.”
— Daniel Tolson
In medicine, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice.
Daniel believes leadership development should be approached with the same discipline.
“Prescription before diagnosis is malpractice. Why should leadership development be any different?”
— Daniel Tolson
DETECT THEN DEVELOP
Before Daniel tries to develop a leader, he wants to understand them.
Using proprietary assessments, behavioural science, 360° feedback and breakthrough technologies, Daniel develops a detailed picture of what makes the leader tick.
How do they approach problems, people, pace and policy?
How are they motivated by results, recognition, relationships and doing what is right?
What are their intrinsic motivators?
How do they make decisions about people, tactical activities and strategic priorities?
How do they communicate?
How do they respond under pressure?
Where are their natural strengths?
Where could their behaviour be getting in the way?
This gives Daniel something most leadership programmes never establish:
An accurate starting point.
“You can’t develop a leader properly until you know where they’re starting from.”
— Daniel Tolson
Development shouldn’t be based on what somebody thinks a good leader should look like.
It should be based on who this leader is, what their role requires and what the operation needs from them.
PHASE 1: KNOW WHAT MAKES YOU TICK
Participants complete their Executive Insights, proprietary assessments and individual diagnostic work before receiving 1:1 coaching with Daniel.
The objective is to understand the leader before trying to change the leader.
Daniel identifies their strengths and development areas, communication style, decision-making patterns, leadership approach, intrinsic motivators and how they respond to people, problems, pace and policy.
Where appropriate, 360° reports provides another perspective, helping establish an accurate picture of how the leader sees themselves and how others experience their leadership.
Result: Know what makes you tick.
PHASE 2 — TALENT & LEADERSHIP ALIGNMENT
Once the leader understands themselves, development becomes specific.
Daniel focuses on the eight key result areas of leadership:
- Communication.
- Decision-making.
- Delegation.
- Emotional intelligence.
- Managing change.
- Setting goals and standards.
- Team building.
- Visualising the future.
But Daniel doesn’t automatically develop all eight equally.
“The question isn’t, ‘What should every leader learn?’ The question is, ‘What does this leader need to become better at to deliver what the business requires?’”
— Daniel Tolson
That becomes the coaching agenda.
For one leader, the next 1% better might be delegation.
For another, it might be having difficult conversations.
For another, it could be emotional intelligence, decision-making or setting higher standards.
For a senior executive, it might be getting out of the tactical work and spending more time thinking strategically about where the business needs to be three years from now.
Different leader. Different starting line. Different finish line.
PHASE 2 — TALENT & LEADERSHIP ALIGNMENT
Know what makes each other tick.
A leader doesn’t operate alone.
Once leaders understand themselves, Daniel begins helping them understand the people around them.
Using Executive Comparison Reports and targeted alignment coaching, leaders learn how their styles interact with their talent, peers and senior leadership.
They identify how to communicate with each other, individual strengths and motivators, differences in working styles, potential areas of conflict and where a leader needs to adapt their approach.
“The best leaders don’t expect everybody else to adapt to them. They learn how to lead the person in front of them.”
— Daniel Tolson
Result: Know what makes each other tick.
PHASE 3 — TEAM & TALENT ALIGNMENT
Know what makes each other tick.
A leader doesn’t operate alone.
Once leaders understand themselves, Daniel begins helping them understand the people around them.
Using Executive Comparison Reports and targeted navigational coaching, leaders learn how their styles interact with their talent, peers and senior leadership.
They identify how to communicate with each other, individual strengths and motivators, differences in working styles, potential areas of conflict and where a leader needs to adapt their approach.
“The best leaders don’t expect everybody else to adapt to them. They learn how to lead the person in front of them.”
— Daniel Tolson
Result: Know what makes each other tick.
PHASE 3 — TEAM & TALENT ALIGNMENT
Know what makes the team tick.
Individual performance is important.
But businesses don’t Finish First because they have one exceptional leader.
They Finish First when their leaders can perform together.
Participants may complete the Core Competencies Index, team assessments and other diagnostic work before developing their Personal Strategic Development Plans.
Face-to-face team coaching brings leaders together to understand the strengths available across the group, development priorities, gaps, duplication, communication differences and how individual capabilities align with what the business needs.
The objective is to move individuals towards high performance and move the team from forming through to performing.
“You can’t win unless you’re all performing.”
— Daniel Tolson
Result: Know what makes the team tick.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE COACHING
There is no fixed schedule.
Depending on the leader, the business and the objective, Daniel may coach someone once a week, once a fortnight or once a month.
The programme adapts as the leader develops and as the needs of the business change.
Every session is designed to answer a practical question:
“What does this leader need to improve next?”
— Daniel Tolson
Not next year.
Not someday.
Next.
The next conversation.
The next decision.
The next delegation.
The next standard.
The next behaviour.
The next 1% better.
Then Daniel and the leader measure, adjust and go again.
WHY CLIENTS STAY
Some of Daniel’s client relationships have lasted 7, 11 and 14 years.
There is a reason for that.
Eventually, one leader may no longer need Daniel.
That’s a good result.
But as the company grows, another leader emerges.
A manager becomes a general manager.
A general manager becomes an executive.
A founder needs to build a leadership team.
A business enters another market.
A succession plan needs to be developed.
The leadership challenge changes.
So the development changes with it.
“I don’t want leaders dependent on me. I want to develop them until they’re ready for what’s next — and then help the business develop the next leader.”
— Daniel Tolson
That is how leadership development contributes to something much bigger:
The continuation of the business and the development of the next generation of leaders.
YOU CAN'T GET DANIEL ANYWHERE ELSE
Daniel doesn't license other coaches to deliver his coaching.
You can’t buy Daniel’s experience from somebody else.
You can’t get his proprietary technology somewhere else.
And you can’t buy his time without his involvement.
That creates a natural limit.
Daniel has the capacity to personally develop approximately 100 leaders each year.
When one coaching client’s journey comes to an end, capacity becomes available for another.
And Daniel doesn’t accept every company or every leader who wants to work with him.
“If I don’t believe in the company, the leadership or what they’re trying to achieve, I won’t take them on.”
— Daniel Tolson
There has to be a fit.
There has to be a genuine desire to improve.
And there has to be something worth building.
Because this isn’t leadership development for the sake of leadership development.
The objective is performance.
To understand what makes you tick.
To understand what makes each other tick.
To understand what makes the team tick.
To develop the next generation of leaders.
To strengthen the continuation of the business.
To become better than yesterday.
And ultimately—
Finish First.