Leadership & management training
Your managers shouldn't learn hard conversations on their own team.
Managers rehearse feedback, performance reviews and difficult news with an AI employee who reacts the way people do.
350k+
practice sessions completed
50+
roleplays ready to assign
Leadership programs teach the model. Nobody practices the conversation.
Every leadership program ends the same way. Managers learn SBI or GROW in a workshop, then use it for the first time on someone who reports to them.
The usual fix is roleplay in the room. Three things get in the way.
They get promoted, not trained
Most managers step up because they were good at the job. They learn the people side on the people they manage.
Workshop roleplay is too polite
A peer playing an upset employee won't go quiet, get defensive, or bring up the colleague who got the promotion instead.
You hear about it afterwards
An engagement survey or an HR case tells you a conversation went badly. By then, it already has.
The employee won't tell you what's wrong straight away
This is the line between a roleplay and an e-learning module. The AI employee has something going on that they're not saying, and they only open up when the manager earns it, the way a real person would.
Managers can't click their way to the right answer. They have to find the words, say them out loud, and deal with what comes back.
From the library
Poor Employee Performance: a manager and a struggling team member
Andy's productivity has dropped. He's arriving late, leaving early, and has taken three sick days this month. It's out of character, and he thought nobody had noticed.
Lead with the attendance record and the answers stay short, cold and defensive. You leave with "I'm fine" and a promise to do better.
Keep asking open questions and, after a few exchanges, he can't hold it together any longer. His mum is ill and he's been caring for her while working. Now you can actually help.
Scored on asking open-ended questions, empathetic language and active listening, creating a safe environment, finding joint solutions, and offering appropriate support.
Feedback a manager can use before the next one-to-one
Not a percentage and a thumbs up. Every conversation is scored against named criteria, with what the manager actually said and what to try instead.
A performance conversation is scored on open questions, empathy and finding a way forward together. Giving feedback is scored on behavior, impact and dialogue. The measure fits the moment.
Example: Poor employee performance
Overall: 7.4
"You asked what had been making things hard rather than why he'd been late, which gave Andy space to explain what was behind it."
"When he mentioned his mum, you paused and said 'thank you for telling me' before moving on. That's when he started to open up."
"You proposed flexible hours yourself. Asking Andy what would help first would have made it a plan he owned."
Hesitations: 2
167 wpm
Clarity: 72%
...
Showing 3 of 5 scored criteria for this roleplay
Hiba El Hourani
London Strategy Centre
"The participants truly enjoyed the experience! The avatar was brilliantly done - it challenged them, frustrated them, and kept them completely engaged, which was amazing to witness."
Then they plan the real conversation
A score tells a manager what happened. Coaching is what changes the next conversation, and it has always gone to the few leaders you could justify it for.
After every roleplay, managers can debrief with Hugh, the AI Coach. Or they can bring a conversation they're dreading to a Skills Coaching session, work through it with a named framework, and leave with a written plan in their own words.
Hugh doesn't accept "they're always late". He asks which day, what happened and what it caused, one question at a time, until the plan is specific enough to say out loud. Plans are saved to the manager's account and only shared with an admin if they choose.
- How to Give Feedback (SBI)
- Leading Through Change
- Reframing Confrontational Language
Example plan, built in a coaching session
Your feedback plan: How to Give Feedback (SBI)
Ask permission
"Hi, have you got two minutes? I'd like to give you some quick feedback."
Situation
"On Saturdays, when the shop is busy, we need everyone out on the floor. Last Saturday at around eleven…"
Behavior
"…you were in the stockroom tidying up. That's fine in itself, but the shop was full at the time, and a queue built up at the till."
Impact
"It meant customers waited longer for help, and your colleagues had more to handle."
Ask for their view
"How did you see it?" Then listen, and play it back: "So from your side…"
Next step
"Have you got any ideas for what we could do differently next Saturday?"
Leadership conversations, ready to assign on day one
Written and scored by our learning designers. Assign them as they are, or use them as the starting point for your own.
Roleplays
Difficult leadership conversations
Sensitive, high-stakes conversations with a direct report, practiced where getting it wrong costs nothing.
Missed Targets
Giving Feedback (SBI)
Poor Employee Performance
Delivering Layoff News
Pay Rise Request
Roleplays
Mentoring & coaching others
Helping someone else reach a goal, built primarily around the GROW model.
Struggling New Manager
Mentoring
Disillusioned Staff Member
Difficulty Giving Feedback
Skills Coaching
Structured coaching sessions
Five to twelve minutes on a named skill, applied to the manager's own situation. They leave with a written plan.
How to Give Feedback (SBI)
Leading Through Change
Reframing Confrontational Language
Preparing for a Difficult Conversation
Run a manager program
Not a library you hope people find. A group of managers, a start date and a results report, run with your L&D team from the first scenario to the last session.
01 - Before launch
Choose the conversations
Pick the three to five conversations your managers find hardest. We build them around your framework, policies and language.
02 - Week 1
Launch the cohort
A named group of managers, a start date and a kickoff. The first roleplay and a Skills Coaching session are assigned on day one.
03 - Weeks 2 to 6
Practice, then plan the real one
Conversations each week, about ten minutes each, with scored feedback after every attempt. Then managers take a conversation they are dreading to Skills Coaching and leave with a written plan.
04 - Week 7
Get the results report
Who practiced, which skills moved and where the group still needs work, ready to share with your stakeholders.
Included in every program
- Scenarios built on your leadership framework and policies
- Cohort set-up, reminders and progress tracking
- Skills Coaching sessions with Hugh, the AI coach
- A named customer success contact for the whole program
- A results report at the end of every cohort
Then the next team
Start with one group, such as newly promoted managers. When the results report lands, run the next cohort or take the program to the next department, using the same scenarios and the same measures.
See it with a conversation your managers are dreading
Tell us the conversation your managers avoid and we'll build it into a scenario on the call. Then we'll show you the feedback a manager gets and the data you'd see across a cohort.
What happens on the call
Discuss your development goals
Build your scenario live on the call
Rollout options and pricing
We reply within one working day.