FROM KNOWING TO DOING: Helping Senior Leaders With the “How”

A few weeks ago, I had the joy of working with a group of senior managers in a leadership training programme. These were people with years of experience. They had faced challenges, led teams, made tough decisions, and earned respect in their organisations. Yet something surprised me. When we spoke about leadership skills like giving feedback, coaching team members, or delegating tasks, they nodded in agreement. They knew these ideas well. But then came the questions: “How exactly do I start that kind of conversation?” “What do I say when someone becomes defensive?” “How do I keep calm when the other person is emotional?”

These were not junior staff asking. These were senior leaders. That’s when it became clear to me: They knew the big idea—but they didn’t know the small steps. So, I shifted my approach. I stopped giving more models. Instead, I began sharing micro-skills from Meta-Coaching and Neuro-Semantics—how to frame feedback, how to pace and lead, how to use language to keep the conversation safe and effective. And guess what?