I first attended training with Nick Danby as part of face2face consultancy when it was recommended to me back in 2009. As an experienced Headteacher I was looking for something entirely different to the leadership programmes I had done before. The Executive Leadership Programme seemed to offer just that, a chance to work alongside leaders outside the educational sector.

After the first day of the programme I was inspired. The opportunity to learn from and with the other members of the group was incredible. I was not only able to realise the similarities and differences in our leadership styles but also started to recognise and understand the influence we as leaders have on those around us. The programme was intense and highly challenging but I really couldn’t wait for the next session to come round. The facilitation was excellent throughout the face to face training days, but I also greatly valued the follow up calls from Nick in between sessions which held me to account and kept me on track. This was instrumental in ensuring our individual targets were met.

The ongoing feedback throughout the course was very useful as this was provided by my leadership colleagues as well as the facilitators. I was then able to work on the areas identified prior to the next session and really see myself becoming a more effective leader.

Since then Nick has provided training for my leadership teams and whole staff teams in a variety of settings as well as providing one to one coaching and development sessions for me as a systems leader. He has led a very successful visioning day for school staff who were working in different schools but being brought together under one leadership team.

I have found myself using the transferrable skills that I have learned in all aspects of my life, as they are about relating to and seeking to understand people and why they do as they do. The skills have been invaluable when doing presentations or attending interviews.

Nick is motivational and has a unique style which establishes trust quickly. His training is positive, enjoyable and engaging but most of all it encouraged me to believe, “that I can achieve what seemed like the impossible”.

“face2Face has been instrumental in the development of the skills of the whole of the senior team, me included.

The work that face2face has carried out and continues to has focussed the whole management team on delivery of excellent management and leadership skills which have had a positive impact on all staff.

We are constantly looking for ways to improve our results and with the support and guidance from face2face we continue to grow and deliver better results.

I would recommend face2face to any organisation that is looking to develop better management and leadership skills”.

“The exec programme gave me the invaluable skills to drive forward school improvement with senior leaders, building the team and empowering them to empower others. Would definitely recommend to any new or existing Head teacher who wants to challenge their own thinking and ways of working. 

Simply the best CPD I’ve ever had.”

As we are growing at a phenomenal rate, it is important that here at Wesco we don’t grow complacent of our success and lose sight of the importance of not only our external customers but the importance of our internal stakeholders/customers and the emphasis being on ‘Communication & Team Development’. Therefore I recommended a course that would suit such needs to give a general push to improve and enforce the importance of ‘internal communication skills’ whilst also building and understanding the ethos behind successful teams.

I have worked with Nick Danby from face2face for a number of years. He not only works on understanding the culture of our business but ensures this is reflected in the training he delivers. Working with Nick is proving to be invaluable with the full support he offers during and after the course programmes. During the programme, the candidates are given time for reflection of their learning and the opportunity to feed back and seek further advice on the good, the bad and the indifferent.

I am confident our business needs have been met and the candidates are more than willing to put in place their newly acquired knowledge and skills. We have now completed three ‘Communication & Team Development’ programmes and Nick has worked with me to ensure the pace and timings are exactly right, whilst also ensuring the programme is engaging and more importantly – it is delivered to ensure all learning outcomes are met.

face2face are very focused on achieving the results of our employees’ needs.

I have always found Nick and his staff to be very professional and helpful. If there isn’t a course to fit our requirements, then they will do their very best to meet our needs.

I have worked with Nick Danby for a number of years on various staff development programmes.

Nick is an excellent trainer who ensures that audience participation is a pre-requisite component of any course thus improving the end result. Nick has an excellent training style and is very much aware of business needs. He works hard to ensure that course content matches the company’s and individuals’ needs.

Having taken part in a number of professional development programmes which were very much theory based, doing the face2face Executive Development Programme was a complete revelation. It covered a wide spectrum of very practical management and leadership techniques to help you analyse and develop your business. These included effective management, corporate development, communication skills, sales, leadership skills, conflict management, customer services training and negotiating skills.

There were only six of us on the course so it was very bespoke and it was great to bounce ideas off each other and the coaches. We had to do a number of presentations during the programme which were filmed. Whilst a bit nerve wracking to start with, this really helped to improve your presentation skills and gave you the confidence to stand on your own two feet and deal with difficult issues, which is what real life in a business is all about.

The course concluded with an overnight stay with dinner and we had to put on some entertainment which was great fun. The coaches were inspirational and during the course visited our business to work on a 1:1 basis and direct us in implementing what we had learned at the previous session.

I would highly recommend this course to any manager or business owner who wishes grow and be successful in taking their business to a higher level.

The Executive Development programme was a turning point in my life, both professionally and personally. Nick was an inspiration, giving me a thirst for self-knowledge and improvement, helping me grow in self-confidence and setting me on a journey on which I haven’t looked back. The programme sessions with managers from other businesses were sometimes hard work, sometimes fun, but always challenging and enlightening. Two years on, the programme sessions are still bearing fruit for me, and Nick has remained a terrific support and mentor.

Following on from my experience, our team leaders have now benefited from a High Performance Programme led by face2face to develop their management skills in communication, coaching and mentoring, listening skills and team building. This has enabled us to delegate more management responsibility and make our team leaders more accountable for their team’s performance as well as their own. The benefits of the programme are cascading down though the firm.

Some have attended the Presentation Skills course, enabling them to go out with confidence and a desire to sell our services, and this definitely resulted in winning new business.

Appraisal Skills training developed not only our team leaders but also helped them develop their teams in turn, boosting morale at a challenging time for all businesses.

Most recently, the Strategic Planning sessions we three partners had with Nick were some of the most valuable and productive hours we have ever spent working on our business, not just in it. He guided us through the development of a clear strategy for growth, so we know not just where we want to be (and why we want to be there!), but also what we need to do to get there, how we will do it and when we will do it. The clarity and focus this has given us is priceless