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A Five engagement
One day that shapes the next six months.
A bespoke, one-to-one executive intensive built on confidential stakeholder feedback, always paired with embed coaching that turns the clarity into change. Stepping back to discern what’s working and what’s not is the highest-leverage thing a senior leader can do. Almost nobody makes the time. The Lab does.
Four to six weeks from confirmation to Lab day. Fridays, in person, one leader at a time.
Four stages up to the Lab day, then six months of monthly embed coaching.
Why it matters
Whether a leader’s stepping into something bigger, holding more than before, or just wants to be deliberate about the next six months, the pressure’s the same: build new stakeholder relationships amongst competing demands, balance the tactical with the strategic, and lead a team through a shifting landscape.
Most senior leaders want more than a 360. A Lab sets stakeholder feedback inside a full day of structured reflection, challenge and planning – then monthly coaching that embeds it.
Stepping back to discern what’s working and what’s not is the highest-leverage thing a senior leader can do. Almost nobody makes the time. The Lab does.
What we explore
Every Lab’s designed from scratch around one person and the organisation they’re leading. Six themes come up in almost all of them.
How you lead, and how that actually lands with the people around you.
Who matters to the work, where the friction sits, and what it’s costing.
What the role’s really for, against everything competing for the diary.
Whether the right people are pointed at the right things, for the strategy you’ve got.
What sustained pressure’s doing to your judgement, and what holds under it.
The half of the answer most leaders never get to: what to stop.
How it runs
Feedback’s the spine of the day. Everything before the Lab exists to gather it honestly; everything after it exists to make sure the day changes something.
We review your strategy, structure and leadership expectations to find where impact sits.
Confidential interviews with three to five critical stakeholders. Peers, reports, chair or chief executive.
We connect strategy to that feedback and design a bespoke Lab.
A full day, one to one, in person. Immersive and confidential, with insights captured live.
Monthly embed coaching that drives accountability and locks the roadmap into how the leader leads.
The questions people ask before they commit a diary to it.
From confirmation to Lab day. That’s the runway interviews and bespoke design actually need.
One leader at a time. Around six hours, plus short pre-lab reflections.
Confidential and themed, never attributed. Thirty to forty minutes each.
Typically monthly, in person or online, after the Lab.
Who leads it
Sally’s Five’s Head of Executive Leadership Development, with more than 25 years of international experience in HR leadership and executive development. Her coaching presence is calm yet incisive, creating real shift through structured reflection and evidence-based development. Embed coaching after the Lab is delivered by Sally and Nick Mackeson-Smith.
Client lead
Sally SchmallStrategy
Performance
People
Client lead
Nick Mackeson-SmithStrategy
Performance
Culture
People
Technology
What leaders say
“Working with Sally over the past 18 months has been instrumental in shaping both my leadership and the performance of a new executive team. She has consistently brought insight, structure, and a deep understanding of executive dynamics, and has served as a trusted thought partner as I navigate the complexity and visibility that comes with leading a community-owned bank.”
Kerry Boielle
Chief Executive, TSB Bank
“Such an impactful day. You have certainly given me much to reflect on as well as some concrete actions which will lift my game immediately. Even if you are pretty comfortable with leadership there is always room for improvement, and often much your unconscious bias makes you overlook.”
Paul Littlefair
Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Kiwibank
“It is not often that leaders get to spend an entire day focusing on themselves with expert guidance, probing questions and a clear plan to enhance effectiveness. I am incredibly proud that we have been able to make this investment in our senior team.”
Kartik Natarajan
ANZ Managing Director, Getinge
Where we run Labs across a whole leadership group, we can add a bespoke Executive Team Workshop afterwards, building on what surfaced individually to create a shared view of the future, agreed ways of working and a cross-functional approach to priorities. Those insights then feed back into each leader’s coaching, bringing the experience full circle.
Related reading
Tell us who the leader is and what they’re holding, and we’ll tell you honestly whether a Lab’s the right answer.
Labs run on Fridays, one leader at a time.
Make delivery inevitable.
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