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Speaking
Practical talks and workshops on the first year in a bigger leadership role. Audiences work on their own roles during the session and leave with something to try.
Quoted per event · in London and the South East, or by video
Three talks
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The First 100 Days, Without the Checklist
- Format
- Keynote, 45 to 60 minutes, or a 90-minute workshop
- For
- New directors, heads of department and the people who support them
Most advice for a new leader arrives as a long checklist. This talk starts from three questions instead: what does this role need from me, who do I need to get it done, and how will I protect the time and energy to do it? Tessa draws on fifteen years of running operations teams and eight years of coaching to show how those three questions sort a crowded first quarter into a short list of choices. The audience works on their own role during the session and leaves with a one-page note they can test with their manager.
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From Peer to Boss: The First Honest Conversation
- Format
- Lunch-and-learn, 45 minutes, or a half-day workshop with practice
- For
- Newly promoted team leaders and managers who now lead former peers
Moving from colleague to manager changes the relationship overnight, even when nobody mentions it. This session looks at the conversation that most new managers delay: the first one-to-one with someone who used to be a peer. Using a simple structure of acknowledging the change, agreeing how you will work, and asking what the other person needs, participants plan and rehearse the conversation in pairs. Tessa draws on her own coaching practice and on her years of running teams.
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The Two-Hour Experiment: Thinking Time for People Who Are Always Busy
- Format
- Talk, 30 to 45 minutes, with a four-week practice task afterwards
- For
- Senior managers and directors, in-house leadership forums, professional events
Meetings and requests can fill the diary before you have time to think. This talk treats thinking time as an experiment rather than a resolution. Participants choose a two-hour weekly block, decide what it protects them from, and agree one signal that tells their team when to leave them alone. Tessa shares the research on how interruptions affect knowledge work, the working-time rules every UK employer and worker should know, and what usually goes wrong in week two. Each participant leaves with a four-week plan to try.
Formats
- Keynote or talk, 30 to 60 minutes, with a third of the time for questions.
- Lunch-and-learn, 45 minutes, usually for one team or one function.
- Workshop, 90 minutes to half a day, with practice in pairs and a one-page plan to take away.
- Series, a talk followed by a workshop, or the same workshop for several groups.
How it works
- Enquiry. Use the request form and choose Speaking so Tessa can see your event date, audience and format.
- Free call. The same free call of about 30 minutes as for coaching, about the audience, the room and what you want people to do afterwards.
- Quote. A written quote with the format, length, tailoring and travel.
- The event. Talk, workshop or a mix. Tessa stays for questions afterwards, in the room or online.
- After. A one-page summary for participants and a short note for the organiser on what came up.
Price
Quoted per event. The quote depends on length, audience size, travel and how much tailoring is needed, and shows the fee excluding VAT, VAT at 20% and the total. Nothing can be bought on this website.
Questions from organisers
How far ahead should we book?
Six to eight weeks is comfortable. Shorter notice is sometimes possible; ask on the form.
Can you tailor a talk to our sector?
Tessa can adapt the examples and language. She does not claim sector expertise she does not have, so you will see the framing of the talk before it is delivered.
Do you take questions?
Yes. Talks keep a third of the time for questions and discussion.
Is travel included?
Within central London, yes. Elsewhere, travel and any overnight stay are added to the quote at cost.
Tell Tessa about your event: the date, the audience and how long you would like.
Ask about a talk