Founding Cohort · 8 Spots

Your managers will know how to lead. Your business will be a better place to work.

A 10-week live online programme for the managers your business needs to grow. Built around real frameworks, real coaching, and the work they're actually doing this week. Starts Tuesday 12 May.

Built by Arran Russell · 15 years inside a business that scaled from 25 to 100+

Why this exists

Most managers were never taught to lead.

They got the role because they were good at their old job. Then someone handed them a team and said "good luck."

That's not a criticism. It's just what happens. 82% of UK managers have never had any formal training. So they figure it out as they go, hoping nobody notices.

Meanwhile, the conversations that need to happen aren't happening. The person who's drifting is still drifting. The team that should be growing is stuck. And the manager who's meant to be leading them is exhausted, second-guessing themselves, and quietly wondering if they're doing it right.

Being a manager without any training is lonely. You don't know if you're doing it right. You avoid the hard conversations because you don't know how to have them. You watch your best people leave and can't put your finger on why.

This isn't about being a bad manager. It's about never being given the tools to be a good one.

The programme

Four layers of management that build on each other.

Every module is practical. If they can't use it on Monday, it doesn't make the cut.

01 · Managing You

Lead yourself first.

Including the one shift that changes everything, and almost nobody makes it.

Leadership mindset, energy management, self-awareness, leadership styles, and the delegation habits that stop you being the bottleneck. Builds: a Working With Me document your team reads on day one, and an AI Leadership Coach calibrated to your style.

02 · Building Your Team

A culture where people actually perform.

How you turn a group of individuals into a team that works without you hovering over it.

Psychological safety, shared purpose, trust, and the operational clarity that stops things falling through the cracks. The conditions every high-performing team needs.

03 · The Talent Lifecycle

Get the best out of your people.

The practical, do-it-on-Monday content.

Hire well, onboard properly, run 1:1s people actually value, give feedback that lands, and have the conversations most managers avoid. Builds: an Ideal Colleague Profile, a Career Development Framework, and an AI Talent Toolkit that generates hiring profiles on demand.

04 · The Bigger Picture

See beyond your team.

The difference between someone who manages tasks and someone who actually leads.

Strategic thinking, managing up, cross-functional influence, and connecting your team's work to the direction of the business. Builds: a "What Does My Manager Value?" diagnostic that maps where you're delivering and where you're wasting effort.

How it's delivered

Live, coached, applied.

This isn't a self-paced course. It's a live programme designed around the way adults actually retain and apply new skills.

1

10 weeks of live online sessions

Starting Tuesday 12 May. A 2-hour kick-off followed by weekly 1-hour sessions, every Tuesday at 10am. Recorded teaching content available on the platform, but live sessions are where the work gets done.

2

4 x 1:1 coaching sessions with me

Two during the programme, two within six months after. McKinsey's research is clear: leadership programmes that pair training with follow-up coaching deliver more than double the ROI. The coaching is what turns frameworks into habits once you're back in the chaos of the week.

3

The Set The Tone platform

Deeper dives on every topic, templates you can use, and a community of managers at the same stage. 2 years' access included. Your platform for going deeper between sessions and long after the programme ends.

4

Direct access to me throughout

Stuck on a hard conversation? About to make a hire and want a sense-check? Got a team problem you're not sure how to handle? Send me a message. Response within 24 hours.

In person · Bonus

We meet face to face. Around week 8.

Half-day morning session to go deeper once the group already knows each other. Not an icebreaker. A deepener.

By week 8 you'll know each other from the online sessions. This is where we take it further. Can't make it? No problem. The core programme is online. This is a bonus, not a requirement.

When
Week 8 or 9 of the programme · July 2026
Where
Birmingham or London · location confirmed during the programme
Cost
Included. Travel and accommodation are yours.
Arran Russell
Why me

15 years of mistakes, compressed so you don't repeat them.

I'm not a founder. I was the senior exec inside a business that grew from 25 people to well over 100, the person the founder relied on to develop the management layer beneath them. I started managing two people. I ended up responsible for over 60 across the UK and Europe.

I made every mistake in the book. Hired out of desperation. Avoided the hard conversations. Let small problems become crises because I didn't want to be "that" manager.

This programme is everything I wish someone had given me in year one. I'm running the founding cohort small, and at a fraction of full price, because your feedback shapes how it runs for everyone after.

15
Years in management
100+
People directly managed
200+
Hires made
300+
In teams I've led
"
Most management training is written by people who've never managed a team through a hard year. This is the opposite.
- Arran Russell, founder
The founding offer

8 spots. £497. You help shape it.

This is the only time it'll be this price. Your feedback shapes how the programme runs for everyone after.

£497
Founding price
Full price from Cohort 2: £1,500
Save 67%
What's included
  • 10 live online sessions: 2 hour kick-off + 9 weekly 1 hour sessions (Tuesdays at 10am)
  • In-person session around week 8 (location TBC, optional)
  • 4 x 1:1 coaching sessions (2 during, 2 within 6 months after)
  • Direct access to me throughout, response within 24 hours
  • 2 years' access to the Set The Tone platform and community when it launches
  • Direct input into the programme as it develops
Reserve your spot · £497 Prefer to spread the cost? 3 × £166
100% money-back guarantee

If you show up to the first 3 sessions and feel this isn't worth your time, I'll refund you in full. No questions, no awkwardness.

Starts Tuesday 12 May. 8 spots only. Once they're filled, the next cohort runs at £1,500.

Still not sure if it's right for you?

If you've read this far and you're on the fence, email me and tell me what's going on. No pitch. I'll give you an honest answer about whether this programme is the right move, or whether something else fits better.

Reserve your spot · £497