Trevor Williams

I was disillusioned by the lack of clarity and leadership at the organisation I was working in at the time.

This caused me to doubt some of my leadership skills that I'd built over the preceding years by formal academic study, books I had read, input from podcasts like "No Bullshit Leadership" and most importantly, practical application.

I was therefore seeking practical, implementable, "no bullshit" input to challenge leadership beliefs, skills and practices I had developed which were unhelpful, reinforcing those which were positive, and learning new ones in areas where "I didn't know what I didn't know."

In short, whilst there are always 3 sides to a story, I needed objective perspective to understand what portion of the problem was attributable me, my employer and external factors (generally "cold, hard facts").

As with almost all investments, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Whilst I have listened to some leadership podcasts and read motivational leadership books of various flavours, and enjoy some of the stories, running my own business for 17 years taught me that the it is not about heart-warming stories and "Kum ba yah".

Rather, with the Pareto Principle applying equally in leadership as most other things, whilst the 20% campfire moments are great, the bulk of a leader's work is hard. Without a successful, well-functioning, profitable organisation, there can be no "Kum ba yah". I was therefore intent on finding input which balanced commercial success with valuing staff, without sugar coating on the one hand or management by numbers on the other.

ABSOLUTELY! Despite the fact that my organisation did not contribute a dime and personal finances stretched, the investment was well worth it.

If someone in a similar career position to me asked if they should do it, without a moment's hesitation I would say "YES".

In short, LBT provided me with the information and practical steps to learn new skills which I needed in order to move forward confidently.

After completing the program I was able to objectively take stock of the situation I found myself in, understand that whilst I played a small part in my unhappiness at work, my frustration with my employer was well founded. Ultimately, it led me to realise that leadership principles I follow, which align closely with those taught on LBT, were not shared by the organisation.

As I was not in a position to drive the fundamental shifts necessary to impact the culture in a positive manner at scale, I concluded that I could best add value in another organisation.

Two things for me: Firstly, it's practical and immediately implementable like it says on the box. Secondly, it's not based on the latest fad, where the presenter generally focusses on one or two aspects of leadership. LBT takes a far more holistic view on how to practically apply the business skills one learns about academically.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the high level of un-recorded, real-time interaction with Marty. LBT is not only a set of pre-recorded lectures and notes, but includes a substantial amount of interaction.