Founding Cohort - 8 Spots

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

10 weeks of live training, built-in coaching, and practical frameworks, starting Tuesday 12 May. For the managers your business needs to grow, and the workplace your people deserve. For your team members new to leadership, those looking to step up, or more experienced managers who were never formally trained.

Built by Arran Russell. 15 years building and leading teams from 2 people to 60+ across the UK and Europe.

Most managers were never taught how to lead people. They got the role because they were good at their job, someone handed them a team, and now they're figuring it out as they go.

That's not a criticism. It's just what happens. 82% of managers in the UK have had no formal training. They're learning on the job, making it up as they go, and the people they're responsible for are feeling it every day.

The conversations that need to happen aren't happening. The person who's drifting is still drifting. Standards slip gradually enough that nobody calls it out. And the things that should be handled by a confident, capable manager keep landing on the owner's desk.

Here's the thing nobody says out loud: being a manager without any training is lonely. You don't know if you're doing it right. You avoid the hard conversations because nobody showed you how to have them. You second-guess yourself constantly. And because everyone else seems to be getting on with it, you assume you're the only one struggling.

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

This programme is built around four layers of leadership that build on each other: how you lead yourself, how you build a team, how you work with your people, and how you connect what you do to the wider business.

It's delivered live over 10 weeks, with coaching built in from day one. The research is clear: training without coaching has a 5% implementation rate. With coaching, 95%. That's the difference between a workshop you forget by Friday and something that actually changes how you lead.

Most training treats managers like a problem to fix. This treats them like people worth investing in. Because when your managers know how to lead, your business becomes a better place to work for everyone in it.

THE PROGRAMME

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

Lead yourself first.

Leadership mindset, energy management and delegation habits that stop you being the bottleneck. Including the one shift that changes everything, and almost nobody makes it.

Build a culture where people actually perform.

A culture where people speak up. Shared purpose. Clarity on what needs to be done and what good looks like. How you turn a group of individuals into a team that works without you hovering over it.

Get the best out of your people

How to hire well, onboard properly, run 1:1s people actually value, give feedback that lands, have the difficult conversations you've been avoiding, and build development paths that keep your best people growing and staying.

See the bigger picture.

Strategic thinking about your customers and market, managing up and understanding how your team fits into the business. The difference between someone who manages tasks and someone who actually leads.

This isn't a self-paced course. Starting Tuesday 12 May, a 2-hour kickoff followed by weekly 1-hour live sessions, every Tuesday at 10am, with a group small enough that you can't hide. Coaching from day one. Direct access to me between sessions. Response within 48 hours. Weekly sessions aren't just convenient. They're how the brain retains what you learn. Research shows 90% of what you pick up in a two-day workshop is gone within a year. Spaced repetition fixes that.

You're not doing this alone. Every member gets 4 x 1:1 coaching sessions with me. One at the beginning of the programme and the other three can be used up to 6 months after we finish. Between sessions, you've got direct access to me as well. Ask me anything, send me the email you're about to send to your underperformer, run a decision past me. I'll respond within 24 hours. This isn't a course with a Slack channel bolted on. It's structured support for as long as you need it.

Your platform for going deeper. Between sessions, you'll have access to the Set The Tone platform. Deeper dives on every topic we cover. Templates you can use immediately. Access starts when the programme starts and stays with you for life.

Reserve your spot - £497

We meet face-to-face. Around week 8.

Half-day morning session to go deeper once the group already knows each other.

When: Week 8 or 9 of the programme (July 2026)

Location TBC (Birmingham or London). Full details during the programme.

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. You'll get a recording of the content.

The core programme is online. This is a bonus, not a requirement.

WHY ME

15 years of mistakes, compressed into 10 weeks so you don't repeat them.

I started managing 2 people and ended up responsible for 60+ across the UK and Europe. I was on the leadership team during a buyout, 4 acquisitions and growing the business significantly under private equity ownership.

15

100+

200+

300+

Years in management

People directly managed

Hires made

People in teams I've led

I hired out of desperation. Avoided the hard conversations. Let small problems become crises because I didn't want to be "that" manager. The thing that changed everything was building systems: the structures, skills, and habits that let you actually lead instead of firefighting.

This programme is everything I wish someone had given me in year one. I'm running the first cohort small so I can give everyone proper attention and make sure it delivers before I scale it.

The Founding Offer

8 spots. £497. You help shape the programme.

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

£497 founding price

Full price from Cohort 2: £1500 SAVE 67%

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

  • 10 live online sessions: 2 hour kick-off + 9 weekly 1 hour sessions (Tuesday 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 of access to the Set The Tone platform and community when it launches - deep dive videos and templates, with group sessions, AI chatbot and a community to follow later this year.
  • Direct input into the programme as it develops

Prefer to spread the cost? 3 x £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. I'd rather give you your money back than have someone in the room who doesn't want to be there.

Secure checkout via Stripe. Questions? Email me.

Starts Tuesday 12 May. 8 spots only. Once they're filled, the next cohort is at the full price of £1500.

If you've read this far and you're still not sure, email me and tell me what's going on in your business. No pitch. I'll tell you honestly whether this is the right fit.

© 2026 Set The Tone. APR Consulting Group Ltd