Workshops

In today’s fast-paced operational environment, the most effective way to power up your business is to empower your leaders to coach, not simply manage. Many organizations struggle with teams that rely heavily on leaders for answers, creating bottlenecks, frustration and slow decision-making. If you find yourself wishing your staff would come to you with solutions instead of problems, this workshop will give you the tools, and the confidence, to change that dynamic for good.

In this interactive full-day session, Heléne Smuts will guide participants through the essential skills of a coaching-centered leadership approach. You will learn practical frameworks that shift conversations from directive to developmental, helping your teams think more critically, take ownership and build their own problem-solving capability. Through guided instruction, real-world examples and small-group practice, you’ll experience firsthand how powerful the right coaching questions can be in elevating performance, strengthening alignmen and building accountability across your organization.

This workshop moves beyond theory. You will actively practice core coaching techniques that can be applied immediately to daily stand-ups, performance conversations, improvement discussions and team development moments. By the end of the session, you’ll walk away equipped to build a culture where people are empowered, trusted and confident, creating the conditions for sustainable growth, continuous improvement and stronger leadership at every level.

1. Shift from directing to coaching to build stronger problem-solving capability in their teams.
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2. Hold high-quality coaching conversations using structured tools and question frameworks.
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3. Create accountability and alignment through a people-centric leadership approach.
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4. Empower teams to bring solutions, not just problems, reducing bottlenecks and leader dependency.
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5. Apply coaching techniques immediately to daily operations, team development and continuous improvement work.

With more than 15 years’ experience developing people and high-performing teams, she has worked with a range of businesses from start-ups to blue-chip companies across six continents. Her obsession with high performance has created a deep understanding of the impact of inter-team dynamics, leadership and how to get her client's team members to work better together.

In 2021, she published her first book, "Ditch Mediocrity," which empowers leaders to develop their own teams. She has also developed an online course, which delves a little deeper into each chapter of the book to give leaders and their teams the guidance and tools to reach high performance.

Smuts is a member of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) Cape Town and serves on the Regional Council as a MEPA EO Accelerator Programme expert, where she plays a pivotal role in entrepreneurs scaling their businesses to $1M. She is also involved in developing entrepreneurial skills in high school students through the Generation Schools’ Junior to Giants Programme.

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