Everything comes back to the owner
Decisions keep moving upwards. Leaders need clearer authority and the confidence to take responsibility.
Tailored leadership development
Tailored leadership development.
Practical change at work.
A bespoke mix of learning, coaching and support. Built around your people, your business priorities and the way your leaders need to grow.
Work with Russell Cummings to develop a leadership program that fits your team’s experience, challenges and working environment.
Start with a free 20-minute conversation with Russ.
40+ years advising and coaching businessesTailored to your leadership needsPractical learning. Applied at work.
Who it’s for
Your business is growing. Your leaders need to grow with it.
Strong technical performance does not automatically prepare someone to lead people. As responsibilities grow, managers need a deliberate way to build their leadership capability.
SHIFFT works with privately owned and family businesses to connect that development with what the business needs next. Your team’s starting point shapes the program, from the capabilities you focus on to how the learning is delivered.
- Emerging leadersHelp capable people make the transition from doing the work to leading others.
- ManagersBuild confidence in delegation, performance conversations and everyday decisions.
- Leadership teamsDevelop shared expectations and stronger ways of working across the business.
The challenges behind the brief
What needs to change in your team?
Hard conversations get delayed
Unclear expectations and unresolved issues make it harder for people to perform well together.
Learning fades after the workshop
Good ideas need practice, feedback and follow-through to become consistent leadership habits.
The SHIFFT approach
Start with the business.
Develop the people who lead it.
SHIFFT’s philosophy connects strategy, capability and commitment. We start with your business direction and the challenges your leaders face. Together, we shape a bespoke program that develops the capabilities and behaviours your team needs to put that direction into practice.
Understand what matters.
Explore your business goals, team dynamics and leadership gaps. Identify the challenges and development priorities of the people taking part.
Design around your team.
Agree the outcomes, participants and delivery rhythm. Select and tailor the workshops, coaching, behavioural insights and resources around your leaders’ needs.
Help the learning stick.
Connect sessions with workplace action. Use agreed follow-up, feedback and progress reviews to support continued development.
Your program
A bespoke mix of learning and support.
Your program is shaped with you. The content, examples, pace and support reflect your business context and the people taking part. We select from the building blocks below and agree the right combination in your proposal.
Practical workshops
Interactive face-to-face or online sessions focused on the skills your leaders need to develop.
Individual coaching
Space to work through personal challenges, set goals and apply feedback to a leader’s own situation.
Behavioural insights
Assessments, surveys and diagnostics where appropriate to understand strengths, styles and development needs.
Webinars and online learning
Focused learning that can fit around your team’s responsibilities and reinforce the workshop content.
Workplace application
Practical actions that connect the learning to real conversations, decisions and responsibilities.
Resources and follow-up
Selected books, journals, practical tools and agreed coaching support to help leaders reflect, practise and improve between sessions.
Clear scope before you commit.
Participants, outcomes, delivery format, time commitments, assessments, follow-up and investment are agreed before the program begins.
Capabilities that matter at work
Make leadership practical.
Your priorities might include:
- Understanding your leadership style and its impact.
- Setting clear expectations and delegating responsibility.
- Giving useful feedback and addressing performance.
- Making decisions and solving problems with others.
- Managing conflict and leading through change.
The focus comes from discovery with you and your team.
From learning to everyday leadership
A better conversation is a practical result.
A workplace challenge gives development a clear purpose. This example shows how a leader could connect a workshop idea with a change in their everyday behaviour.
Illustrative example - fictional situation“I keep taking the work back.”
A newly promoted manager delegates a task but steps in whenever the team member asks a question. Their own workload keeps growing.
Agree the outcome first.
The manager practises clarifying the result, decision boundaries and review points. They ask the team member to propose the next step.
Reflect on what changed.
At an agreed follow-up, the manager reviews what they tried, how the team member responded and what they will adjust next time.
Learn → Apply → Get feedback → Reflect and improve
Your facilitator and coach
Work directly with Russ.
Russell Cummings is a business management consultant, coach and author with more than 40 years of experience advising businesses and developing leaders.
Based on the Gold Coast, he works with owners and leadership teams across Australia and New Zealand. His experience spans family businesses, manufacturing, food production, horticulture and professional services.
His approach connects strategic direction with leadership capability and practical action. Each program is shaped around the people and business involved.
Russ also creates books, journals and learning resources that bring these ideas into everyday work. Selected reading, reflection exercises and planning tools can become part of your program, matched to the development priorities you agree together.
Books and resources by Russ
Keep the learning working between sessions.
A useful book can start a better conversation. A journal can help a leader follow through. Russ selects reading and practical tools to reinforce the capabilities your program is developing.
The Questions You’re Not Asking
Challenge assumptions about leadership, culture and business performance. Use selected questions to guide reflection and team discussion.
Explore the book on SHIFFT →
Focused Execution
Connect priorities with everyday action. The book and companion planning journals can support focus, reflection and a consistent execution rhythm.
Explore Focused Execution →Browse the planning journals →
AI Prompt Library →Practical prompts for planning, problem-solving and leadership work.Focused Execution Learning Sprint →Explore a structured way to build personal execution habits.SHIFFT webinars →Explore further learning on leadership and business performance.Books, journals and other resources are selected to suit your goals. Specific inclusions are agreed in your tailored program.
Before you start
Give the first conversation a clear focus.
Bring a business challenge.
Where is leadership holding the team back? Think of a recent example: a delayed decision, unclear handover or difficult conversation.
Ask: What would a stronger leader do differently in this situation?
Describe the change you want.
Identify who needs to develop and what you would like to see them doing more consistently at work.
Ask: What evidence would tell us the development is helping?
Leadership insights
Ideas to bring into your next team conversation.
Explore practical SHIFFT articles on the challenges leaders face at work. Use them to reflect, start a discussion or identify a focus for your tailored program.
Standards and accountability
What are you tolerating?
The leadership question that changes everything.
Consider the habits, workarounds and recurring frustrations your team has come to accept. Explore how everyday leadership shapes standards.
Read the article on SHIFFT →
Reflection and self-awareness
The Power of Reflection
Why five minutes a day can change your performance.
Turn daily experience into useful learning. Explore a simple reflection habit and a weekly review that connects activity with priorities.
Read the article on SHIFFT →
Delegation
Delegation Is Not About Letting Go
It’s about taking control.
Explore delegation as a leadership practice and a way to build responsibility across your team.
Read the article on SHIFFT →Useful buying answers
Leadership program FAQs
Who are the programs designed for?
Leadership teams, managers and emerging leaders in privately owned and family businesses. The starting point is the leadership capability your business needs and the experience of the people taking part.
How is a tailored program different from a training course?
A tailored program starts with your business priorities and the behaviours your leaders need to develop. Workshops, coaching and workplace application are selected around those needs. The aim is to connect learning with day-to-day leadership.
What topics can we focus on?
Topics can include self-awareness, communication, delegation, decision-making, conflict resolution and leading through change. Discovery helps identify which capabilities matter most for your team.
How long does a program run?
Duration and session frequency are agreed during program design. The proposal sets out the delivery format, participant commitments, support and investment before you decide to proceed.
Are behavioural assessments included?
Behavioural assessments, surveys and diagnostics can inform the program where appropriate. Any assessment, its purpose and how the findings will be used are agreed as part of the scope.
Can delivery combine online and face-to-face sessions?
Yes. SHIFFT’s published approach combines face-to-face or online workshops with options such as webinars, individual coaching and online learning. The mix is agreed around your team and business needs.
How do we know whether development is making a difference?
Agree the changes you want to see before delivery starts. Review practical evidence such as clearer delegation, better conversations and progress on workplace actions. Measures and review points should reflect the agreed program goals.
What is the first step?
Book a 20-minute introductory call with Russ or use SHIFFT’s online contact form. Discuss your participants, business priorities and the changes you want to see. Russell can then explore the right scope with you.
Start with a conversation
What does your next generation of leaders need?
Talk with Russ about your team, your business priorities and the changes you want to see.
- Identify the leadership challenges that matter most.
- Explore the right participants and development focus.
- Discuss whether a tailored proposal is the next step.
Free introductory conversation. No commitment to a program.
Prefer to send an enquiry?
Use SHIFFT’s existing online contact form. Tell Russ:
- Your business and the people you want to develop.
- The leadership challenges you are seeing.
- The outcomes and timing you have in mind.
The form opens on the main SHIFFT website.
Or contact Russ directly:
0414 929 585
russell@shifft.com.au