Summary

Farley Thomas, the co-founder and CEO of Manageable joins today’s conversation and shares his revolutionary insights on empowering organisations through highly skilled management. 

Farley highlights the incredible impact of upskilled, confident, and competent managers on organisational success, and why traditional training methods often fall short, diving into the practical approaches his company adopts and drawing fascinating parallels between language learning and workplace skills training. 

Farley also unpacks the critical importance of practice and real-world application in management training, supported by eye-opening examples and personal experiences. From the harmful effects of untrained management on employee well-being to innovative solutions like the Leadership Capacity Profile, this episode is packed with actionable insights that challenge conventional leadership development, advocating for early-career focus and continuous learning that can transform the future of work.

Takeaways

• The concept of Empowerment and the importance of skilled management.
• Ineffectiveness of traditional training and the importance of practice over theoretical knowledge.
• The Impact of poor management on employees and Manageable’s approach on managers training.
• Differences between Managers and Leaders.
• Evaluating leadership capacity- a hypothetical scenario for discovering leadership potential among contributors.
• Skill development and behavioural change through practice.
• Redefining leadership and management roles- ​​reallocating training resources towards early career managers.

Timestamps

(02:15)  Introducing Farley Thomas - the Concept of Empowerment and effective management in organisations.

(14:01) Traditional Training vs. Practical Application.

(18:01) The five principles of Manageable’s effective training programs- the importance of data-driven efforts, bite-sized training, social learning, live sessions, and role models.

(24:00) The impact of Poor Management on Employee Well-Being.

(28:00)  Effective Leadership and Management Practices (Manager vs. Leader).

(34:01) Continuous learning and resource allocation for early career Managers.

(45:00) Thomas’ personal reflections and business advice (critique of work practices).

(54:02) Book Recommendations

(57:00) Final Thoughts and future vision.

About Farley Thomas

Farley Thomas is the co-founder and CEO of Manageable, the leadership-skills-focused EdTech firm on a mission to give everyone the gift of a great manager. 

Prior to founding Manageable in 2020, Farley established a highly successful executive coaching and leadership advisory practice in 2014. He has been advising and coaching CEOs and their teams across diverse industry sectors ever since. 

The core of his previous corporate experience was gained at HSBC, where he was CRO at HSBC Asset Management for over a decade, ultimately setting up and leading teams in over 30 countries worldwide. He has consistently been trusted to develop new initiatives, products and markets.

Follow Farley Thomas

Website: https://www.manageable.works

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farleythomas/

Manageable Conversations Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/manageable-conversations/id1586790766

Book recommendations

The Geek Way by Andrew McAfee

Nine Lies About Work by Marcus Buckingham & Ashley Goodall

Mentioned in this episode:

Get Mind Your F**king Business