Client: Tradewind Recruitment
Programme Leads: Isha Cruz (Head of People), Paul Marshall (Director of Talent & Compliance), James Smith (Senior Manager)
Delivered by: David Davies, Head of Leadership Development & Mentoring, Lead Talent

 

The Challenge

Tradewind Recruitment set out to do something many organisations talk about — but few truly achieve:

Build a genuine coaching culture.

This wasn’t about rolling out another leadership programme or introducing new frameworks. It was about fundamentally changing how managers lead. Shifting away from directive, solution-led management toward a style that builds capability, ownership, and accountability at every level.

Put simply, leaders needed to stop fixing problems… and start developing people.

 

The Solution

David Davies partnered directly with senior leadership to deliver a focused, high-impact development programme built around real behavioural change. Not theory.

Working with three key leaders, the programme redefined what effective coaching looks like in practice.

The first step was creating clarity. Leaders explored the critical differences between managing, mentoring, coaching, and fixing. This unlocked a new way of thinking.  Where coaching is less about having the answers and more about creating the environment for others to succeed.

This led to a fundamental mindset shift: from control → to empowerment

From there, the focus moved rapidly into application. Leaders developed the core coaching skills needed to lead differently every day:

• Active listening that builds genuine understanding
• Powerful questioning that unlocks thinking and ownership
• Confidence in using silence, challenge, and stretch
• Clear, growth-focused feedback that drives development
• Creating an environment that feels a “safe space.”

Every element was grounded in real business scenarios, ensuring leaders could immediately apply what they learned.

Coaching was then embedded into the rhythm of daily leadership, not confined to formal 1:1s. Whether in quick corridor conversations, post-meeting reflections, performance discussions, or development moments, coaching is becoming a part of how leaders operate. Not an additional task.

 

The Outcome

Tradewind is now in the early stages of embedding a coaching-led culture — and the shift is already visible.

Emerging leadership behaviours include:

• Greater focus on listening and asking, rather than telling
• A clear shift from fixing problems to developing people
• Reduced team dependency through increased ownership
• Higher levels of self-awareness and emotional control
• Stronger engagement in coaching as a positive, developmental process

This work has created a strong foundation for long-term cultural change. As these behaviours become consistent habits, Tradewind is well positioned to benefit from:

• Increased accountability and ownership across teams
• Greater organisational agility
• Stronger, more consistent leadership capability
• A sustainable, coaching-led approach to performance and development

 

Client Feedback

“Our goal was to move toward a genuine coaching culture, and Lead Talent provided the support to get us moving towards this. By working directly with our HR and Training leadership, we’ve been able to define exactly what ‘good’ coaching looks like for our business.

We are currently implementing the new structures, and the shift in our internal dialogue is already apparent. This has provided the foundation for a more empowered, coaching-focused and transformative offering for our leaders.”

Paul Marshall, Director of Talent & Compliance

 

Why Work with David Davies

David Davies helps organisations move beyond leadership theory into practical, embedded behaviour change.

His approach combines leadership development, coaching, and mentoring to create lasting impact equipping leaders with the mindset, skills, and confidence to lead in a way that drives performance and develops people.

This isn’t training that sits on the surface.
It’s transformation that shows up in how leaders think, act, and lead every single day.

 

Ready to Build a Coaching Culture?

If you want leaders who don’t just manage performance but actively grow people, capability, and accountability it starts with how they lead every day.

David Davies works with organisations to embed practical, coaching-led leadership that delivers real, measurable change.

Get in touch:
07734 389434
david.davies@lead-talent.co.uk
https://lead-talent.co.uk

 

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