Vetting a Leadership Training Partner: The Questions I Would Ask First
I make learning games, so I should say up front that I am one of the companies on this list.
Which makes me about the least neutral guide you could find.
But, I have also sat on the buying side, and I have watched friends in HR try to pick a partner from a long, long list.
So this is how I would vet a training partner, written down plainly, in case it helps you too.
The four kinds of company you will meet
When I search for leadership training companies in India, four kinds come back.
The first kind is the big global names, like the Center for Creative Leadership, Dale Carnegie and FranklinCovey, who all run programmes here.
They have decades of research behind them, and for me that is a genuine, solid comfort.
The second kind is the Indian training houses.
Many are founded by former corporate leaders who know how a Pune plant or a Bengaluru tech floor actually works, day to day.
In my experience they understand the room really well: the hierarchy, the politeness, the way people actually talk in a meeting.
The third kind is the independent coaches and facilitators.
One person, one style, and often a lot of heart.
The fourth kind is the experiential people: outbound trainers, simulation makers, and game designers like me.
That is the corner I live in, so please take my enthusiasm with a good pinch of salt.
What I would ask first
Honestly, I think the first question is about you, the buyer, before it is about any company.
What do you want your managers to do differently on a Monday morning?
If that answer is fuzzy, every vendor will probably look equally good, and equally right.
I learnt this the slow way, by once writing a brief so vague that I could have hired anyone at all.
A lovely brief. Useless, but lovely.
Then I would ask each company one question: what will my people practise, and how many times?
For me, practice is where behaviour actually shifts, far more than in the listening part.
A slide about giving feedback is fine. Ten rounds of giving feedback badly, then a bit better, then properly, gives me much more.
The signs I look for
- They ask about your people before they show you their deck.
- They can tell you what a participant will be doing in the first 15 minutes.
- They talk about what happens after the session, back at the desk.
- They are happy to share how they measure change, even if the measure is modest.
- They tell you when they are the wrong fit for you.
That last one gives me the most comfort of all.
A company that will turn work away is, I think, a company that will tell you the truth later too.
If measurement is the sticky part for you, I have written more about how to measure L&D ROI.
Questions about format and cost
I would ask whether the programme is live, digital or a mix of the two.
Each has its place, and I have written about live facilitated versus digital simulations separately.
I would also ask what the price actually includes: design, facilitation, materials, follow-up.
Two quotes can look far apart and still cover very different things.
Apples and jackfruit.
There is a fuller breakdown in what a serious games workshop costs, and most of it applies to any leadership programme.
Where I might be wrong
I lean towards games and simulations, of course, because that is what I make all day.
A good coach, or a classic programme from one of the global names, might suit your team better, and that is perfectly fine.
The right partner is probably the one your managers will actually show up for, properly and willingly.
If you would like a checklist for vetting partners, you are very welcome to have a look at the eight questions I would ask a serious game vendor.
Pick the people who make your managers want to practise.
And if that turns out to be someone other than me, I will be genuinely happy for you both.
With love from Bengaluru, this is Arvindh saying over and out.