INSTITUTE OF SALES PROFESSIONALS

The Defy Expectations Leadership Academy is an interactive leadership academy that allows you to learn management and leadership skills not only from our experts but also from your peers in a hybrid learning environment.

Ready to join us?

Apply for the Leadership Academy now!

Want to learn more?

Why not join one of our upcoming webinars for more information on what to expect from the Leadership Academy?

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Why Promote the Leadership Academy?

✔️ We Understand the Sales Profession Inside Out

Our programme is specifically designed for sales professionals and tailored to reflect the challenges, skills, and experiences encountered in the sales environment. We’re not just trainers—we know your world, and that’s why we deliver real, practical insights that resonate with your members and help them achieve measurable success.

✔️ Differentiate Your Institute in a Competitive Market

Partnering with us gives your institute a unique edge over other professional organisations. By offering a high-quality, targeted training programme, you’ll set your organisation apart as one that goes beyond standard membership benefits by equipping your members with the tools they need to excel in their sales careers.

✔️ Develop a Structured, Scalable Training Pathway

We help you create a clear, structured training pathway for your members, supporting both early-career professionals and experienced salespeople looking to upskill. This programme can be seamlessly integrated into your existing professional development offerings, providing a consistent framework for skills enhancement.

✔️ Enhance Member Engagement and Satisfaction

By offering a training programme that delivers tangible value, you can strengthen member engagement, improve retention rates, and attract new members. Sales professionals will see your institute as a vital partner in their long-term career development, helping them stay competitive and relevant in an ever-evolving marketplace.

✔️ Promote Professional Excellence in Sales

Our training aligns with the broader goal of elevating sales as a respected, professional discipline. By promoting our programme, you’ll be contributing to a culture of continuous learning and helping to raise standards within the sales profession—demonstrating your institute’s commitment to driving excellence across the industry.

What's included in the Leadership Academy

Below are our recommended modules for the Leadership Academy. Contact us to learn how we can customise the learning experience to your needs and your industry.

Transform your leadership approach and create a lasting impact.

✔️ Lead with values, purpose, and self-awareness.

✔️ Identify strengths, biases, and emotional intelligence.

✔️ Align personal and organisational values for trust and integrity.

✔️ Inspire teams, drive innovation and navigate uncertainty.

✔️ Plan, execute and sustain impactful change effectively.

✔️ Real-world case studies and actionable techniques for immediate use.

Unlock the power of communication to drive engagement, empathy, and brand success.

✔️ Master clarity, confidence, and connection.

✔️ Build trust by understanding and addressing diverse perspectives.

✔️ Craft compelling narratives that resonate and inspire action.

✔️ Align messaging with values to create a powerful brand identity.

✔️ Use active listening, feedback, and emotional intelligence to strengthen relationships.

✔️ Learn actionable techniques and real-world strategies to elevate communication.

Equip yourself with the tools to lead strategically and drive measurable growth.

✔️ Develop a visionary mindset to anticipate opportunities and challenges.

✔️ Learn to lead with clarity, foster collaboration, and drive decision-making.

✔️ Enhance planning, prioritisation, and resource allocation for maximum impact.

✔️ Foster innovation through agile thinking and data-driven decision-making.

✔️ Understand the core principles of scaling and sustaining success.

Lead with confidence and compassion to drive results and promote organisational health.

✔️ Navigate challenges while fostering a culture of care and resilience.

✔️ Build personal resilience and manage stress effectively.

✔️ Support team well-being while maintaining performance.

✔️ Align processes and people for sustainable results.

✔️ Identify, assess, and mitigate risks to ensure stability and growth.

✔️ Implement strategies to balance productivity with well-being.

Empower your team to thrive with a culture that drives success and mutual support.

✔️ Cultivate trust, collaboration, and shared purpose.

✔️ Foster transparency, inclusivity, and effective communication.

✔️ Understand how to inspire, empower, and align diverse teams.

✔️ Develop skills to guide and support team members effectively.

✔️ Balance priorities and navigate complexities with confidence.

✔️ Tools and techniques to build high-performing, resilient teams.

Strengthen stakeholder relationships and unlock the full potential of your enabling functions.

✔️ Build strong relationships and manage expectations effectively.

✔️ Optimize partnerships with support teams for seamless execution.

✔️ Drive alignment and secure buy-in across diverse stakeholders.

✔️ Resolve challenges while balancing competing demands.

✔️ Tailor messages to engage and inspire key stakeholders.

✔️ Strategies and frameworks to enhance collaboration and deliver results.

Enhance your financial literacy and lead with confidence in risk and opportunity management.

✔️ Understand key financial concepts your CFO values.

✔️ Identify, assess, and minimise potential risks effectively.

✔️ Leverage financial insights to uncover and act on growth opportunities.

✔️ Use data-driven approaches to align strategy with financial goals.

✔️ Build strong partnerships to drive organizational success.

✔️ Frameworks and examples to integrate financial insights into everyday leadership.

Create exceptional employee experiences that drive satisfaction, performance, and loyalty.

✔️ Identify and attract top talent aligned with your organisation’s values.

✔️ Design onboarding processes that inspire and engage from day one.

✔️ Build a culture of trust, collaboration, and motivation.

✔️ Foster long-term commitment through meaningful employee experiences.

✔️ Frameworks and techniques to improve hiring and engagement outcomes.

Learn more about the Leadership Academy

You Can Become a Great Leader

Build valuable knowledge and learn to apply the skills and behaviours that get the right people in the right places, doing the right things, at the right time - consistently:

Small Cohort-Based learning with and from your peers
Highly interactive learning experience over 6 months to allow you to learn how to apply and implement best practice leadership theory in your context
Gain a validated accreditation in leadership demonstrating your commitment to your teams and their success
Industry-aligned, whilst also gathering insights from different sectors

"The Leadership Academy has been invaluable in helping me deepen my self-awareness and develop the emotional intelligence needed to lead effectively. This program goes beyond leadership frameworks—it challenges you to reflect on your personal leadership style and grow from within."

"The quality of the content and profound impact it has had on me. The concepts had obviously been refined thoroughly to isolate the critical structures or frameworks we should be thinking within — as a leader. Highly deliberate in its sequence of presentation, the content and its delivery makes me pause more often than not and reflect on things that I may've taken for granted in the past. Quite transformative. I'll be coming back to watching the videos time and time again because they spark new ideas and somewhat unexpectedly turn on lights in my head 🙂 It's been quite a while since I would've had such an experience. Incredible."

“Helen and Vicky have done a fantastic job of creating a safe place for us to explore difficult topics and grow together. It’s refreshing to be in a leadership academy with people that understand the unique challenges and leadership struggles of the bid world. I feel more understood than I do at my own company.”