Leadership Advisory & Thinking Partnerships

I work with senior leaders by providing structured space to reflect, think clearly, and navigate complexity with confidence.

I support leaders individually as they work through uncertainty, difficult decisions, transitions, and complex people or organisational challenges. The work is reflective rather than formulaic, creating space to slow thinking, challenge assumptions, and arrive at clear, well-judged decisions when it matters most.

How I work

My approach is:

Reflective — creating space for deeper thinking
Practical — grounded in real leadership experience
Human — focused on the person behind the role
Confidential — trusted, one-to-one or small-group work

Alongside this advisory work, I offer a small number of focused programmes grounded in reflective practice and practical insight.

How these programmes work together

Each programme stands alone, but together they support how leaders think, decide, and lead in complex environments.

The Empathetic Edge™ strengthens judgement and leadership presence.
The Entrepreneur’s Edge™ builds ownership and commercial thinking.
The Creative Edge™ expands perspective and problem-solving.

They can be used individually or combined, depending on need

The Empathetic Edge™

Executive Leadership Advisory Programme

The Empathetic Edge™ is a programme for senior leaders navigating complexity, pressure, and responsibility. It provides a confidential, reflective space to deepen emotional intelligence, sharpen judgement, and strengthen leadership presence.

This work supports leaders to:

Think clearly under pressure
Lead with emotional intelligence and confidence
Navigate complex people and organisational challenges
Strengthen trust, influence, and leadership presence

Delivered through a series of one-to-one advisory sessions, paced to suit the leader, and grounded in the thinking explored in The Leadership Book: Achieving the Empathetic Edge.

The Entrepreneur’s Edge™

Entrepreneurial Leadership Advisory Programme

The Entrepreneur’s Edge™ is a leadership advisory programme that helps senior leaders and future partners in professional services develop a more entrepreneurial way of thinking, as AI, changing client expectations, and succession pressures reshape traditional models.

The programme supports leaders to:

Think and act with greater ownership and commercial awareness
Challenge established patterns while working within professional and regulatory constraints
Make confident decisions in conditions of uncertainty and competing priorities
Balance growth, client expectations, and people leadership with clarity and judgement

The programme is often delivered in partnership with People teams supporting partner development and leadership readiness across law firms, accountancy practices, and financial planning organisations, and is underpinned by The Entrepreneur’s Book: The Crucial ‘Why’ Questions That Determine Success.

Creative Leadership Advisory

The Creative Edge™

Creativity is not a soft skill, but a core leadership capability ,enabling leaders to see challenges differently, uncover new possibilities, and respond more effectively to change.

The Creative Edge™ supports leaders and teams to expand perspective, remove common thinking blockers, and approach complex challenges with fresh insights.

This work helps leaders and teams to:

Break out of habitual thinking patterns
Generate new ideas and perspectives
Strengthen creative problem-solving
Lead with greater confidence and clarity

Delivered through one-to-one advisory work, team sessions, or bespoke workshops, and underpinned by The Creative Thinking Book: How to Ignite and Boost Your Creativity.

Working Together

If you would like to explore any of these programmes, or simply have an initial conversation, you are very welcome to get in touch.

📞 0771 252 7158
✉️ neil@neil-francis.com

I’m always happy to talk things through

“The future of leadership has one word at its core: empathy.”

The Leadership Book - Achieving the empathetic edge

‘‘At the end of the day, outstanding leaders are defined not by their titles but by the culture and legacy they create.’’