Choosing a provider is rarely just your own decision. You may need to explain it to a finance director, a procurement team or the senior leaders who will take part, and an unfamiliar name can make those conversations harder.
It is reasonable to want evidence that the people you are bringing into your organisation can do the work. A newer business should be willing to explain its background without borrowing a history it doesn't have.
Look at the experience behind the name
A provider's team may include people who have spent years coaching leaders, delivering development or leading organisations themselves. That experience can be relevant even when the company they now work through is new, provided it is described clearly.
An organisational logo on a website, for example, could represent a programme delivered by the provider, earlier work undertaken by its founder or the employment history of an associate. Those tell you different things, and you should not have to guess which applies.
The useful conversation is about what happened, who was involved and why it helps the provider deliver the work you are considering.
How this applies to PasedaLeader
PasedaLeader is our organisational practice, bringing the Paseda360 methodology into one-to-one coaching, team coaching and leadership development. The methodology has been developed through Angela Cox's coaching and organisational work, alongside her earlier experience in senior leadership, transformation and strategy.
The PasedaLeader brand is newer than that work. We are clear about the relationship because organisations should be able to understand the foundation behind the offer without being given the impression that every earlier engagement was delivered under our current name.
There is also a difference between training coaches through PasedaCoach and delivering leadership development through PasedaLeader. Both belong within the wider Paseda organisation, but feedback about coach training needs to be understood in that context when you are buying an organisational programme.
Meet the people who would do your work
A founder's background can help establish confidence, but your experience of the programme will depend on the coaches and facilitators actually involved. Find out who they are, how they have been selected and what makes them suitable for your leaders.
For a senior group dealing with a complex transition, you may want people who can work comfortably with challenge, competing perspectives and the pressures of organisational life. The ability to explain the methodology is useful, but so is the ability to work with what happens when a roomful of leaders starts using it.
You should also understand who will manage the relationship and how continuity will be maintained if the delivery arrangements change.
What evidence is enough?
Relevant references and accurately described examples can help you make the decision. A conversation in which the proposed facilitator works through a situation from your organisation can also reveal how they think, what they notice and where they would begin.
Where a provider has limited evidence under its new name, it should say so. You can then consider its people's experience, the quality of the proposed approach and whether a smaller first engagement would give you useful confidence before a wider commitment.
We welcome those questions about PasedaLeader. You should feel able to examine our experience and the people behind the proposal before deciding whether we are the right partner for your organisation.
