SYLO — Sort Yourself, Lead Others | Six-day leadership programme, Northallerton

The first cohort finished in September 2026. Here's what two of them said.

Laura · runs Love Property, an estate agency near Richmond
Had done other leadership courses. Turned a client complaint into a five-star review halfway through the programme.

Steve Prince · owner, Click Through Digital
The sceptic of the group. No big moment, a series of small ones, and now notices why people behave the way they do.

And what the rest wrote on their feedback sheets.

I feel like a different person to who I was three months ago — not just a different leader. This has helped in every aspect of my life.

Claire TiffneyHR consultant and business owner

A client told me I was useless at my job. I explained my reasoning in a few words and didn't waffle. I did not overthink this after the event.

KellyOccupational therapist

My discomfort with difficult conversations was only difficult because I was putting other people's feelings ahead of my own — but actually I don't know what they are feeling.

RachelOwner, windows and conservatories company

Before, I would ignore or downplay the situation. Now, even though it's still uncomfortable, I prepare more and know it is better to be clear about expectations. My team have said they've seen a change in me.

ShannonSenior support worker

It's helped me reflect on how my style impacts my team — and how to manage my chimp autopilots.

SimoneCharity manager

It isn't about what you do wrong. It's about how you handle it.

LauraLove Property

It's probably not what you expect, but it's probably what you need.

Steve PrinceClick Through Digital

7 of 7completers scored it 10/10 for value, relevance and whether they'd recommend it

5 to 10is how they scored the change in how they lead day to day, three months in. Nobody said "completely". We'd have worried if they had.

7different jobs in the room: estate agency, HR, occupational therapy, social care, a charity, a windows firm, a marketing agency. Same problem underneath.

Six days. Three blocks. Three months.

Two days at a time, a month apart, so you go back to work in between and use it. Each block builds on what happened when you did.

Thursday 28 – Friday 29 January 2027

Sort yourself

How you actually tick: what you value, what you notice, what you avoid, and the running commentary in your head that turns a five-minute conversation into a three-day worry. Your patterns, laid out plainly enough to do something about.

Thursday 25 – Friday 26 February 2027

Read others

Why the people around you do what they do, and why it's rarely what you assumed. How different people take in information, make decisions and get motivated. The reason your clear instruction fell flat, and what to do instead.

Thursday 8 – Friday 9 April 2027

Lead others

The conversations. Saying no when no is the right answer. Feedback that lands. Delegating to people who don't think like you. Structures you can use on Monday, practised on real situations from your own week.

Groups of twelve at most. Run by Alan Johnson, not a facilitator working from his slides. No role-play with actors, no trust falls, no laminated values on the wall. Proper coffee.

Who it's for

Business owners and managers who are good at the job and know they get in their own way.
People who avoid the difficult conversation, or have it badly, then replay it for days.
Leaders who've done a course before and found it wore off by Easter.
Small teams as much as big ones. Half the first cohort led fewer than five people.
Anyone who works with people, frankly. One participant runs a one-person business and used it on clients.

Who it isn't for

Anyone wanting a motivational day out. This is work, spread over three months, and some of it is uncomfortable.
People sent by their boss who'd rather not be there. It doesn't take.
Anyone after a certificate. There isn't one worth having.
People who think the problem is entirely other people. It might be, but we'll be looking at you first.

Price and dates

January 2027 cohort. All six days, materials, coffee, and a follow-up call with Alan between each block. Lunch isn't included; it never is. An optional follow-up day, three months on, is £250 + VAT.

Business

£1,295 + VAT

£1,695 + VAT from 1 October

Per person. Two or more from the same business, ask about a group rate.

Third sector and public sector

£795 + VAT

£995 + VAT from 1 October

Charities, housing, health and care, education, local authority.

Early bird pricing ends Tuesday 30 September 2026

Twelve places. Payment by invoice; spreading it over the three blocks is fine, just ask.

Book a call to reserve a place

In your business instead

If you've got four or more managers, it's often better to run SYLO for them together. Same six days, same structure, your people, your problems in the room. Dates to suit you, at your place or a venue nearby.

A bespoke version is also possible: the same underpinning, rebuilt around what's actually going on in your business. That starts with a conversation, not a proposal.

The follow-up day

The first cohort asked for one thing we hadn't planned: a day, three months after block three, to check it's stuck. So from the January cohort there is one. It's optional, £250 + VAT, and you can decide at block three whether you want it.

Alan Johnson

Thirty years of NLP, psychotherapy and clinical hypnotherapy, and before that a mental health nurse. Runs Change Working in Northallerton: open NLP training, one-to-one work, and leadership programmes for organisations across the North.

Author of Overthunk! Your Brain is Chatting Sh*t to You, which reached number one in NLP on Amazon and is, in short, the reason SYLO starts with sorting yourself. Hosts the That NLP Bloke podcast.

Not a guru. Doesn't do corporate. Will tell you if this isn't for you.

Lead others.

Sort yourself first.