Starbuck Academy · Grow
3-Minute Leader Learning
Forty models to help you think and lead differently
Short, practical lessons for leaders at every level. Each model takes three minutes to learn, offers a fresh perspective on a familiar challenge and comes with a week of practice, because lasting change comes from doing, not just knowing.
Stay long enough for change to stick
Who it is for
- New and aspiring leaders building their first leadership toolkit
- Experienced managers who want fresh perspectives on familiar challenges
- Senior leaders and directors looking for simple models to share with their teams
- Organisations wanting a common leadership language across every level
What you will be able to do
By the end of this programme you will be able to:
- Explain 40 widely used leadership models in plain language and recognise when each one is useful
- Use models for leading yourself to manage your time, energy, thinking and reactions
- Hold better coaching conversations by asking open questions, listening well and giving feedback people can use
- Build trust, clarity and accountability in your team using simple shared tools
- Set direction, make sound decisions and lead people through change
- Influence others, handle conflict constructively and turn each model into a one week practice at work
Why three minutes works
Busy leaders do not need more theory. They need one clear idea, a new way of seeing the situation and something practical to try this week. Each model is built around four steps: see the model, understand how it works, shift your perspective and practise it for a week.
The four zones of growth
Every model takes you out of your comfort zone. You will pass through the fear zone, where doubt pulls you back, into the learning zone, where new skills take shape, and on to the growth zone, where new habits become who you are. Transformational change comes from staying in the learning and growth zones long enough for it to stick. Each lesson includes a zone check to help you keep going.
All 40 models
Work through them in order, one a week, or dip into the model that fits the challenge in front of you today.
01 to 08: Leading yourself
The altitude model
Where you stand shapes what you see.
In and out of my control
Put your energy where it counts.
The Pareto principle
A few things drive most of your results.
The Eisenhower matrix
Urgent is not the same as important.
Growth mindset
Ability grows with effort, strategy and feedback.
The ladder of inference
We climb from facts to conclusions in seconds.
The Johari window
Grow what others know about you, and what you know about yourself.
The four sources of energy
Manage your energy, not just your time.
09 to 16: Coaching conversations
How and what questions
Open questions open thinking.
The GROW model
A simple shape for a coaching conversation.
SBI feedback
Feedback people can hear and use.
Radical Candour
Care personally and challenge directly.
From drama triangle to empowerment
Change the role, change the conversation.
Parent, adult, child
Speak adult to adult.
Three levels of listening
Listen to understand, not to reply.
Own it between sessions
Change happens between conversations, not in them.
17 to 24: Leading teams
Leader, manager, operator
Context, content and process.
Stages of team development
Every team goes through stages.
The five dysfunctions of a team
Trust is the foundation of teamwork.
Psychological safety
Safe to speak up, safe to learn.
Situational leadership
Match your style to the person and the task.
Levels of delegation
Be clear about who decides.
RACI
Who does what, clearly.
The trust equation
Trust can be built on purpose.
25 to 32: Direction, decisions and change
Begin with the end in mind
Picture the destination, then work backwards.
The Golden Circle
Start with why.
The Cynefin framework
Different situations need different responses.
Kotter’s eight steps
A roadmap for leading change.
ADKAR
Change happens one person at a time.
The change curve
Emotions follow a pattern during change.
The SCARF model
Five social needs that drive behaviour.
The pre-mortem
Imagine failure to prevent it.
33 to 40: Influence, conflict and learning
Conflict modes
Choose your approach to conflict.
The stakeholder map
Focus your influence where it matters.
Kolb’s learning cycle
Experience only becomes learning when you reflect.
Stop, start, continue
Ten minutes that shape next week.
The five whys
Get to the root cause.
The skill and will matrix
Match your approach to capability and motivation.
The 70:20:10 model
Most learning happens on the job.
The after action review
Learn from every piece of work.
Designed by coaches
3-Minute Leader Learning is part of Starbuck Academy from Starbuck & Associates. The models were selected and written by our ICF credentialed coaches, drawing on well-established leadership research and our own work with leaders across the UK, Europe and beyond.
