The Difficult Room

Navigate the Room:

Understand the unseen politics

Some leadership roles come with a diary and a job description. 
Others come with an invisible maze of egos, agendas, side deals, alliances, and unspeakable tensions. 

If you’re stepping into a Chair or CEO role where the real power dynamics aren’t obvious (or aren’t spoken about), this service is for you. 

We provide discrete and experienced support to help senior leaders navigate boardroom challenges. Our packages are bespoke, ranging from short-term support to 12-month programmes. We use a range of techniques and interventions, tailored to the situation.

“After just two meetings, boardroom tension dropped 40%, and senior members quietly remarked, ‘He’s really found his feet.’”

Own the Room:

Step in with authority and finesse

The Difficult Room™ is a high-trust, high-stakes intervention that quietly transforms how a leader operates in challenging boardroom environments — from public sector bodies with political pressures to corporate boards full of alpha-energy and legacy tension. 

We help equip you with the tools and practical support you need to navigate this environment. This isn’t about performance coaching or ice-breakers. 
This is about being ready to walk into the room with: 

• A full psychodynamic map of who's who and what makes them tick 

• A practical strategy to handle disruption, dysfunction, or derailment 

• Allies already lined up to help keep things on track 

• The lived experience of being tested (hard) in a safe space before the real test arrives 

• The confidence to hold the room — not with ego, but with clarity, calm and control 

We do that through discreet one-to-one work, behind-closed-doors simulation sessions, and deep intelligence gathering on the people, power structures and politics in play. 

By the end, you’re no longer wondering “How do I handle this lot?” 
You’re already handling them. 

Boardroom Mapping

We help profile the players — who they are, what drives them, who they fear, who they fight with, who they influence, what they obsess over — and distil it into a working map the leader can use in real time.

Pressure Testing

We design and facilitate realistic, uncomfortable, chaotic role-play scenarios - training the leader to handle disruption, regain control, and build authority.

In and Out of the Room

We even go broader — PR, perception, tone. How do they speak about the board? How do they carry themselves in public? We ensure that nothing undermines their credibility from the outside in.

Who is this for?

This service is for you if: 

• You’re newly appointed to a Chair or CEO role, and the politics in the room are more intense than expected 

• You’re about to step into a board that has a reputation for being "challenging" (translation: chaotic, ego-driven, or power-split) 

• You’re a Chief Exec or governance lead who wants to quietly support a new senior leader to succeed — without making it look like they’re being coached 

• You’re dealing with factions, legacy feuds, side deals, or unspoken agendas 

• You’ve got an exceptionally capable leader who just needs to be armed and supported - not told or taught 

• You're preparing someone to lead in an environment where the optics matter just as much as the outcomes 

Who is this not for?

This is not for: 

• Leaders who think they already know everything  

• Boards that are healthy, aligned, well-behaved and productive (although honestly — enjoy it while it lasts) 

• Junior managers or leaders (although our “Communication with Clarity” coaching service is perfect for mid-level) 
• Organisations that are not willing to invest in their people as their greatest assets
• Organisations that are willing to leave their governance and results to chance - hoping for the best