6 Misconceptions About Our Work

We get called many things!

A training provider. A coaching provider. Whisper it: management consultants.

But what we actually do in our leadership development work isn’t easy to define in conventional terms — because we’re not in the business of personality tests or frameworks. We don’t hold up icons and say ‘be more like him or her’. We have no definition of high performance.

FirstHuman is in the business of human transformation.

So let’s clear up some common myths.

Myth #1: “You’re just another training provider.”

We’re not here to fill your heads.
There’s already more information out there than anyone can process.

What’s missing isn’t knowledge — it’s self-awareness, agency, and the courage to be accountable.

We help people tune in — to themselves, to others, and to what really matters.

You leave our sessions not just thinking differently, but with new ways to be.

With clearer intention. With wind in your sails. And a renewed sense of what’s possible — for you and those you lead.

Myth #2: “You teach soft skills.”

If by “soft” you mean the ability to listen deeply when it’s uncomfortable,
to make bold commitments without knowing how,
to stand for possibility in a world that prizes certainty —
then sure, we teach soft skills.

But we’d argue these are the hardest skills of all.

We work with what it means to lead in real conversations — the kind that take heart, presence, and trust.

We equip you to listen generatively — not listening just to have people feel heard (although that’s the foundation), but listening to uncover what’s possible for that person. Even when they’re not yet seeing it themselves.

This is the leadership that creates breakthroughs.

Myth #3: “You help people get better at their jobs.”

We’re not here to help people tweak what’s already working.
We’re here to help leaders cause the conditions for extraordinary performance.

That starts with vision — not strategy, but something more personal and alive.
We help people develop a bold personal leadership vision — a stand for something bigger than themselves.

From there, they begin to lead differently. With clarity. With commitment. With a deep sense of ownership.

Myth #4: “Leadership means having the answers.”

Expertise has its place. But when it becomes an identity, it limits you.

We help leaders move from expert to enabler.
From being the answer, to creating space for others to find step up in their own leadership.

The most impactful leaders are the ones who can coach, not just guide.
We support people to become ‘leader-coaches’ — cultivating growth, accountability, and trust in those around them.

Myth #5: “You’re problem-solvers.”

We’re not here to fix.

We’re here to create.

To open up conversations for possibility — not just postmortems on what went wrong.
To explore what could be true, even when it feels out of reach.

You don’t need to know how before you commit to making that possibility a reality.
In fact, the commitment often comes first.

That’s where real transformation begins.

Myth #6: “You help implement change.”

We don’t help clients roll out change. We help clients lead it.

And leadership doesn’t start with roadmaps or project plans.
It starts with who you’re being.
It shows up in how you show up — especially when it’s uncertain, messy, or high-stakes.

We help build accountability cultures — where people choose ownership, not because they’re told to, but they’ve been led to connect to what’s important to them, inside of a company vision. When that’s clear for them, ownership happens naturally.

We help leaders not to make stuff happen through skilled management, but to cause stuff to happen through inspired leadership.

So What Do We Actually Do?

We help leaders tune in.
We equip leaders to listen generatively, and have them and their people step into bigger, bolder futures.
We support bold visions. Fierce commitments. Deep accountability.

We’re not trainers. We’re not fixers.
We’re partners in transformation.

If you’re ready to explore what’s truly possible — even if you don’t yet know how — let’s talk.