I develop people for a living. I bloody love it.
I’m Adam Finch, founder of That Training Guy. I’m a leadership and team development specialist, facilitator and coach based in Greater Manchester, working with organisations across the UK.
For more than 15 years I’ve worked in learning, talent and leadership development, helping leaders become more confident, teams work better together and organisations turn development into something that actually makes a difference.
How did I end up being That Training Guy?
I’ve spent most of my career working inside organisations trying to solve the same people challenges my clients bring to me now.
I’ve led learning and development, talent and leadership work across organisations including Sofology, DFS Group, Manchester Airports Group and PZ Cussons.
That has meant designing leadership programmes, developing managers, coaching leaders, working with senior teams, building talent and performance approaches and, importantly, trying to make development work when everyone has a day job to get on with.
Because that’s the bit that’s easy to forget.
Development doesn’t happen in a lovely training-room-shaped vacuum.
Managers are busy. Teams have targets. Operations need to keep moving. People sometimes turn up sceptical. And there’s nearly always someone wondering what time we’re finishing.
I’ve spent years working in that reality.
It’s a big part of why That Training Guy exists.
What I believe about development
Development has to survive contact with the real world.
If it only works while everyone’s in the training room, it hasn’t really worked.
Teams need developing, not just leaders.
You can develop brilliant individual leaders and still have a dysfunctional team. Organisations need to invest in how people lead and how teams actually work together.
People learn by doing.
Less sitting and listening. More conversations, challenge, practice, reflection and actually trying things.
You don’t need to become someone else to lead well.
Understanding your strengths, your impact and how you naturally show up gives you a much better place to start.
I’ve been on your side of the table.
Before asking organisations to invest in development, I spent years being the person inside organisations responsible for making that investment work.
I’ve worked across leadership development, team development, talent, performance, coaching, strengths, succession and senior-team development.
So when someone tells me:
“Our managers don’t have time.”
“We’ve tried training before.”
“People enjoy the workshops, but nothing changes afterwards.”
“Can you make this practical?”
I get it. My approach isn’t built around pretending those challenges don’t exist. It’s about designing development that works despite them.
This is who I do it for.
Yes, I have a passion for people and development, but this is who I do it for. I do it to provide a good life for them. I do it to make them proud. I do it to give them their own aspirations. I do it to show them “We can do anything!”
The official bits
Kept short on purpose. Here’s the bit that matters.
Gallup Certified Strengths Coach
Using CliftonStrengths to help individuals, leaders and teams understand what they naturally do best and turn that insight into better performance.
15+ years in learning, talent and leadership development
Experience designing and delivering development from inside complex organisations as well as independently through That Training Guy, across sectors including retail, aviation, FMCG, charity and technology.
Leadership. Teams. Coaching.
Leadership development, team development, facilitation, strengths and one-to-one coaching.
What am I actually like to work with?
Practical. Challenging. Human.
I don’t believe development needs to feel overly corporate to be credible.
I’ll ask questions. I’ll challenge the room when it needs challenging. I’ll create space for people to think, talk properly and occasionally have the conversation they’ve been avoiding.
There’ll probably be some humour along the way too.
No jargon for the sake of jargon. No 97-slide decks.
And definitely no trust falls.
What people say after working with me
“Adam did a lot of work with our SLT, really getting us to understand our personal and collective strengths, and understanding those has been invaluable. He’s a fab motivator, listener, coach and a super great guy, oh, he can be funny at times too!! If you need to elevate yourself or your team, he’s a go-to.”
“His approach is straightforward, no jargon, no theory for the sake of it, just practical advice grounded in real experience. He challenges people in the right way, helps them think clearly, and focuses on what actually works day to day. Our staff have grown in confidence and capability because of it.”
And when I’m not doing this...
I’m a Wigan lad, dad of two, Wigan Athletic supporter and usually convincing myself that some horrible gym workout is a good idea.
I’m also surrounded by sausage dogs who appear to have very different views on leadership, particularly when it comes to accountability.
That’s probably enough about me. Let’s talk about you.
That’s enough about me. What are you working on?
Whether it’s developing your leaders, getting a team working better together or giving someone the space to think through coaching, tell me what’s going on.