Leadership workshops · Offsites · Strategy facilitation

Leadership workshops, run by someone who has actually led.

I design and facilitate leadership workshops, leadership offsites and strategy sessions for managers and leadership teams in any function, not only sales. At LinkedIn, Oracle and Pluralsight I led teams made up of people from more than 20 cultures, and I promoted many people from individual contributor into leadership. That is what I bring into the room: practice, not theory.

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In person: UAE and GCC, Poland and CEE, Europe and UK Online worldwide English and Polish
Alicja Szaraniec facilitating a session on stage at a business event

Workshops, offsites and keynotes, in English and Polish.

Sessions and talks delivered for

Who books me

Who are these workshops for?

Organisations that want their leaders to lead better on Monday morning, not just feel inspired on Friday afternoon.

HR and L&D leaders

You need a leadership session your managers will actually use, delivered by someone who has sat in their chair and carried their pressure.

CEOs and leadership teams

You are planning an offsite or a strategy day. You need a facilitator who keeps the room honest and gets it to decisions.

Programme and event organisers

You run an accelerator, a conference or a leadership community. You need a session people are still talking about the week after.

Training and coaching firms

You need an associate facilitator or executive coach who delivers in English and Polish, across the Gulf and Europe.

Topics

What does a leadership workshop with me cover?

Every topic below comes from something I have done, not something I have read. Most sessions combine two or three of them around what your leaders are facing right now.

01

Leading multicultural and distributed teams

How to set one standard for a team that does not share one culture, one time zone or one definition of "yes". Feedback, trust and accountability when half your team is in another country.

For: managers of cross-border, regional or remote teams

Built on leading teams made up of people from more than 20 cultures across Europe and the Middle East.

02

From expert to leader

The shift from doing the work to getting it done through others. Delegation, feedback, the conversations new managers avoid, and letting go of being the best individual contributor in the room.

For: first-time and newly promoted managers

Built on promoting many people from individual contributor into leadership roles.

03

Strategy on one page: the V2MOM session

Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, Measures. A leadership team leaves with one page everyone can repeat, instead of a deck nobody reads.

For: leadership teams, founders, department heads

Delivered live for founders at Warsaw Booster in Warsaw.

04

"Which country first?" Market prioritisation

A structured way for a leadership team to decide where to grow next, before committing people and budget. Less opinion, more evidence, one agreed priority.

For: leadership teams planning international growth

Built on scaling revenue across 65+ countries. Delivered at Warsaw Booster.

05

Sponsorship, not just mentorship

Why talented people, very often women, stall just below leadership, and what senior leaders can do about it. Mentors give advice. Sponsors spend their credibility on you.

For: senior leaders, talent and D&I programmes, women's leadership programmes

Built on sponsoring women and promoting many of them into leadership, inside and outside my own organisation.

06

Visibility for leaders

Internal visibility, owning your achievements, and a personal brand that reflects how you actually lead. Includes LinkedIn for leaders, taught from the inside.

For: senior leaders, high-potentials, women in leadership

Built on my years at LinkedIn. Delivered for Women in Tech UAE and Fundacja IDYLLA. LinkedIn workshops

07

Leading a team that carries a number

For sales managers and commercial leaders: an operating rhythm that works, pipeline reviews that are not negotiations, and coaching for performance instead of closing the deals yourself.

For: sales managers, commercial and revenue leaders

Built on leading sales teams at LinkedIn, Oracle and Pluralsight. For 1:1 support, see sales leadership coaching.

Don't see your topic? Most of my work is custom. Tell me what your leaders are struggling with and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it.

Formats

How long, and in what format?

Pick the format that fits the outcome, not the calendar slot that happens to be free.

60 to 90 minOnline or in person

Masterclass

One topic, one sharp takeaway. For leadership events, communities and internal leadership series.

Half day3 to 4 hours, in person

Workshop

Interactive and hands-on. Participants work on their own real situations and leave with something they built in the room.

Full dayIn person

Leadership offsite or strategy session

I facilitate, you decide. For leadership teams that need to agree on direction, priorities or a one-page strategy.

2 half-daysOr a series, online

Online programme

If it has to be online, I recommend two half-days over one long day. Attention on a video call has limits, and I design around them.

Delivered in English or Polish. In person in Dubai and across the UAE and GCC, in Poland and CEE, and in the rest of Europe and the UK.

Facilitation

Do you facilitate leadership offsites and strategy sessions?

Yes. A good offsite ends with decisions, not a wall of sticky notes. I have been the leader in the room who needed the plan to work on Monday, so that is how I facilitate: neutral on the answer, relentless on clarity.

Before the session, I agree with the sponsor on the one or two decisions the room has to leave with. During it, I keep the loudest voice from becoming the strategy. After it, you get the outputs in a form your team can actually use.

Plan your session

Sessions I facilitate

  • Strategy on one page with V2MOMAnnual or quarterly planning for a leadership team
  • "Which country first?"Market prioritisation before international expansion
  • Leadership offsitesDirection, priorities and ownership, agreed in one room
  • Sessions inside programmes and acceleratorsInteractive modules for cohorts of founders and leaders
How I work

Diagnose. Design. Deploy.

The same method I use to build sales systems, applied to your leaders.

Diagnose

A call with the sponsor before anything else. What is happening in the team, what has already been tried, and what has to be different after the session.

Design

A session built around your context and your people, not an off-the-shelf deck. Frameworks your leaders can use the next working day.

Deploy

Live, interactive facilitation in the room or online. Real situations, real practice, real decisions.

Everyone leaves with an asset.A plan, a one-page strategy, or a script for the conversation they have been avoiding. Something they built live, not a handout.
I greet every participant.Personally, before we start. It sounds small. One client noticed it, and it is in her words below.
Start here

Send me your brief in 60 seconds

Click what fits. Skip what you don't know yet. I read every brief myself and reply personally with a first idea, and an honest view on whether I am the right fit.

Who is the session for?
What should be different afterwards? (pick any)
Format
Language
Where
Proof

From the room, and from people I led

From workshop rooms

Alicja hosted a hands-on LinkedIn workshop for Women in Tech UAE, and her knowledge of different markets and industries really came through. It was incredibly useful for our members and we received several requests for additional workshops with Alicja. Her insights also started real conversations about personal branding, imposter syndrome, and why so many talented women find it hard to put their own expertise into words.

Women in Tech UAE, after a hands-on workshop for members

Her knowledge is exceptional, and her experience working at LinkedIn gave us insights you simply won't get from a typical trainer. …One thing everyone noticed was that Alicja personally greeted every attendee before the workshop started. It was such a simple gesture, but it made everyone feel welcome, seen, and valued from the very beginning.

Paulina Schulte, IMCM, Senior Client Advisor, UAE company formation · team workshop via LinkedIn

From people I led

I learned from her every step of the way not only about business strategy and leadership, but also about resilience, balance, and how to lead with heart.

Sandra Chemali, works with top executives on Learning & Development strategies Reported to Alicja at LinkedIn · via LinkedIn

As Head of LinkedIn Learning for MENA, she brought a rare blend of strategic clarity, empathy, and adaptability that transformed our team.

Amin Atwa, former direct report at LinkedIn Reported to Alicja at LinkedIn · via LinkedIn

As a manager she excels at coaching for performance and genuinely cares about each person on her team.

Katarzyna Domagała, Sales Director, Commercial Sales EMEA at Pluralsight Reported to Alicja at LinkedIn · via LinkedIn

For training and coaching firms

Looking for an associate facilitator or coach?

I deliver as an associate for training companies and join executive coaching panels. English and Polish, in person across the UAE, GCC, Poland and Europe, or online. Commercial leadership, cross-cultural leadership and visibility are my strongest programmes.

Email me about associate work
Frequently asked questions

Questions HR and leadership teams ask first

Do you only run workshops for sales teams?
No. Most leadership challenges are not sales problems: leading across cultures and locations, moving from expert to manager, setting strategy, developing and sponsoring talent. I run workshops on these for leaders in any function. Sales leadership is one topic among several.
What does a leadership workshop for managers cover?
It depends on what the diagnosis shows, but the common thread is practice over theory. Managers work on their own real situations: a team spread across countries, a first leadership role, a conversation they have been avoiding, a strategy nobody can repeat. Everyone leaves with something they built in the room.
How long are your leadership workshops?
Four formats: a 60 to 90 minute masterclass, a half-day workshop of 3 to 4 hours, a full-day workshop or facilitated leadership offsite, and online programmes. If a programme has to run online, I recommend two half-days rather than one full day.
Do you facilitate leadership offsites and strategy sessions?
Yes. I facilitate strategy sessions and leadership offsites, including one-page strategy using V2MOM and market prioritisation using my "Which country first?" session. I stay neutral on the answer and focused on getting the room to clear decisions.
Can the workshop be delivered in Polish?
Yes. I deliver in English and Polish, and Polish sessions are built natively in Polish, not translated.
Where do you deliver leadership workshops?
I am based in Dubai. I deliver in person in the UAE and the wider GCC, in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, and across the rest of Europe and the UK. Online sessions run worldwide.
Do you work as an associate facilitator or coach?
Yes. I work with training companies as an associate facilitator and join executive coaching panels, in English and Polish.

Your leaders deserve better than another inspirational talk.

Send me your brief, or book 30 minutes and tell me what is happening in your team. You will leave the call with at least one idea you can use, whether or not we work together.

Pracuję po polsku i po angielsku. I work in Polish and English.

Send me your brief Book a 30-minute call