THE EXECUTIVE MASTERCLASS
An executive-level programme in leadership inflection strategy.
Designed for senior professionals navigating high-stakes leadership moment and complex organisational dynamics where performance is no longer the constraint, and clarity determines what happens next.
Duration:
3Hours
Format:
Virtual
Audience:
Senior Leaders
Facilitated by Nyasha P. Mapolisa
Harvard Business Review Advisory Council Member, DBA Candidate at Warwick Business School, Fellow of the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries, and Author of Pivot or Push Through™. Nyasha brings 15 years of African and global executive experience to a format that is diagnostic, not motivational. You will leave with a framework, not a feeling.
What Is the Pivot or Push Through™ Executive Masterclass?
The Pivot or Push Through™ Executive Masterclass is a structured, highly experiential learning session designed for mid-to-senior leaders navigating critical career inflection moments.
Grounded in the proprietary Career Inflection Strategy™ framework and facilitated in a dialogic, case-based format, this is not a leadership workshop. It is not a coaching programme. It is a rigorous, intellectually demanding half-day for executives who need to think clearly under conditions of identity pressure, organisational complexity, and high personal stakes.
At its core, the masterclass teaches one framework — CARE–ALIGN–ASK — and applies it directly to two of the most consequential career conversations a senior leader can have:
- The pivot conversation — when you have outgrown your current role or trajectory
- The push-through conversation — when you are delivering but the door is not opening.
Participants leave with a clear analytical lens, a practical preparation tool, and the language to have the conversations they have been deferring.
Unlike generic leadership development programmes, this masterclass assumes you already know how to lead. What it offers is the specific capability to navigate the career conversations that most executive development entirely ignores.
The Core Framework
One Framework. Two Critical Conversations
CARE–ALIGN–ASK is the analytical engine of the masterclass, applied directly to the career conversations most executives have been putting off.
C — Care
Before the substance, the conditions. CARE is about creating the rapport, the shared context, and the psychological safety required for a senior career conversation to be honest rather than performative. Without it, the conversation never reaches the substance and most do not.
A — Align
Map where your trajectory and the organisation’s direction are in genuine alignment — and where the gap is widening. Alignment is not agreement; it is strategic fit assessed honestly.
A — Ask
Learn how to ask the right questions, of sponsors, of systems, and of yourself — with executive-grade precision. The quality of your ask determines the quality of the answer you get.
The Second Framework
Once You've Decided to Pivot: LOCATE–BRIDGE–DECLARE
CARE–ALIGN–ASK helps you navigate the conversation inside your current role. LOCATE–BRIDGE–DECLARE is what comes next once the diagnosis is Pivot — the structured path from deciding to change course to making the change real.
L - Locate
A capabilities audit, not a job search. Before you move, identify precisely what you offer, in what context it is valued, and where the gap lies between your current role and your next one.
B - Bridge
The work that happens between diagnosis and departure. Close the specific gaps the LOCATE stage surfaced, and build the relationships and credibility a resignation alone cannot manufacture.
D - Declare
The pivot made real. Once LOCATE and BRIDGE are complete, DECLARE is the decisive, well-prepared move, not a reaction, but the deliberate conclusion of a structured process.
About the Author
The Leader – Harvard Business Review Advisory Council Member. Author. Leadership Strategist. Doctoral Researcher. Executive Coach.
Nyasha P. Mapolisa spent years watching talented, credible executives make the wrong career move, not because they lacked capability, but because they lacked a structured way to understand what was actually happening.
Her doctoral research at Warwick Business School, combined with her practice at Bateleur Coaching & Consulting, brought her into contact with a recurring pattern: high performers who had outgrown their roles, organisations that had lost them quietly, and succession pipelines stalled by conversations nobody knew how to have.
Pivot or Push Through™ is the structured response to that pattern. It is built on ambidextrous leadership theory, validated in real organisational contexts, and designed to operate where conventional career advice stops being useful.
Nyasha is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Bateleur Coaching & Consulting, and a researcher in strategy execution with a focus on Africa’s organisational development landscape.
Who should attend
Built for Leaders Who Already Know How to Lead
Unlike generic leadership development programmes, this masterclass assumes competence. What it offers is the specific capability most executive development entirely ignores.
The Leader at the Crossroads
You are performing at a high level, but you sense that your current role or trajectory no longer fits who you are becoming. You need a framework — not a motivational nudge — to assess whether to pivot or push harder
The Sponsoring Executive
You are holding space for a high-performing team member at an inflection point. This masterclass gives you the language and tools to have that conversation with clarity, not platitude.
The High Performer Hitting a Ceiling
You are delivering results, but the door is not opening. You need to distinguish between a structural barrier and a strategic gap and know how to act on that distinction
The Executive Who Has Outgrown the Room
The organisation has not caught up with where you are. You need the pivot conversation and you need to know how to have it in a way that preserves your standing and opens the right doors
WHAT YOU WILL LEAVE WITH
Clarity. Language. A Plan of Action.
Participants leave with more than insight. They leave with executable tools and the confidence to use them immediately.
- A working command of the CARE–ALIGN–ASK framework applied to your specific career context.
- The language to open the pivot or push-through conversation with precision and authority
- A completed Career Inflection Preparation Tool™ — a structured personal document for your next high-stakes conversation.
- The ability to differentiate between a strategic gap and a structural barrier in your current situation.
- A peer cohort of senior leaders who have worked through the same framework under real conditions.
- Continued access to the Career Inflection Strategy™ resource bank post-session.
WHY THIS. WHY NOW
What Makes This Different
Most executive development teaches you to lead others better. This masterclass teaches you to navigate your own career with the same rigour you bring to everything else.
There are no icebreakers, no motivational frameworks, and no generic leadership models. This is a rigorous, intellectually demanding session built for senior cognitive capacity.
You will not be coached through your feelings. You will be equipped with a specific framework and applied immediately to your real situation in a structured, facilitated environment.
The masterclass assumes you already lead at a high level. It addresses the gap that most leadership development misses entirely: the career conversation you have not yet had — and need to.
What Changed After the Masterclass
Vallentina Putri
“Before the masterclass, I kept going back and forth on whether to leave my role or keep pushing through. Nyasha’s framework gave me a practical way to evaluate my situation instead of making an emotional decision. Within a month, I had a clear plan, more confidence in my next steps, and finally felt at peace with my decision.”
Jessica Marley
“The biggest shift for me wasn’t just learning a framework—it was learning how to regulate before responding. I approached a challenging conversation with my leadership team differently, and instead of creating conflict, we reached alignment. I now make decisions with far more confidence and less stress.”
Adam Smith
“I used to assume every difficult season meant it was time to move on. The masterclass helped me distinguish between temporary discomfort and a genuine need to pivot. Instead of making a rushed decision, I focused on the right changes, regained momentum, and started enjoying my work again.”
RESERVE YOUR PLACE
Book the Next Session
Cohort places are limited to ensure the depth of dialogue this masterclass requires.
Next session: Wednesday, 29 July 2026 · 09:00 SAST · Virtual via Zoom
Duration: 3 hours
Investment: [PRICE OR RANGE] per participant