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What is the C8
Leadership System.
The C8 Leadership System is a structured, experience-led framework for developing leaders who perform under pressure.
It is built around four core leadership principles and four core leadership practices, designed to translate leadership intent into consistent behaviour — not just insight.
Why We Built The C8 Leadership System.
What modern leadership demands — and why we developed the C8 System.
The Modern Leadership Reality
Today’s leaders are operating in fastpaced, high-pressure, uncertain environments.
Teams are increasingly fragmented, communication is digital by default, and most leaders have never been trained to lead people — only to deliver tasks.
The result is overwhelm, inconsistency, and cultures that struggle under pressure.
The Reason We Created C8
We built the C8 Leadership System to address these challenges directly.
Leaders need clarity, composure, connection, and the ability to create alignment when the environment is unclear.
They need a system that strengthens who they are, how they lead others, and how they perform under pressure.
Why 4 Principles + 4 Practices
C8 combines four Core Principles with four Core Practices — the inner architecture of leadership and the daily behaviours that turn it into action.
The 4 Principles shape identity. The 4 Practices shape habits.
Together, they create resilient, adaptable, high-performing leaders built for the realities of modern work.
WHY THE C8 SYSTEM:
The C8 System was designed to give organisations a clear, structured way to build modern leaders — combining the core principles of who leaders must become with the daily practices that turn capability into consistent performance.
The 4 Core Principles.
The foundation of modern, resilient, high-performance leadership.
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PRINCIPLE 1:
Self Leadership
Lead yourself first.
Exceptional leadership begins with personal discipline, self-awareness, and emotional control. Self-Leadership means managing your energy, habits, wellbeing, mindset, and behaviours — creating the consistency and credibility others can rely on.
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PRINCIPLE 2:
People Leadership
Lead with clarity, trust, and connection.
People Leadership is the ability to communicate clearly, build psychological safety, align teams around purpose, and strengthen relationships under pressure. It’s how leaders bring the best out of those they serve.
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PRINCIPLE 3:
Pressure Leadership
Lead with composure when it matters most.
Pressure Leadership is staying calm, adaptable, and effective when stakes are high. It includes time-critical thinking, resilience, decision-making under stress, and maintaining clarity when the environment becomes complex or uncertain.
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PRINCIPLE 4:
Future Leadership
Lead with vision, growth, and capability.
Future Leadership is about curiosity, innovation, and developing others. It’s the forward-looking capability that builds momentum — helping leaders see what’s coming, lift their gaze beyond today, and build talent for tomorrow.
HOW IT WORKS:
These four principles form the core architecture of the C8 Leadership System. They define how leaders show up — for themselves, for others, under pressure, and for the future.
The 4 Core Practices.
How leaders strengthen performance every day.
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PRACTICE 1:
Connect Clearly
The practice of communication with intent.
Leaders create clarity by communicating early, honestly, and skillfully. Connect Clearly means listening actively, giving and receiving feedback, de-escalating tension, and building trust through transparency. In high- performance environments, clarity beats complexity — and connection beats control.
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PRACTICE 2:
Own It
The practice of communication with intent.
Leaders create clarity by communicating early, honestly, and skillfully. Connect Clearly means listening actively, giving and receiving feedback, de-escalating tension, and building trust through transparency. In high- performance environments, clarity beats complexity — and connection beats control.
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PRACTICE 3:
Review & Reset
The practice of resetting under pressure.
Leaders who stay calm and ready make better decisions. Review & Reset brings together the Fit to Lead mindset, stress regulation, micro-recoveries, breathwork, and the “oxygen mask principle.” This is how leaders maintain clarity and composure when everyone else tightens up.
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PRACTICE 4:
Deliberate Practice
The practice of continuous improvement.
Skills don’t grow without reps. Deliberate Practice means purposeful repetition, learning loops, constructive failure, AARs, and building capability one small win at a time. It turns behaviour into habit — and habit into high performance. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Deliberate practice makes permanent.
HOW IT WORKS:
These four practices run through the entire C8 Leadership System. They are the daily behaviours that turn the four principles into lived, practical leadership.
What’s Included in the Programme.
Everything you need to develop strong, resilient, and adaptable leaders built around the C8 Leadership System.
Six Leadership Workshops
One full-day session per month over six months each focused on C8 leadership principles & practices, with practical Team Tasks and simulations.
360° Feedback & Insights
Comprehensive feedback process at the start and end capturing measurable growth and leadership maturity.
Access to Our Coaching Team
Ongoing support from C8 Leadership coaches between sessions accountability, reflection, and real-world application.
Integration & Simulation
Final-day simulation combining StratNav or PlanX, forward planning, and commitment mapping, integrating learning into live business strategy.
C8 System Tools & Learning Journal
Custom learning journal for reflection, tracking progress, and embedding daily habits through the 4 core practices.
Continued Development
Options include 1:1 coaching, advanced team workshops, and extended resilience and performance training.
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
The C8 Leadership System combines structure and adaptability — proven frameworks, lived experience, and measurable outcomes.
How Leaders Grow In The C8 System.
A practical development cycle built on principles, practice, and real-world application.
Leaders grow through continuous cycles of learning, applying, and reflecting — embedding capability over time.
The four Core Principles build sequentially — developing leaders from the inside out.
Connect Clearly
Own It
Review & Reset
Deliberate Practice
The Core Practices are the behavioural foundation of the system — how leaders show up every day, even when no one is watching.
The Leadership Challenge.
What it takes to lead and why so many fall short.
Today’s world demands leaders who can stay clear, calm, and connected — yet most organisations still rely on technical expertise over true leadership capability.
WHY WE EXIST:
We exist to build leaders who can perform under pressure, lead with purpose, and grow sustainably.
Why Leadership Development Matters.
What happens when organisations invest — and when they don’t.
Developing leaders isn’t a cost — it’s a competitive advantage. The data shows that great leadership directly drives performance, engagement, and retention.
THE IMPACT:
Leadership development creates measurable results — higher trust, better decisions, and stronger teams.
Six Months of Deliberate Leadership Development.
Six workshops, one day per month. Practical, high-impact, performance-driven
MONTH#1
FOUNDATIONS
Core Focus:
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Personal, team & organisational alignment
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Values → behaviours → leadership standards
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Introduction to the C8 Leadership System
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Fit to Lead foundations
Key Activities:
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Team tasks & hot-wash
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Alignment workshop
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Leadership identity mapping
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Introduction to tactical resets
Key Topics:
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Values, vision & behavioural standards
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Leadership identity & purpose
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Trust & psychological safety
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Foundations of self-leadership
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Early behavioural awareness
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4 Principles
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4 Practices
MONTH#2
SELF LEADERSHIP
Core Focus:
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Self-leadership foundations
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Personal discipline & consistency
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Behavioural awareness & self-regulation
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Understanding your DISC profile
Key Activities:
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DISC profile interpretation
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Habit-building workshop
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Emotional regulation drills
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Self-leadership diagnostic
Key Topics:
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Strengths & blind spots
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Biases, triggers & derailers
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Stress & recovery cycles
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Fit to Lead routines
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Building identity-based habits
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Practice: Own It
MONTH#3
PEOPLE LEADERSHIP
Core Focus:
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Communication, influence & trust
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Building psychological safety
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Strengthening team cohesion
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Leader–leader communication
Key Activities:
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Conversation labs
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Team task: collaboration under time pressure
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Feedback practice sessions
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Trust-building exercises
Key Topics:
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Connect Clearly tools
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Healthy challenge & candour
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Listening with intent
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Team dynamics & cohesion
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Giving and receiving feedback
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Practice: Connect Clearly
MONTH#4
PRESSURE LEADERSHIP
Core Focus:
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Decision-making under pressure
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Resilience & adaptability
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Staying clear, calm & composed
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Execution in uncertainty
Key Activities:
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Pressure scenarios
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Rapid decision-making drills
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Execution mapping
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Reset techniques under load
Key Topics:
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OODA & decision hygiene
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Managing overwhelm
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Adaptive leadership behaviours
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Thriving in uncertainty
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Tactical resets (advanced)
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Practice: Review & Reset
MONTH#5
FUTURE LEADERSHIP
Core Focus:
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Developing others
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Coaching & mentoring foundations
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Curiosity, innovation & growth mindset
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Leading for long-term success
Key Activities:
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Coaching skills practice
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Succession planning workshop
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Innovation challenge
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Growth mapping
Key Topics:
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Developing capability in others
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Future-proof thinking
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Experimentation & marginal gains
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Curiosity & constructive challenge
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Practice: Deliberate Practice
MONTH#6
INTEGRATION & APPLICATION
Core Focus:
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Applying the C8 in reality
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Leadership presence under pressure
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Team recalibration & commitment
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Future pathing
Key Activities:
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StratNav or PlanX simulation
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Hot-wash & AAR
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Personal + team development plans
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Commitment setting
Key Topics:
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4 Principles in action
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4 Practices integrated
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Real-world application
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90-day leadership plan
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Team cultural commitments
THE JOURNEY:
A six-month progression blending practical leadership, behavioural insight and real-world application — designed to build leaders who are fit to lead, ready to adapt and built to evolve.
Leadership Simulations & Practical Application.
Practical challenges for real-world leadership growth.
Introduced in Month 1 and used throughout to develop practical leadership, communication, and teamwork.
Team Leadership Tasks:
Practical challenges for real-world leadership growth
Team Leadership Tasks are immersive, scenario-based challenges designed to test how individuals and teams think, communicate, and perform when time, clarity and coordination really matter. These high-engagement activities build trust, sharpen decision-making, and expose natural leadership behaviours in a safe but demanding environment.
Each task requires teams to plan quickly, execute with discipline, and adapt under pressure — with structured hot-wash reviews that convert the experience into practical, actionable learning. These challenges deliver fast insight, fast feedback, and fast development that traditional classroom learning cannot replicate.
These tasks are designed to:
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Build trust, communication, and clarity under pressure
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Develop problem-solving and decision-making
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Reveal real leadership behaviours quickly
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Strengthen teamwork and adaptability
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Reinforce the 4 Practices: Connect Clearly, Own It, Review & Reset, Deliberate Practice
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Month 6 — Practical Leadership Scenario (Option 1)
StratNav Simulation:
Outdoor strategic leadership & team navigation challenge
A fast-paced field simulation combining navigation, problem-solving, and real-time decision-making. HQ teams set strategy while field teams execute under uncertainty — revealing leadership behaviours, communication habits, and pressure responses.
StratNav develops:
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Clear communication under pressure
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Empowered, decentralised leadership
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Strategic thinking & adaptability
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Real-time teamwork & urgency
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Month 6 — Practical Leadership Scenario (Option 2)
PlanX Simulation:
Indoor planning, communication & coordination simulation
PlanX is an immersive, operations room style strategic planning simulation built on elite military decision-making models. It develops structured thinking, clear communication, and coordinated team execution under time pressure. Participants analyse scenarios, build intent-based plans, allocate resources, and brief their strategy — revealing how well they think, prioritise, and lead when the stakes rise.
PlanX develops:
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Intent-based planning
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Role clarity & cross-functional coordination
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Prioritisation & resource allocation
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Effective communication within constraints
HOW IT WORKS:
The C8 Leadership System goes beyond traditional leadership training. Every cohort experiences real scenarios used in elite military training and operational leadership — adapted for modern organisations. These experiences create clarity, resilience, and decision-making skills you cannot develop through theory alone.
Who We Work With.
Developing leaders and teams who perform under pressure, adapt with clarity, and lead with purpose.
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C-Suite & Directors
For senior leaders who want clarity, composure, and alignment at scale driving culture, not firefighting it
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Founders & Entrepreneurs
For business owners navigating growth, change, and personal sustainability building systems that outlast the founder.
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Emerging Leaders
For rising talent ready to take the next step developing confidence, influence, and leadership identity.
Leadership Teams
For intact or cross functional teams seeking alignment, trust, and higher collective performance.
IS C8 RIGHT FOR YOUR ORGANISATION?
The C8 System is ideal for organisations navigating change, developing new or emerging leaders, or seeking stronger clarity, accountability, and performance across their teams.
THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH:
We partner with leaders who are ready to grow — people and teams who value courage, accountability, and continuous improvement. Sectors include technology, finance, professional services, sport, and the public sector.
Our Origin
Be Fearsome Leadership develops strong, resilient, and adaptable leaders who perform under pressure — and sustain their edge. Born from real-world experience from Royal Marines Commando operations and Hostile-Environment Security Consultancy to corporate team development — our work blends military discipline, private-sector agility, and modern coaching practice to create leaders who think clearly and act decisively when it matters most.
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Our Approach
Great leadership starts with self-leadership and grows through deliberate high-performance practice.
Every leader we train learns to lead with clarity, decide with confidence, and recover with purpose.
We build people who are Fit to Lead, Ready to Adapt, and Built to Evolve.
Our Philosophy
Our flagship framework — the C8 Leadership System — unites
4 Core Principles that define modern leadership, and 4 Core Practices that make those principles habitual.
It’s practical, experiential, and refined through lived pressure not just theory.
Our Founder
Founded by Tom Frearson — former Royal Marines Commando, global Hostile Environment Security Consultant, and certified ICF coach — Be Fearsome Leadership blends operational discipline with modern coaching psychology.
Tom’s experience spans leading and developing teams in high-pressure environments across the Horn of Africa and Nigeria, running the UK’s largest outdoor fitness programme, and building Be Fearsome’s team-development and experiential learning capability.
The result is a leadership approach grounded in lived experience, behavioural science, and practical application.
Forged Through Experience.
Focused on Performance.
Our Clients.
Get in Touch with.
Tom Frearson
Founder & Chief Leadership Performance Coach
Former Royal Marines Commando and global hostile-environment security consultant, Tom spent years building, training, and leading teams across the Horn of Africa and West Africa in anti-piracy operations. Today, he combines that lived experience with coaching science to develop resilient, adaptive, high-performing leaders.
If you’d like to explore how the C8 Leadership System can strengthen your people and culture, start the conversation directly with Tom Frearson.
Phone: +44 020 8064 5444
Email: contact@befearsome.com
Start Your Leadership Evolution.
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