Leadership development systems

Support, reinforce, and sustain behaviour change.

Programs fade, systems endure

I help organisations stop spinning their wheels with one-off learning events by building a leadership development system (LDS).

An LDS is the sum of the deliberate choices an organisation makes about how leadership is developed. It’s all the interventions, activities, methods, structures, and processes that people experience and engage with, not just as individuals, but collectively.

Together, these practices build leadership capacity in ways that directly serve the organisation’s aspirations.

I can help you strengthen your system by auditing your current state, recommending and implementing targeted solutions, and supporting internal teams to achieve lasting results.

Get in touch to find out more.

The LDS Wheel

I created the LDS Wheel for HR leaders and senior decision makers looking to maximise their organisation’s investment in leadership development. Based on the latest research (Avby et al., 2025; Day & Dannhäuser, 2024; Fabisch et al., 2024, 2025; Geerts, 2024) and more than 20 years of practice, the LDS Wheel visualises how effective leadership development systems come together.

Like any wheel, each part matters:

  • The hub represents interconnection - in an effective LDS, all dimensions interact, influence, and strengthen one another, with the whole becoming greater than the sum of its parts.

  • The spokes capture five key dimensions that provide the LDS with structure and balance (Adaptability, Coherence, Scope, Integration, Continuity).

  • The rim provides momentum and accountability, holding the system together and ensuring it moves forward (Sponsorship and Evaluation).

Together, these parts promote a more holistic, integrative approach, enabling leadership to become part of your organisation’s DNA – continuously shaping how leaders think, act, and work together.

If you don’t know where you are, how can you get where you need to go?

Leadership development audit

A Leadership Development Audit helps to uncover what’s really getting in the way by looking beyond individual programs to assess the whole system.

Using the LDS Wheel to guide data collection and analysis, the audit evaluates how adaptable your approach is, whether it aligns with purpose and strategy, reaches all levels of leadership, is incorporated into daily tasks, and how well it is sustained over time.

The audit also examines key enablers—such as visible sponsorship from senior leaders and outcome evaluation—by reviewing documents that specify current methods and business goals, along with stakeholder engagement activities (including interviews, workshops, and/or surveys) tailored to your needs.

You will then receive a clear, practical report that highlights your system's strengths, areas for improvement, and the priority actions to take next.

Running a Leadership Development Audit helps you:

  • Diagnose strengths and gaps in your current approach — where the “wheel” is balanced and connected, and where it wobbles, slows, or stalls.

  • Align leadership development with business priorities, ensuring it is not an HR side project but a lever for strategy execution.

  • Maximise return on investment by shifting resources away from fragmented programs toward system-strengthening practices.

  • Embed accountability by making sponsorship and evaluation visible parts of leadership development.

  • Build a roadmap for improvement, prioritising 1–2 dimensions to focus on over the next 12–18 months.

The result: leadership development that sticks, compounds, and delivers value.

Consulting

Support with what needs to happen next.

Following the Leadership Development Audit, I can help you test and validate findings with stakeholders to shape your leadership agenda, align it with business priorities, and implement high-impact interventions.

With deep expertise in organisational development in addition to leadership development, I can help you develop practical, evidence-informed strategies that address root causes, not just symptoms.

Create the conditions where leadership can truly thrive.

Case studies & insights

Insights
The LDS Wheel: Building effective leadership development systems
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The LDS Wheel: Building effective leadership development systems
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Even the best-designed leadership programs can’t carry the weight of transformation alone. What’s really needed is a leadership development system: one that becomes part of how the organisation operates day-to-day. The LDS Wheel shows you how.

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Why it pays to swim with the current when developing leaders
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Why it pays to swim with the current when developing leaders
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When supporting leaders in changing their behaviour for the better, at first glance, ‘swimming with the current’ sounds counterintuitive, right? Here are four reasons why it’s not.

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Case study: Setting the tone from the top
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Case study: Setting the tone from the top
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Following the development of brand-specific leadership frameworks for Dan Murphy’s, BWS, and ALH Hotels, I was invited to take things a level higher, supporting Endeavour Group to embed leadership development more broadly across the enterprise.

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Five tips for facilitating opportunities for leaders to learn from their leaders
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Five tips for facilitating opportunities for leaders to learn from their leaders
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I get a buzz from facilitating opportunities for leaders to learn from their leaders. Here are my top 5 tips for doing so, if you're also keen to try it in your organisation.

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Trusted by:

Endeavour Group

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ALH Hotels

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BWS

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Dan Murphy's

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Country Road Group

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TAC Transport Accident Commission

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Yarra Valley Water

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Swinburne University of Technology

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The University of Newcastle

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Medibank

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Dentsu

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KingSwim

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Endeavour Group • ALH Hotels • BWS • Dan Murphy's • Country Road Group • TAC Transport Accident Commission • Yarra Valley Water • Swinburne University of Technology • The University of Newcastle • Medibank • Dentsu • KingSwim •