For a long time, I thought leadership development was something that happened in a training room, once a year, over a few sandwiches and a printed workbook.
Don’t get me wrong—those sessions can be great. You come away feeling inspired, full of ideas, ready to lead like never before.
But then the day-to-day kicks in. Emails pile up. Meetings roll on. And all that learning? It quietly disappears into the background.
That’s when it hit me—leadership development has to be more than a one-off course. It needs to be something that lives in our culture, something we do every day, not just talk about now and then.
Here’s what’s helped me make that shift.
1. Redefining Leadership for Everyone
One of the biggest changes I made was recognising that leadership isn’t just for managers.
We talk a lot about “leading by example” or “taking ownership,” and I genuinely believe those behaviours can, and should, come from anywhere in the business.
Leadership is about showing initiative, supporting others, owning your work, and being someone others can rely on.
So, I started encouraging everyone to think like a leader, whether they were managing people or not. It helped open the door to development opportunities for everyone, not just those with “manager” in their job title.
2. Making Learning Part of the Day-to-Day
Big training sessions have their place, but real development often happens in the small moments.
I started introducing simple ways to weave learning into our regular routines:
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Sharing a quick leadership insight at the start of a team meeting
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Encouraging reflection after a project: “What went well? What would we do differently next time?”
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Recommending a great podcast or article and chatting about it over coffee
These little moments keep leadership on everyone’s radar—and they take very little time.
3. Encouraging People to Practise Leadership Development, Not Just Learn
Leadership development doesn’t stick unless people get the chance to actually try things out.
That might mean letting someone lead a meeting, take charge of a project, or support a colleague through a challenge.
Yes, it won’t be perfect. But that’s the point.
Learning happens through doing—and sometimes, through getting it slightly wrong and figuring out how to do it better next time.
I’ve learned to see mistakes not as failures, but as fuel for growth. That’s made a huge difference in how confidently people step up.
4. Recognising Leadership in Action
I also made a point of calling out leadership behaviours, not just end results.
When someone owned a tough situation, supported a teammate, or took initiative, I made sure it was noticed.
It helped reinforce the message that leadership is valued here, and it encouraged more of the same.
Leadership development isn’t a box to tick. It’s a way of working, thinking, and growing – day in and day out.
When it becomes part of everyday life, it sticks. It shapes the culture. And over time, it creates confident, capable people who are ready to lead whenever they’re needed.
And that, in my experience, is where the magic really starts.
To find out more about our leadership development programmes, take a look HERE
