driving growth through trust: how we designed and delivered a bespoke retail leadership programme
CIPD shortlisted for best organisation / development programme
the challenge
Our retail client had just gone through a major restructure, forming a new operating board tasked with delivering a bold new strategy. But there was a catch: the pandemic meant that this ambitious team had never met in person. To execute their vision, they needed a strong sense of unity and direction.
Our job? Design a tailored leadership programme to achieve several critical goals. First, create a common purpose and vision to drive alignment. Next, establish a cohesive leadership tone and culture. We needed to strengthen personal connections within the group, understanding each leader’s unique style. Finally, we needed to provide practical steps to cascade these leadership principles across the business.
the results
The new way of working enhanced focus, collaboration, and efficiency, leading to better decision-making and higher levels of trust. One participant said it best:
“When you trust the people around you, you get more done.”
Our approach was all about enabling cohesion within the team, through shared language and purpose. In the words of our client:
“You helped us turn a disparate group of individuals into a team”
We received outstanding feedback, with the programme becoming a blueprint for organisation-wide adoption.
the process
We structured the programme using our High Performance Team framework, making it more than just training—it was a catalyst for cultural change. Here's how we made it happen:
1. Discovery
We mapped out the team’s current dynamics and explored how work flowed through the organisation. This phase included performance challenges, behavioural analysis, and feedback from each team member.
2. Design
Armed with deep insights into how the business worked and how the team functioned, we developed a series of group sessions over 5 days over 9 months, spaced to let new skills take root. We also included personalised 1:1 feedback through psychometric assessments, pinpointing strengths and growth areas. We started by defining the team’s performance challenge, and examined how work flows through the organisation. Practical tools included meeting management, meeting behavioural analysis, decision-making and role accountability. We also developed coaching and feedback skills that would help the leaders reap positive outcomes from difficult conversations – taking the workshops out of the hypothetical and in-step with the organisation’s real-time problems.
3. Activation
We worked closely with the team to align their leadership commitments with a people-focused vision. Through our DNA of Change model, we equipped them with coaching techniques and a roadmap for leading through change. One exercise that resonated deeply was the “lifelines” workshop, where leaders reflected on past experiences and shared their personal stories, strengthening bonds and self-awareness.
By partnering with our client, we didn't just deliver a programme—we helped redefine how they lead and collaborate, paving the way for sustained organisational impact.