The Leadership Reality Check

How well does your leadership development align with your strategic priorities?

A) Directly, it supports key business goals and execution focus

B) Partially, some links, but not consistent

C) Not well, it’s generic or disconnected from strategy

D) Unsure, we haven’t thought about that link

How clearly do your leaders understand the commercial impact of their role?

A) Very clearly, they link decisions to business outcomes

B) Somewhat, stronger in senior roles than emerging ones

C) Not well, leadership is seen as people-focused, not commercial

D) We haven’t framed leadership this way

How confident are you that your current leadership culture will scale with your business growth?

A) Very confident, we’ve built a strong, intentional leadership culture

B) Reasonably confident, there’s a good foundation but room to grow

C) Unsure, we’re not aligned on what good leadership looks like here

D) Not confident, our leadership approach hasn’t evolved with the business

How engaged are current participants in your leadership programs?

A) Eager and ready, they’re asking for development

B) Open to it, but not actively seeking it

C) Reluctant or unsure, not sure they see the value

D) We haven’t clearly identified future leadership candidates

How motivated are your next wave of leaders (i.e. those not yet in a formal program)?

A) Eager and ready, they’re asking for development

B) Open to it, but not actively seeking it

C) Reluctant or unsure, not sure they see the value

D) We haven’t clearly identified future leadership candidates

How involved are line managers in the leadership development process?

A) Actively engaged and they reinforce and support learning

B) Some involvement, usually around sign-off or feedback

C) Not involved, learning happens in isolation

D) We haven’t included them yet

Who currently “owns” leadership development inside your business?

A) A clear internal champion with time and mandate to lead it

B) HR or People team manage it alongside other priorities

C) It’s spread across a few people with no real owner

D) No one, it’s reactive or outsourced case by case

What return are you currently seeing on your leadership development efforts?

A) We’re tracking impact clearly and can tie it to business results

B) We see anecdotal improvement, but it’s hard to measure

C) It’s unclear, we’re not sure what we’re getting out of it

D) We haven’t really measured ROI

What tangible outcomes has your business gained from leadership development so far?

A) Improved retention, capability, and confidence across teams

B) Some shift in behaviours, but not consistently

C) Participants enjoy it, but there’s little follow-through

D) Honestly, not much has changed

How visible is participation and progress in your leadership programs?

A) Clear and we track engagement and outcomes across cohorts

B) Some visibility through managers or HR

C) It’s hard to tell who’s doing what or what’s landing

D) There’s no tracking in place

What signs do you see that leadership learning is being embedded into everyday work?

A) It’s showing up in conversations, decisions, and team dynamics

B) Some leaders apply it, but inconsistently

C) It feels like a separate ‘thing’ from the work

D) No noticeable difference post-training

How prepared are your leaders to lead through ambiguity and change?

A) Very, they’re equipped to lead in complexity and adapt fast

B) Somewhat, but it’s mostly reactive, not proactive

C) Not well, change usually causes friction or confusion

D) We haven’t focused on this yet

How many leadership cohorts have you actively invested in over the past five years?

A) Several, it’s part of our long-term talent strategy

B) One or two but development has been ad hoc

C) None, we haven’t prioritised structured leadership development

D) Not sure, we haven’t tracked that