Growing Leaders

Developing high performers is often straightforward — give them space, support and stretch.
Developing leaders who are being held back by unhelpful patterns of behaviour is more complex.

Human behaviour is nuanced. Leadership rarely fails because of a lack of intent — it falters because of how behaviour is experienced by others. Growing Leaders equips leaders to recognise common leadership derailers and respond in ways that build capability rather than create frustration or avoidance.

This program removes guesswork from developing others by giving leaders a practical framework to identify what’s really going on, and what to do next.

Growing Leaders is most valuable when leaders are experiencing behaviours in others that are getting in the way of performance — and they’re unsure how to interpret what’s really happening or how to respond constructively.

This program supports leaders when:

• Behaviour is well-intended but consistently has an unhelpful impact
• Feedback conversations feel difficult, awkward or ineffective
• Leaders sense something is ‘off’, but can’t quite name it
• Patterns repeat despite good intent and effort on both sides
• Development conversations stall because the real issue remains unclear

Rather than labelling behaviour or relying on instinct, leaders learn how to make sense of what they’re experiencing and choose responses that support growth and accountability.

Through a practical, interactive masterclass, leaders learn to:

• Recognise the 12 common leadership derailers and how they typically show up
• Distinguish between intention and impact, and understand how gaps between the two derail leadership effectiveness
• Align their own leadership behaviour more closely with their intent, especially under pressure
• Make sense of challenging behaviour they experience in others without labelling or blame
• Respond constructively to derailers in others (and themselves)
• Apply the Discover – Decode – Develop framework to guide development conversations
• Build leadership capability without rescuing, controlling or avoiding

This is about strengthening leaders’ ability to read behaviour accurately, choose responses intentionally, and support growth — including their own.

Growing Leaders is offered as a half-day or full-day masterclass, and can be delivered as:

• A standalone development experience, or
• A companion session to the keynote The 12 Leadership Derailers, or
• An integrated module within broader leadership programs (including Fearless Leadership® initiatives)

This program is grounded in the book Developing Direct Reports: Taking the Guesswork Out of Leading Leaders, co-authored by Corrinne Armour, Anneli Blundell and Belinda Cohen.

The frameworks are evidence-based, practical and designed for real leadership contexts — not idealised environments.