Challenge / Situation
A leading organisation in the professional services sector had a cohort of experienced executive people managers responsible for large client portfolios and multi‑disciplinary teams. While technically strong and highly trusted by clients, these leaders had grown into their roles organically, with limited formal development in contemporary people leadership.
Internal engagement data and exit interviews suggested inconsistent experiences of leadership across teams. Some teams thrived; others reported variable feedback quality, unclear expectations and uneven follow‑through on performance and development conversations. HR and People & Culture were spending increasing time mediating issues that should have been resolved closer to the line.
The executive team recognised a pattern that is now well documented in the research: managers account for around 70% of the variance in employee engagement, meaning the day‑to‑day behaviour of the line manager is the single biggest factor in how people experience work. In other words, if you want to shift engagement, performance and retention, you start by equipping the people who manage most of your workforce. CIPD and other evidence reviews on devolved people management reinforce the message that line managers need structured support if they are to handle performance, development and wellbeing responsibilities effectively and consistently. The organisation engaged Apex Dynamics to design a team‑based management development programme tailored to their context, using the People Leader & Management Development Programme as the backbone.
Solution / Approach – Behavioural Profiling‑Led Design
Our starting point was to understand the leadership group through a behavioural and psychological lens. Consistent with the core Apex programme, we used recognised behavioural profiling tools (for example, DISC‑style assessments and mental toughness measures) to build a picture of the leaders’ collective strengths, risk areas and style differences.
This behavioural profiling allowed us to:
- Identify patterns in communication, decision‑making and conflict styles across the leadership group.
- Highlight potential friction points between leaders and their teams, such as over‑reliance on a directive style in complex, collaborative work.
- Create a shared, non‑judgemental language for discussing behaviour and expectations.
We then designed a 10‑month, in‑person People Leader & Management Development Programme, anchored to the Apex 5 Diamond Pillars – Character, Competency, Connection, Curiosity and Co‑Elevation. This framework is grounded in contemporary organisational behaviour research and aligns with recent evidence reviews showing that effective leadership development focuses on specific, observable behaviours, uses experiential learning and is embedded in real work.
The solution combined:
- Quarterly, face‑to‑face workshops for the full leadership cohort.
- Ongoing coaching and application work between sessions.
- Behavioural profiling insights woven through each module, so leaders continuously practised tailoring their approach to different styles.
Implementation – The 10‑Month Journey
The programme ran over 10 consecutive months, scheduled to avoid peak business periods, consistent with the core People Leader & Management Development design
Months 1–2: Foundation and Behavioural Insight
We began with a foundation workshop focused on the 5 Diamond Pillars, role clarity for people leaders, and the link between managerial behaviour, engagement and performance. The facilitation referenced Gallup’s evidence that managers are responsible for around 70% of the variance in employee engagement, positioning this cohort as a critical leverage point for culture, performance and retention.
Leaders received their individual behavioural profiles ahead of time and explored their preferences and blind spots, including how their natural style might help or hinder engagement and psychological safety in their teams. This reflects research showing that self‑awareness and understanding of impact are central to effective leadership and team functioning.
Between workshops, leaders engaged in structured coaching and application activities – for example, using their behavioural insights to plan an upcoming difficult conversation, then debriefing the outcome in a coaching session.
Months 3–6: Performance, Feedback and Development Practice
The second and third workshops went deeper into performance leadership: setting behavioural and performance expectations, running ongoing coaching conversations, and embedding development planning into everyday work.
Using tools aligned with the programme, leaders:
- Practised feedback scripts that made expectations observable and specific.
- Used simple structures for Individual Development Plan (IDP) conversations alongside KPIs.
- Applied OSCCAR/OSKAR‑style coaching flows to keep conversations solution‑focused and forward‑looking.
This combination of spaced workshops, deliberate practice and real‑time coaching reflects best‑practice recommendations from organisational psychology: focus on behaviour, create opportunities to practise in context, and support training transfer back into the workplace.
Months 7–10: Culture, Collaboration and Sustaining Change
The final phase focused on team culture and cross‑team collaboration, using behavioural profiling data at a group level. Leaders examined patterns in how their cohort collectively responded under pressure, where communication tended to break down, and how to deliberately role‑model the 5 Diamond Pillars to their teams.
Activities included:
- Designing team rituals and meeting cadences that reinforced feedback, coaching and development.
- Practising “leader as coach” behaviours in peer‑coaching triads.
- Agreeing shared behavioural standards for the leadership cohort and how these would cascade through the organisation.
The content remained customised to the organisation’s language, priorities and strategic objectives, while staying grounded in the Apex evidence base and external research on effective leadership and people management.
Results / Outcomes
Within the first 6–9 months, the organisation reported tangible shifts in leadership practice and team experience, consistent with outcomes expected when you invest in the managers who drive the majority of engagement variance.
Indicative outcomes included:
- More consistent leadership behaviours across teams, as evidenced by internal feedback and fewer complaints about uneven management styles.
- A noticeable reduction in people‑related escalations to HR, as leaders increasingly handled performance and behavioural issues locally and earlier.
- Improved confidence among managers in running feedback and development conversations, reflected in self‑assessment and qualitative comments from direct reports.
- Early positive movement in engagement indicators within participating teams, particularly around clarity of expectations, quality of feedback and perceived support from managers.
By deliberately investing in the leaders who, as Gallup’s long‑running workplace studies show, drive roughly 70% of the variance in engagement, the organisation reduced people‑related risk, stabilised performance and created more consistent leadership experiences across teams. The organisation also gained a common language and framework for people leadership. The 5 Diamond Pillars and behavioural profiling insights are now referenced in talent discussions, succession planning and leadership recruitment criteria, extending impact well beyond the initial cohort.
This structured, evidence‑aligned and economical approach to team‑based management development lifted leadership capability at scale and protected the performance and wellbeing of the wider workforce.
