Advanced Leadership Development Programme Design Training Course
| Course code | SD-LD-081 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 days |
| Level | Intermediate to Advanced |
| Category | Learning & Development |
| Delivery | Classroom or live online |
| Language | English |
| Certificate | Certificate of completion |
Course overview
Senior leaders are often placed on development programmes that are engaging but disconnected from the leadership behaviours, business priorities and succession decisions the organisation needs. L&D professionals must be able to diagnose leadership capability gaps, distinguish development needs from structural or performance issues, and design programmes that produce observable behaviour change rather than attendance data. This advanced course addresses the practical work of creating a defensible leadership development architecture for a defined population, business challenge and operating context.
Participants learn to build a leadership development programme from diagnosis through evaluation. They use stakeholder interviews, capability frameworks, persona design, experience mapping, cohort segmentation and performance consulting to define the problem. They then design blended learning journeys incorporating action learning, executive sponsorship, coaching, peer learning, simulations, stretch assignments and workplace application. The course also covers curriculum sequencing, faculty and vendor selection, governance, budget design, inclusion, accessibility, measurement and ROI logic.
Teaching combines instructor-led design clinics with analysis of leadership academy case studies, peer critique and structured build sessions. Each participant works on a live or realistic organisational brief throughout the week, producing a programme design dossier: a business case, needs-analysis plan, leadership capability map, journey blueprint, module architecture, measurement framework, governance model and implementation roadmap. The final design review simulates a sponsor approval meeting, requiring participants to justify investment, choices and expected outcomes.
The programme is suited to experienced L&D practitioners, talent specialists and HR leaders who already manage learning interventions and now need to design enterprise-level leadership development initiatives with greater strategic rigour.
Course objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Diagnose leadership development needs using performance consulting interviews, stakeholder maps and evidence triangulation
- Construct a leadership capability framework linked to business strategy, role criticality and observable behaviours
- Segment leadership populations using personas, career transitions and cohort design criteria
- Design a blended leadership journey using action learning, coaching, simulations, peer learning and stretch assignments
- Create a curriculum architecture that sequences learning, practice, reflection and workplace application
- Build a programme business case including cost assumptions, governance roles, sponsor commitments and delivery risks
- Develop a measurement framework using Kirkpatrick levels, behaviour indicators, business metrics and evaluation methods
- Present a sponsor-ready leadership development programme dossier and implementation roadmap
Benefits of attending
For you
- Produce a sponsor-ready leadership programme portfolio piece rather than a generic training plan
- Strengthen credibility in conversations with executive sponsors, talent leaders and external providers
- Learn to challenge poorly defined leadership training requests with evidence-based diagnostic questions
- Gain reusable templates for journey design, governance, evaluation and implementation planning
- Position yourself for senior L&D, talent management or organisational development design responsibilities
For your organisation
- Improves alignment between leadership investment, strategic priorities and critical-role capability gaps
- Reduces spend on stand-alone workshops that lack workplace application or measurable behaviour change
- Creates clearer governance, sponsor accountabilities and decision rights for leadership programmes
- Builds more consistent development journeys across leadership populations, business units and delivery partners
- Provides a practical evaluation structure for reporting leadership outcomes beyond satisfaction scores
Target competencies
Who should attend
- Learning and Development Managers — who lead leadership academies and need to defend programme design decisions
- Leadership Development Specialists — who design or refresh journeys for first-line, senior or executive leaders
- Talent Management Managers — who connect succession pipelines, assessment data and development interventions
- HR Business Partners — who translate business-unit leadership issues into targeted development solutions
- Organisational Development Consultants — who advise clients on capability-building and change-related leadership needs
- Senior Instructional Designers — who need to design complex, blended leadership experiences beyond individual courses
Requirements and prerequisites
Participants should have practical experience designing, commissioning or managing workplace learning interventions, ideally including needs analysis, learning objectives and evaluation. Familiarity with competency frameworks, stakeholder consultation, basic learning design terminology and spreadsheet-based budgeting is assumed. Participants should be prepared to bring a current leadership development challenge, or work from the supplied case study. A laptop with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint is required for design work. Prior experience as a coach, facilitator, psychometric practitioner or executive leader is not required, and no programming, data science or formal instructional design qualification is expected.
Training methodology
The course uses short instructor-led briefings to introduce design methods, followed by design studios in which participants apply them to a live organisational brief or detailed case. Teams analyse stakeholder evidence, map leadership transitions, build journey components and test design choices against business constraints. Facilitated critiques use sponsor, participant and facilitator perspectives to expose delivery risks. Participants work in Excel, PowerPoint and Miro to create their design dossier, then complete an end-of-course approval pitch and 90-day application plan.
Course outline
Day 1: Diagnosing the leadership development requirement
- Performance consulting versus training-request intake
- Business strategy and leadership capability alignment
- Stakeholder interview protocol design
- Evidence triangulation across survey, performance and talent data
- Leadership population segmentation and critical-role analysis
- Leadership transition points and development risks
- Problem statements, design assumptions and success criteria
Workshop: Participants conduct a simulated sponsor intake and produce a one-page leadership development diagnostic brief.
Day 2: Building the leadership capability architecture
- Translating strategy into observable leadership behaviours
- Capability frameworks, proficiency levels and behavioural indicators
- Leadership personas and cohort design
- Inclusion, equity and accessibility in leadership programme design
- Development needs prioritisation matrix
- Experience maps for leadership transitions
- Learning outcomes at individual, team and enterprise levels
Workshop: Participants create a capability map and leadership persona set for a selected leadership population.
Day 3: Designing the leadership learning journey
- Blended journey architecture and learning cadence
- Action learning project design
- Executive sponsorship and leader-as-teacher roles
- Coaching, mentoring and peer learning structures
- Business simulations and scenario-based practice
- Stretch assignments and manager-supported application
- Curriculum sequencing, reinforcement and reflection loops
Workshop: Participants build a 6-to-12-month journey blueprint showing modalities, touchpoints, ownership and workplace application.
Day 4: Operating, resourcing and governing the programme
- Programme governance structures and decision rights
- Faculty model, facilitator capability and vendor selection criteria
- Cohort nomination and selection processes
- Budget modelling, cost drivers and resource assumptions
- Risk registers for executive programmes
- Communications plans for sponsors, managers and participants
- Pilot design, implementation waves and quality assurance
Workshop: Participants prepare a governance model, budget outline and risk register for their leadership programme.
Day 5: Measuring value and securing sponsor approval
- Kirkpatrick evaluation design for leadership interventions
- Behaviour change indicators and 360-degree feedback measures
- Business impact metrics and contribution logic
- Data collection methods and evaluation timing
- Programme dashboards and executive reporting
- Sponsor-ready business case narrative
- Implementation roadmap and 90-day mobilisation plan
Workshop: Participants present their completed programme design dossier in a sponsor-panel review and receive structured feedback.
Tools & standards covered
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Miro, ISO 30422:2022
A typical training day
| 08:30 – 10:30 | First session |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Refreshment break |
| 10:45 – 12:30 | Second session |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch and networking |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Third session |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | Refreshment break |
| 15:15 – 16:30 | Workshop and daily review |
Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.
What the fee includes
- Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
- Full course workbook and materials
- Exercise files, templates and case studies
- Certificate of completion
- Refreshments and lunch (classroom deliveries)
- Post-course application plan
- Facilitator follow-up on request
- Group rates from five participants
How you can take this course
Classroom
Scheduled sessions in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kigali, Dar es Salaam, Dubai and Cape Town.
Live online
The same facilitator and materials, delivered live for distributed teams and individuals.
In-house
Delivered privately for your team, at your offices or a venue of your choice, tailored to your context. Request a proposal.
Certification
Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.
Frequently asked questions
Upcoming sessions
New dates are being scheduled. Ask us about the next session or an in-house delivery for your team.
Ask about datesGroup of 5+?
Request in-house delivery or group rates →Related courses in Learning & Development
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