Senior Leadership Development
Archetype Leadership + Teams develops senior managers and members of senior leadership teams in New Zealand organisations.
Often combining in-house workshops with one-to-one coaching, our senior leader programmes are built around developing the leadership your organisation needs from its most senior people.
We have developed senior leaders in a range of private and public organisations including MGI+MORE, Goodwins, Starship Hospital, Ōtākaro, WorkSafe, Waikato-Tainui, RedeMont, Augusto and Infracore.
What changes at senior level
Senior leaders are not new to leadership. But they do face new leadership challenges. Effective senior leaders manage less and lead more, balancing the need to set direction and strategy, and make key decisions, while trusting the leaders they lead by delegating well and allowing autonomy.
Their leadership needs to evolve in a range of ways, some particular to them and others common to most leaders stepping up …
Leading other leaders
Setting direction and strategy
Influencing across the organisation, often without direct authority
Carrying more pressure and accountability
Being watched: your behaviour sets the tone for everyone else
In Harvard Business Review, Michael Watkins describes the step up to leading a whole organisation as a series of shifts, among them from specialist to generalist, from problem solver to agenda setter, and from warrior to diplomat.
How we develop senior leaders
Developing senior leaders is less about prescribed content and capabilities and more about understanding where a leader is at and how they can grow.
Leaders in one of our senior leader programmes each grow in ways and areas suited to them. While workshop content is the same, they each take different things away and work on different areas of growth.
A typical approach is a series of full-day workshops, about a month apart, with a one-hour coaching session for each leader after each workshop.
Workshops often follow three themes: leading yourself; leading others; and leading teams, strategy and delivery. After each one, every leader sets development goals and habits. At the end, each person settles on three goals and three habits and shares them with the group, so they keep each other to them.
We have run senior leadership programmes and coaching for organisations including Ōtākaro, WorkSafe, Waikato-Tainui, Infracore and Augusto.
What a senior leader programme may cover
More than for other leader development workshops or programmes, our senior leader programmes are tailored to your needs.
Leadership styles and leading under pressure, using DISC
Psychological safety and trust, for individuals and teams
Situational leadership: adapting your style to the person and the task
Coaching and feedback to build performance
Using influence as a leadership tool
The Five Behaviours of high-performing teams
Strategy to priorities, operating rhythm, and deciding and committing as a team
Making the shifts a senior role demands, such as from problem solver to agenda setter
Senior leaders or the leadership team?
Senior leadership development builds each senior leader's own capability. Leadership team coaching works on the senior team as a unit: how it makes decisions, aligns and leads together. Many organisations do both, and they can be designed to support each other.
What it costs
Once we understand the development needs of your senior leader group, the full cost is set out in a proposal, including design, workshops, coaching and any other tools or resources we may believe would be relevant.
“Tony was a very good fit for us culturally. His ability to deliver across multiple levels of experience and seniority is impressive. Tony moved this experience from a four-day course to a change in behaviours that resonate long beyond the last day.”
— Nathan Cheeseman, CEO
Next step
Frequently asked questions
What is senior leadership development?
Senior leadership development builds the capability of senior managers and senior leadership team members: leading other leaders, setting direction, influencing across the organisation and leading well under pressure.
How is senior leadership development different from leadership team coaching?
Senior leadership development works on each senior leader's own capability. Leadership team coaching works on the senior team as a whole: how it makes decisions, aligns and leads together. They are often combined.
How long does a senior leadership programme take?
A typical programme is a series of full-day workshops about a month apart, with a one-to-one coaching session after each. You can start with fewer workshops and add more.
How much does senior leadership development cost?
It depends on the number of workshop days, how much tailoring is needed, and whether coaching or DISC profiles are included. We will discuss your needs and potential costs with you before you decide.