Alex Blanchard - Former Strategic Lead at Syngenta

Alex Blanchard, former Strategic Lead at Syngenta, shares how the Henley High Performance Leadership Programme challenged his assumptions and deepened his understanding of how he leads.

How did you come to be on the Henley High Performance Leadership Programme?

When I joined a brand-new leadership team in the organisation, everything felt like it was moving fast. We were a group of people with different backgrounds, different ways of working, and one shared challenge: we had to come together quickly to start performing at a high level.

At the same time, I felt a pull in my own career. I’d spent years helping others build their leadership capability, but I knew I wanted to step back into leading larger teams myself, and I realised it was time to invest seriously in my development.

I’d been working with leadership models and frameworks for years, reading widely and applying them in my work with others. But I’d never had the chance to explore the psychological side of leadership in a truly personal way. That’s what drew me to Henley: the opportunity to understand myself as a leader at a much deeper level.

I also wanted to become a practitioner of high performance leadership rather than just understanding the theory.

What were your expectations, and how did the reality of the programme differ?

Honestly, I didn’t have many expectations. I’ve done an MBA, studied leadership and change, and worked with countless frameworks over the years. I assumed the programme would be interesting, maybe even useful, but I didn’t expect it to fundamentally shift how I saw myself.

The reality was completely different.

What I experienced wasn’t just another leadership course. It was a revelation.

The NEO personality profile, the in-depth psychological debrief, the 360° feedback, none of it felt superficial. It went far beyond theory. It held a mirror up to who I really am as a leader.

Some of the insights were surprising. Some were uncomfortable. But all of them were powerful.

Instead of simply learning leadership, I felt like I was finally understanding the foundations of my own behaviour.

What were the highlights of the programme for you?

The single biggest highlight was the massive leap in self-awareness.

The 360° feedback was eye-opening, clear, and honest; it showed me themes and patterns I hadn’t fully recognised. The NEO profile took it further, with a psychologist helping me understand how my personality shapes my leadership in ways I’d felt but never understood.

Two moments stand out:

1. The conflict model that changed everything

The Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes gave me a new way to understand how I influence others. Not good or bad, right or wrong, just different approaches for different situations. I used it immediately, with my own teams and in training sessions, to navigate tough conversations, build alignment and prevent conflict from derailing progress.

2. The Primary Colours® Model that I still use every day

I’m a visual thinker, and the framework clicked instantly. Not only could I remember it effortlessly, I started living it. It made leadership clearer and complexity manageable, and I found myself using it in meetings, decision-making and in how I explained leadership to others.

Then there was the coaching. Thought-provoking, practical, honest. It had such a strong impact that I continued working with a coach even after the programme finished.

What impact did that have professionally and personally?

The programme changed the way I lead almost immediately. I soon found myself driving a major cross-functional project that had stalled for nearly a decade. Using the conflict-mode framework and the Primary Colours® model, I was able to navigate different personalities, reduce unhelpful conflict and finally bring senior leaders into alignment.

We agreed what “good” looked like, created a unified process, set clear KPIs and rolled it out to hundreds across Europe. I wouldn’t have approached the complexity with the same confidence before the programme.

The self-awareness I gained has stayed with me. Understanding how my personality shapes my impact has made me a more intentional, balanced and grounded leader.

What advice would you give to anyone who might be thinking of enrolling on the programme?

If you genuinely want to understand yourself as a leader, not just learn new models, but really uncover how your personality drives your behaviour, this programme is absolutely the one to choose.

Henley’s differentiator is the psychological depth. The honesty. The self-awareness you walk away with.

Most people go their entire career without ever getting that insight.

If you’re at a point where you want to grow, make more impact, lead more effectively, and to understand yourself at a deeper level than you ever have before, then the Henley High Performance Leadership Programme will change the way you lead.

Because once you really understand how you tick, everything becomes possible.