The Henley Leadership Programme
- Understand your real leadership impact and make changes that strengthen you, your team and your organisation
- Lead with confidence and strategic thinking through complexity, uncertainty and change
- Move beyond solving every problem yourself, and develop others to think and act with confidence
- Build sustainable habits that support your leadership performance, resilience and life beyond work
- Leave with a trusted peer network that can continue to challenge and support you long after the programme ends
What you need to know
Overview
Great leadership starts with genuinely understanding yourself - your impact, your instincts under pressure and the habits that shape how you lead. The Henley Leadership Programme gives you the space to do that properly, away from the demands of your day-to-day work, and the structure to turn what you learn into meaningful change.
Rather than handing you a framework to follow, we will help you define your own model of leadership - a clearer sense of who you are as a leader, grounded in your strengths and values. You'll lead with greater confidence, influence others more effectively and build stronger relationships.
Drawing on more than 20 years of leadership development expertise, the programme continues to evolve in response to the realities of leadership today. Combining Henley's evidence-based approach with a deeply personal learning experience, it helps leaders create meaningful and lasting change in how they lead.
You will join a small, diverse and experienced group of peers in a supportive and confidential environment, sharing experiences, challenging each other honestly and learning from leaders outside your own organisation and sector.
During the programme you will define your leadership identity, identify the changes you want to make and begin putting them into practice. You will test new approaches in real situations, then return to Henley to review your progress - working through what has been difficult and building on what is working. Your peer network and Henley tutors support you throughout.
The programme is designed not just to generate insight, but to turn that insight into lasting behavioural change that carries back into the workplace.
Want to create a shared leadership approach across your organisation? Contact us for group pricing.
The Leadership Programme
Programme Director, Suzanne Pollack, discusses the programme, who it is for and how it will benefit you.
Key benefits
The programme is designed to help you:
- Lead with confidence, conviction and purpose to create genuine value for yourself and your organisation
- Draw on deeper emotional intelligence, resilience and self-awareness to sustain performance and adapt when the pressure rises
- Free up the time and headspace for the strategic, adaptive thinking that leading through change and uncertainty demands
- Lead in a people-centred, sustainable way, modelling the habits and balance that make strong leadership last, at work and at home
The programme is designed to help organisations develop leaders who can:
- Make better judgements under pressure, with greater self-awareness, adaptability and resilience
- Lead with authenticity and confidence through complexity, uncertainty and change
- Build stronger, more engaged teams and create a more positive organisational culture
- Strengthen the leadership pipeline and develop the resilience your organisation needs for the future
- Bring fresh perspectives back into the business, shaped by learning alongside peers from different sectors and organisations
The Henley Leadership Programme
Liz Gainer’s journey with The Henley Leadership Programme and The Henley Advanced Leadership programme.
Start dates
Course structure
The Henley Leadership Programme runs across six and a half in-person residential days, split into two modules with a period of workplace application in between. This is where the frameworks, tools and coaching introduced in Module 1 are tested, refined and consolidated; turning insight into habits that stick.
The programme runs for a total of six and a half in-person residential days and is structured in four parts:
Part 1: Module 1 TLP (5 days)
Module 1 gives you the space and structure to step back, understand yourself more deeply and identify the changes that will make the greatest difference to your leadership and your impact.
Psychometric tools and 360-degree feedback are used as lenses for insight. They help you understand your strengths, preferences, interpersonal style and the way others experience you, so you can make more conscious choices about how you lead.
Through one-to-one coaching, peer discussion and practical leadership exercises, you will define your own model of leadership and connect your insights to the specific goals and changes you want to make.
In this module, you will explore:
Read more
Part 3: Module 2 TLP (1.5 days)
Module 2 gives you the opportunity to review the progress you have made, work through any challenges and deepen your development.
With real experience to draw on, lessons learned and new questions raised, you will return to peer discussion and coaching - consolidating what works and addressing what doesn't.
In this module, you will:
Read morePart 4 : Post-Programme Activities TLP
Your development does not end when the programme finishes. We strongly encourage you to stay active within the Henley Business School community after completing the programme by:
- Accessing resources from the virtual learning portal
- Joining the Henley alumni network, a global community of leaders committed to ongoing growth
- Making the most of your access to The Henley Partnership webinars, where available. These are designed to respond to the demands facing leaders today.
Many participants find that the peer relationships built on the programme become an enduring source of support, challenge and perspective long into their careers.
Modules or course content marked as optional are indicative and may be subject to change. Please note, constraints in timetable scheduling may mean you are unable to take some optional modules at the same time as others.
"It was totally life changing for me, in and outside of work."
Teaching staff
You will learn from experienced Henley faculty and practitioners who combine academic insight with real-world leadership experience. They bring research, practical perspective and skilled facilitation to help you connect what you learn to the realities of your own role, team and organisation.
What our participants say
Participants describe the programme as a turning point - in how they understand themselves, relate to others, and lead under pressure.
"The Henley Leadership Programme gives you a fantastic sense of self-belief, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be a leader. It completely opened my eyes to the critical role of coaching in leadership, and the need to help those around you to grow and flourish."
Read full case study - Jack Upton, Education & Customer Service, McDonald’s Restaurants UK
"I know that I’m now a much better listener. I really try to engage each member of the team ... as a result, you can see that everyone is more confident. They’re not afraid to make decisions."
Read full case study - Nick Smith, Head of Terminal Operations, Red Funnel
"I’m certain that the skills and techniques I acquired at Henley are actively used every single week."
Read full case study - Phil Tennant, Chief Operating Officer, Hamptons International
Location & facilities
Greenlands campus
Set on the banks of the River Thames and surrounded by countryside, our Greenlands campus in Henley-on-Thames provides an inspiring and reflective learning environment.
Fitness and wellbeing
Dining, refreshments and accommodation
Why Henley?
6th
in the UK overall for executive education open programmes (Financial Times 2026)
(Financial Times Executive Education 2026)Executive Education at Henley
For 80 years, Henley Business School has developed confident and resilient business leaders. Executive Education at Henley is:
- Practical: We combine academic rigour with a strong practical focus. The programme is grounded in respected leadership research, but delivered in a human and applied way, so participants can connect insight directly to their own role, team and organisation.
- Relevant: Henley faculty are experienced practitioners who bring research, insight and real-world perspective to the leadership challenges that matter today.
- Collaborative: Open programmes bring together leaders from a wide range of sectors and backgrounds. The perspectives you encounter and the relationships you build are part of what makes the learning so powerful.
- Personal: Deliberately small learning groups create a psychologically safe environment where honest reflection and genuine peer challenge are possible. This is not about creating one type of leader; it is about helping each participant understand their strengths, values, identity and context, so they can become a more effective version of themselves.
- Sustainable: The residential setting at Greenlands, the pace of the programme and the focus on energy and resilience help participants step back, reflect honestly and build habits that support performance over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the Henley Leadership Programme designed for?
The programme is designed for both experienced and aspiring leaders who are committed to developing themselves, whether in their current role or preparing for greater responsibility. Participants come from a wide range of sectors and organisations, and typically include senior managers, heads of function and leaders moving towards more senior positions.
What psychometric tools are used on the programme?
The programme uses three complementary tools: MBTI Step II, Firo-B and 360-degree feedback. MBTI Step II explores unique personality preferences, Firo-B examines interpersonal needs and behaviour, and the 360 gathers structured feedback from colleagues and peers. Together they provide a comprehensive picture of your leadership strengths, style and impact plus a rich understanding of the people around you.
How long is the programme and is it residential?
The programme runs across two in-person residential modules at Henley Business School's Greenlands campus in Henley-on-Thames. Module 1 is five days, Module 2 is one and a half days. Between modules, participants return to their organisations to apply their learning in practice. Access to the virtual learning portal continues for up to 12 months after the programme ends.
How does the programme support lasting behavioural change?
The programme is specifically designed to go beyond insight to support lasting change. The combination of data-grounded self-awareness, one-to-one coaching, peer challenge and the workplace application period between modules gives participants the opportunity to test new approaches in real situations and return to Henley to build on what is working.
Does the programme address health and wellbeing?
Yes. The programme includes a dedicated health and wellbeing session with individual insight, practical tools and techniques you can apply immediately to feel more mentally and physically alert. We believe that sustainable leadership starts with sustainable habits, and that how you look after yourself directly affects how you show up as a leader at work and at home. The residential setting at Henley also plays a role here. The riverside campus and the pace of the programme are all designed to give you genuine breathing space.
How is this programme different from other leadership development programmes?
The combination of MBTI Step II, Firo-B and 360-degree feedback is really comprehensive and is the foundation for everything that follows. The focus on helping participants define their own model of leadership, rather than adopt a prescribed framework, is really impactful. The residential setting, small group sizes and structured workplace application period between modules contribute to the depth of development.
Where is the programme held?
The programme is delivered residentially at Henley Business School's Greenlands campus in Henley-on-Thames, set on the banks of the River Thames in Oxfordshire and is included in the price. The campus is around an hour from central London and easily accessible by train or car. Stepping away from your usual environment, into a space that is calm, reflective and genuinely removed from day-to-day pressures, is a deliberate part of the programme design and central to the depth of thinking and development it enables.
Can my organisation send multiple participants?
Yes, many organisations use the programme as part of their leadership pipeline development. Please contact our team for further information.
Leadership Insights
Explore Henley's latest thinking on leadership, from research-backed insights and emerging trends to practical guidance for leading with purpose and impact.
Contact us
Open Programmes
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the programme, please contact our programme advisors.
Email: exec@henley.ac.ukTelephone: 01491 418767
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