What a recent client said
"We brought Champion Lead in after two restructures failed. Within fourteen weeks our senior team was making decisions together instead of around each other." — Operations director, 280-person logistics firm, Glasgow
That engagement began with a two-day diagnostic. We sat in on three leadership meetings, interviewed nine people across two tiers, and mapped where authority actually lived versus where the org chart said it lived. The gap was the problem. Closing it was the work.
Leadership Consulting built from fifteen years of real engagements
We did not start with a methodology deck. We started with a question a CEO asked us in 2009. Here is how the practice grew.
A single question
A CEO of a mid-sized Edinburgh manufacturer asked: "Why does my leadership team agree in the room and disagree in the corridor?" That question became our first engagement. We spent six weeks observing, then built a decision-accountability map that the team still uses today.
From observation to framework
After working with eleven organisations, patterns emerged. We formalised our diagnostic into what we now call the Authority Clarity Audit: a structured, interview-based assessment that reveals where leadership friction actually originates. It takes five days, not five months.
Scaling the practice
We brought on two senior associates, both former operational leaders. One had run a 400-person NHS division; the other had led transformation at a financial services group. Their experience meant we could work with larger, more complex leadership structures without losing the close, embedded approach.
Sustained engagement model
Clients kept asking us to stay longer. So we designed a twelve-month embedded advisory format: quarterly deep-dives, monthly check-ins, and an always-available channel for the CEO and their direct reports. Retention on that model runs above 90%.
How we actually work
Every engagement starts with the Authority Clarity Audit. We interview your senior team individually, observe at least two leadership meetings, and review the last twelve months of strategic decisions: who made them, how, and what happened afterwards.
From that, we produce a single document. Not a slide deck. A written analysis, usually eight to twelve pages, that describes where authority is clear, where it is contested, and where it is absent. We present it to the full leadership team in a facilitated session.
Then we work together on what to change. Some clients need a new decision-rights framework. Others need to restructure their senior team entirely. A few discover they have the right people but the wrong meeting cadence. The audit tells us which lever to pull.
We stay involved during implementation. Our associates join leadership meetings for the first sixty days of any structural change, not to run the meeting but to observe whether the new model is holding under real pressure.
Where leadership consulting creates the most value
Post-merger integration
Two leadership teams, two cultures, one org chart. We have run integration diagnostics for seven mergers since 2015. The work is fast: a three-week sprint to define who owns what, followed by facilitated alignment sessions. One client avoided six months of paralysis by starting this in week one.
Founder-to-CEO transition
Founders who built the company often struggle to lead it at scale. We help them decide what to keep, what to delegate, and how to build a leadership layer beneath them that can actually carry weight. This is sensitive work and we treat it that way.
Board-executive misalignment
When a board and its executive team disagree on pace, risk tolerance, or strategic direction, the organisation stalls. We facilitate structured conversations that surface the real disagreement, not the polite version, and help both sides reach a working compact.
Leadership team redesign
Sometimes the problem is structural. Too many direct reports, unclear role boundaries, or a leadership team that has grown by accretion rather than design. We map the current state, propose a target structure, and support the transition including difficult personnel conversations.
What clients report after working with us
"The audit was uncomfortable. It named things we had been avoiding for two years. That honesty is exactly what we needed."
CEO, professional services firm, Edinburgh"Our board meetings went from three hours of updates to ninety minutes of actual decisions. The change stuck because the framework was simple enough to follow without consultants in the room."
Chair, third-sector organisation, Dundee"We tried two other consulting firms before Champion Lead. The difference was they listened before they prescribed."
Managing director, construction group, AberdeenIs this the right time?
Not every organisation needs leadership consulting right now. Here are signs that the timing is right:
Your senior team meets regularly but decisions still get revisited or reversed. Strategy discussions produce agreement in the room and confusion afterwards. New hires at director level leave within eighteen months. The CEO feels they are the only person truly accountable for outcomes.
If two or more of those sound familiar, a conversation with us is worth thirty minutes of your week.
Book an initial call
Principles we work by
Observation before opinion
We spend time in your organisation before we form a view. First-hand observation of meetings, interactions, and decision points gives us data that interviews alone cannot.
Written over verbal
Our deliverables are written documents, not slide decks. Writing forces precision. A well-constructed paragraph cannot hide behind bullet points and clip art.
Short engagements, long relationships
The initial work is typically eight to twenty weeks. Many clients continue with quarterly advisory sessions for years afterwards. We earn that continuation; we do not contract for it upfront.
Candour with care
We tell senior leaders what we see, including things they may not want to hear. We do it privately, respectfully, and with specific evidence rather than vague impressions.
Questions we hear often
How much does an engagement cost?
The Authority Clarity Audit, our starting point, is a fixed fee of £8,500 for organisations up to 500 people. Larger or more complex structures are scoped individually. Ongoing advisory work is billed monthly, typically between £2,000 and £4,500 depending on intensity.
Do you work outside Scotland?
Yes. About a third of our clients are based elsewhere in the UK. We travel for the initial observation phase and conduct ongoing work through a mix of in-person and remote sessions. We have also supported two engagements in Ireland and one in the Netherlands.
Can you work with a single leader rather than a full team?
We do offer one-to-one advisory for CEOs and managing directors. It is structured differently: fortnightly sessions over six months, focused on decision-making, delegation, and managing the leadership layer below. But our strongest results come from working with the whole senior team.
What if the audit reveals something we are not ready to act on?
That happens. The audit is diagnostic, not prescriptive. You decide what to act on and when. Some clients take six months before they are ready to make structural changes. We are available when they are.
Start a conversation
Tell us a little about your organisation and what prompted you to look at leadership consulting. We will reply within two working days, usually sooner.
Other ways to reach us
Phone: +44 373 850 0071
Email: [email protected]
3 Common Lane, Upper Bergewick, Scotland, VU8 6VG, United Kingdom
We typically respond within one working day. If your enquiry is urgent, phone is fastest.