Our global aeorspace client approached us with an identified need: A step-change was needed in the Site Director role, globally.
Working in true partnership with the organisation we designed and delivered a 12 month leadership acceleration programme, combining assessment, development and application to live business challenges.
The result was accelerated leadership readiness and robust succession as well as improved operational and financial performance.
Discover the full case study below.
A global aerospace business (Tier 1) identified a step-change in the expectations of its Site Director role globally.
Leaders who had historically succeeded as strong operational performers were now required to lead complex, multi-functional sites while balancing commercial performance, customer demands, and organisational transformation.
This shift exposed a clear capability gap. Many leaders had not previously been developed in areas such as enterprise thinking, stakeholder alignment, and leading change at scale.
At the same time, the business faced increasing pressure to deliver against ambitious financial targets, heightening the need for stronger, more rounded site leadership.
The organisation therefore sought to define what great looked like in the role and accelerate the development of a pipeline of leaders ready to step into these critical positions.
We partnered with Group HR and L&D to design and deliver a 12-month leadership acceleration programme, combining assessment, targeted development, and application to live business challenges.
A bespoke Site Director “What Great Looks Like” Success Profile was co-created with senior stakeholders and high-performing Site Directors and validated with current role holders to ensure it reflected both the operational realities and the leadership capabilities required for success both now and in the future.
Participants from 11 geographies, completed our proprietary psychometric assessment and received feedback, building clear insight into their leadership strengths, and development priorities.
The development journey combined six face-to-face workshops and virtual sessions, creating a structured and practical learning experience.
Face-to-face sessions focused on critical areas of site leadership, including safety, quality, finance, SIOP, arrears management, and leadership capability, ensuring participants built both operational and leadership depth.
Virtual sessions complemented this with a focus on key enterprise topics, including export control, legal, contracts and commercial, engagement, and programme management, reinforcing participants’ ability to operate effectively within a complex organisational and regulatory environment.
A defining feature of the programme was its emphasis on real-world impact. Each participant delivered a live project focused on improving critical operational KPIs within their site, culminating in presentations to senior leadership to drive accountability, visibility, and confidence at a more senior level.
The programme delivered consistently strong engagement, with participant feedback averaging above 4.8 out of 5 across all modules, alongside highly positive endorsement from senior stakeholders.
More importantly, it has driven a step-change in how the organisation defines and develops Site Director capability.
A clear and consistent Success Profile now underpins both assessment and development, creating greater alignment around what great looks like in the role.
This has been embedded into core talent processes, with all external candidates assessed against the profile and internal candidates progressing through a structured, targeted development pathway.
The programme strengthened leadership capability at site level, enabling improved performance across operational and financial priorities, and contributing to higher levels of employee engagement.
It has also accelerated leadership readiness, with multiple participants progressing into Site Director roles and others moving through clearly defined succession pipelines.
Crucially, the programme is now established as a core component of the organisation’s leadership strategy.
It has progressed into a second cohort and continues to evolve and expand in scope, reflecting sustained business value, strong internal demand, and ongoing senior stakeholder commitment.