Buying requirements in this sector

  • Facilitation capability, which is usually the real deliverable and the hardest part to specify in a contract.
  • Assessment instruments, since leadership development usually needs a defensible before and after measure.
  • Cohort and programme design, not just module design, because leadership learning is a social process.
  • Business context, since a generic leadership programme is often rejected by senior participants.
  • Transfer measurement, because the standard failure is attendance followed by no change.

Capabilities to look for

  • Assessment and simulation capability tied to real leadership situations, particularly the structured interview and feedback instruments.
  • Evidence of delivery to executive and manager populations, which is a different audience from frontline staff.
  • Facilitated delivery as an explicit line in the scope, with facilitator names and credentials.
  • A stated measurement approach, including what the programme claims to be able to detect.

Relevant provider categories

Questions that decide the outcome

  1. Who facilitates, what are they qualified in, and are they named in the proposal?
  2. What does the assessment actually measure, and what does it not measure?
  3. How is transfer to the job measured, and over what period?
  4. How is this programme different from a generic leadership course, in concrete terms?

Providers with relevant evidence

Inclusion here reflects published sector coverage, not a recommendation. Check the business model before comparing, since a platform and a production studio are not substitutes.

Next step

Use the project readiness assessment to check you have what a supplier needs before you brief one, then the evaluation checklist to compare responses.

Assess readiness Send a project brief