Leadership Team Advisory
For boards and leadership teams where individual capability is strong, but collective performance is inconsistent and the gap between the two is beginning to affect organisational execution.
Overview
Most leadership teams are made up of highly capable individuals and they don’t tend to fail because of their capability.
They do struggle when trust, communication and accountability starts declining and they experience the consequences in the shape of in slower decision making, fragmented execution and declining confidence from the people who look up to them.
The strain increases, conversations happening outside the room behind each others’ backs, unresolved tension between functions rises steeply and there’s a growing pressure on the CEO to carry alignment personally.
This engagement works with boards and leadership teams where internal dynamics, trust, communication and alignment are beginning to affect execution, leadership confidence and organisational performance.
The work is direct, commercially grounded and shaped around the realities operating inside the team and wider organisation. The outcome is stronger alignment, clearer communication, better decision-making and more effective leadership under pressure.
Who this is for
This engagement is designed for boards and ExCo teams where collective performance is not matching the capability within the group.
It is relevant where trust between senior leaders has weakened, where communication between functions creates friction rather than clarity, or where accountability within the leadership group is inconsistent.
It also applies in periods of growth, restructuring, or strategic transition where existing team dynamics are no longer sufficient for what the organisation requires.
In many cases, the CEO is carrying disproportionate weight for alignment that should sit across the team.
What we address
This engagement works with the behavioural and relational dynamics that shape leadership performance.
Areas commonly addressed include:
- The gap between individual leadership capability and collective team performance
- Trust, communication, and accountability across the senior group
- Leadership alignment and strategic cohesion under pressure
- Decision-making clarity in complex environments
- Political behaviour, tension avoidance, and deferred accountability
- The difference between perceived alignment and operational alignment
- Leadership effectiveness during growth, transition, or uncertainty
- The working relationship between the CEO and the senior team
Outcomes
Leadership teams typically shift in three areas: clarity, speed, and coherence.
That shows up in faster and cleaner decision-making, reduced internal friction between functions, and stronger alignment on strategic priorities.
In one organisation managing simultaneous structural pressure, this translated into a 60% increase in turnover while maintaining margins, driven by a leadership team operating with renewed alignment and decision discipline.
Each engagement is designed around the organisation’s context and leadership dynamics. There is no standard format. The work is shaped by what is actually present in the team.
Client Perspective
Nis supported our change and performance enhancement programme with the Board and Senior Management. I can’t recommend her highly enough for the impact she brought to our business culture, with her infectious attitude and straight talking style, which was embraced across the business at all levels.
Luke Haggett, Group Finance Director
Before we engaged in the Coach to the Board programme, our board was focused on managing debt and operational concerns. We weren’t truly leading the business, we were managing it. We needed to elevate our thinking, align as a team, and develop a shared vision for the future. The challenge was clear: how do we move from the day-to-day grind to strategic, future-proof leadership that drives sustainable success?
This programme was intense and unapologetically direct, but exactly what we needed. It pushed us to confront both our individual and collective strengths and weaknesses as board members. We learned more about ourselves – and each other – than we ever expected on the journey, leading to a deeper level of trust and collaboration. The process forced us to ask tough questions about where we were headed and what kind of leadership was needed to get us there.
The results speak for themselves.
We are now a board with clear purpose, aligned on our strategic priorities, and truly leading the business with vision and confidence. Our decision-making has become sharper, our team dynamics stronger, and we have a clear roadmap for the company’s future. We have short-term wins and we’re building long-term value for the next generation. If you’re ready to shift from managing to truly leading your business, this programme will take you there.
Helen Young, Managing Director
I attended a series of workshops with my fellow board members. The sessions facilitated open and honest dialogue, and at times dialogue which would otherwise not have surfaced.
This created a much clearer understanding of each persons views, enabling us to understand how we could better collaborate whilst being mindful of softer emotive factors, but also allowed each member of the forum to truly express themselves.
Nis allowed it to flow, but also ensured it was purposeful, following a broad direction of travel, and each event was far from dry and boring, moreover, was entertaining and engaging all of the time.
Nis is super personable. She gets to know the person as an the individual, and all these years later, still keeps in touch.
Craig Malloy, Group Finance Director
Under Nis Arend’s expert guidance, our leadership team became considerably stronger, more cohesive, more focused and efficient, and more harmonious.
We now have a much better understanding of each team member’s strengths and limitations and consequently, are able to support each other more effectively, leading to clearly better results.
I highly recommend Nis’s services to any organisation that is serious about continuous improvement.
Working with Nis was a transformative experience for our leadership team.
Dr. DJ Condon, Director of Leadership Team