The Leader Program: Developing the Next Generation of Bold Leaders

This case study follows the journey of a group of leaders from Nestlé on a customized Academy, a development program called “Leadership In Action”. All names contained herein are fictitious and blah blah blah. Stunts we performed by professionals. No animals were harmed during…

Look, if you’re expecting another copy-paste leadership story about theories, balloon chairs, trust falls, or other similar crap, you might want to click away now. Because what went down in Kalopanayiotis village, Cyprus, wasn’t your typical corporate training, it was a wake-up call that turned leadership development on its head.

Imagine this: Nestlé’s leaders from across Europe, trading their comfortable offices for a remote Cypriot village (it probably didn’t take a lot of convincing, right?). No fancy conference rooms. No recycled buzzwords. Just pure, unfiltered reflection and self-discovery wrapped in mountain views and centuries-old wisdom.

The Setup: Breaking Free from Corporate Chaos

Here’s the rundown of the program, we didn’t just drop these leaders into Cyprus and hope for the best. The journey kicked off way before anyone set foot on Cypriot soil. A virtual kickoff call got the ball rolling and got people excited for what was to come (without divulging too much information about what they were getting themselves into!), followed by some seriously engaging learning stuff on our learning platform, Motimate. A few learning concepts and videos, all wrapped in our siganture edutainment tinfoil. Because learning has to be fun for it to stick!

But the real magic? Well, that happened when they arrived at Kalopanayiotis village.

This was round two of four planned programs, following our first group back in in June 2024. And let me tell you, there’s something about pulling leaders away from their daily chaos that strips away the corporate armor they’ve built up over years. Suddenly, there’s nowhere to hide. No shields to cower behind. No emails to check. No meetings to escape to. It’s just you, your many selves, your colleagues, us facilitators, and a 700-year-old tree watching it all unfold (this’ll make sense in a while).

When Leadership Gets Personal

First thing to come out of our mouths: Everyone can lead, but not everyone chooses to be a good leader. And this was our mantra for the 3 days of training.

We had the quiet ones finding their voice, the loud ones learning to listen, and everyone in between discovering that leadership isn’t about becoming someone else, it’s about being the best version of yourself. And sometimes, to get to where you want to be, that means facing some uncomfortable truths and perceptions others may have of you.

Throughout the days, three live calls with Nestlé senior leaders drove this home. And man, was their message on point and totally aligned with our philosophy! No sugar-coating, no corporate speak, just raw, honest conversations about what it means to lead in today’s world. Because here’s the thing: authenticity and agility aren’t just nice-to-haves anymore. They’re your survival kit in the leadership jungle.

Innovation Meets Ancient Wisdom

Day two we wanted to talk about innovation and leadership (and some AI, too!). So, to shake off the people side of the agenda and focus them on innovation and having an agile mindset, we took the whole crew to a newly-built and gorgeous winery to talk about these things. But this wasn’t your typical brainstorming session. We introduced them to Rapid Visual (rapidvisual.ai), our latest tool for sparking creativity and streamlining problem-solving. And we had them sprint for their lives to use our tool to foster idea-generation and create beautiful visuals to support their business ideas.

And it was a beautiful thing, as the sun went down for the day: Leaders pitching AI-infused business ideas, glass of wine in hand, and feedback from each other! The result? An amazing appreciation of ideas that would never have seen the light of day in a fluorescent-lit conference room, after just one day.

The Real Leadership Wake-Up Call

Here’s where it gets real: We flipped the script on weaknesses. Instead of trying to “fix” what’s wrong, these leaders discovered something mind-blowing, their perceived weaknesses were just strengths pushed too far. Stretched to their limits. The micromanager? Just someone who cares deeply about quality. The overthinker? Actually great at spotting potential issues.

And the program itself? As fluid as water. No rigid agenda here, each day evolved based on what the group needed. One minute they’re deep in conversation and reflection and feedback to each other under that ancient tree, the next they’re tackling outdoor problem-solving challenges that pushed them way outside their comfort zones, in terms of putting their leadership behaviours to the test. Because that’s what real leadership feels like, it’s constant adaptation, genuine connection, and the courage to keep evolving and roll with the punches.

Here’s something everyone discovered in that village, something that goes deeper than any leadership theory: perceptions are all around us. Everyone’s got their own version of ‘you’ playing in their head, built from what you do and don’t do, filtered through their own experiences and beliefs. And each person’s perception? Well, that’s their reality. And each person is naturally entitled to their own reality. So, where’s the truth about who you really are as a person, or in this case, as a leader? It’s usually somewhere in the cross section of all these perceptions flying around.

Beyond the Mountain Views

By the time these leaders headed home, engagement on Motimate was still ongoing, with their selfies and comments spreading joy like wildfire. Some more learning continued through follow-up modules on Motimate. And then they got hit with a monster of a feedback ‘report’ that spoke directly to them on a very personal level. Ain’t no one ever seen a report like that!

Maybe something had shifted in them, in their perceived realities. And, at the end of the day, that’s the best we can ever hope for, as an L&D company focused on creating harmony at work. We can only push people and give them harsh nudges to try to snap them out of corporate-land thinking and back into the reality of real, raw leadership.

After all, leadership is not a shiny poster on the wall, illustrating power, or influence, or empathy, or any other buzzword. There’s no ‘owner’s manual’ for it. Leadership is messy. Undefined. Uncertain. But what everyone can hope to do is be authentic as to who they are and push their teams to become better than them. Leadership isn’t a destination, it’s a journey of non-stop, slap-in-your-face, gut-wrenching self-discovery. And sometimes, that journey takes you to a remote village in Cyprus where you might find out who you really are as a leader.

Want to Shake Up Your Leadership Game?

If your idea of leadership development is still fixated on structured agendas, boring PowerPoints, and building balloon chairs, then I hope you enjoyed this case study.

But if you’re looking for personalized and unconventional ways of getting that leadership edge back, then let’s talk!

Let’s figure out what leadership could look like for your team. No corporate BS, just real, impactful growth that sticks. Because, leadership isn’t about fitting into someone else’s mould, it’s about making your own.