Overview
In 2023-4, Insight partnered with the National Composites Centre (NCC) to design and deliver a development programme for its top 50 leaders. As a world-leading engineering and research organisation, NCC needed a leadership community capable of driving innovation, collaboration and growth in a complex and rapidly evolving market.
Working closely with NCC’s HR Director and senior team, we developed a bespoke programme combining neuroscience-based leadership models, resonant and coaching-focused practice, and structured opportunities for cross-organisational collaboration.
Two years later, in 2026, we returned to evaluate the legacy of the programme and found a transformed leadership mindset, a stronger community, and lasting behavioural change underpinning NCC’s growth phase.
The Challenge
NCC had ambitious goals centred on resilient expansion, collaborative innovation, and delivering greater impact for the UK. Leaders needed to shift from operating as functional specialists to acting as a connected, unified leadership community.
Through our discovery work, four core needs emerged:
- Create one unified leadership team from several functional groups.
- Build higher levels of trust and reduce siloed working.
- Embed a common leadership language and shared expectations.
- Strengthen leaders’ ability to develop others, navigate change, and model psychological safety.
Our Approach
We designed a year-long leadership development experience built around:
- A bespoke, neuroscience-informed learning journey
- A cohort-based model to build trust
- A psychologically safe learning environment
- Application in the ‘real world’ of the challenges leaders faced on a daily basis
- Integration with NCC’s developing strategy
What We Delivered
Across 12 months we delivered:
- A co-hosted programme launch to set expectations with participants and outline the vision for future-ready leadership and cultural requirements.
- Four workshops, delivered to small cross-business cohorts, on resonance, coaching, feedback and engagement.
- Co-coaching, peer support and real-world engagement activities.
- A celebration event showcasing leadership journeys.
- A strategic integration event aligning leaders around NCC’s emerging organisational model.
What Participants Valued Most
Across programme evaluation reports, leaders highlighted:
- Practical, science-backed tools
Leaders valued simple frameworks, the neuroscience underpinning leadership behaviours, and practical tools they could use the next day.
“the content was well grounded in literature and used the particular lens of neuro-psychology effectively to frame leadership approaches in a different way than I’ve seen them presented before. I found that gave me an additional lens to look through when planning conversations”
- Coaching and feedback
These were repeatedly cited as the most transformative components, especially the shift in managing staff by enabling more than directing.
“Coaching refreshed my approach – I’m asking more questions now”
- Growth mindset
Many leaders reported that (re)connecting with growth mindset principles changed their confidence and appetite for stretch opportunities.
“Applying [growth mindset] and continuing to push yourself to go above and beyond what you’re comfortable with has been one of the lasting impressions that came out of the course”
- Building deeper relationships
Understanding colleagues’ stories, strengths and thinking styles helped break down barriers and strengthen cross-organisational trust.
“A benefit of the programme was to get to know people on a deeper level and understand more about what drives them. But also that opportunity to work as a group where you don’t normally work together day-to-day and to get different experiences and different inputs”
- Psychological safety and resonance
The programme helped leaders recognise the importance of emotional climate, presence and authenticity in high-performing teams.
“The foundations that I got through the training and through us working as a group of fifty senior leaders within the business enabled me to say “I do have a place, I have something unique to offer and that’s been recognised. I’m going to build on that and develop those strengths and keep pushing forward. I’ve certainly felt like I’ve grown as an individual and grown my profile and my network as a result.”
Short Term Impact (2024)
The first evaluation, one year after launch, showed meaningful shifts in leadership capability and behaviour.
Key findings included:
- Leaders were more confident and felt better equipped to support their teams.
- Coaching and ‘corridor coaching’ were happening more frequently
- A shared language around resonance, coaching and feedback had emerged
- Cross-business relationships were stronger, with reduced siloed behaviour
- Leaders were using new tools to have difficult but constructive conversations earlier
- Teams were noticing differences in leaders’ approach to listening, empowerment and ownership
While some challenges remained, leaders reported higher optimism and improved capability to drive NCC’s strategic ambition.
Long Term Impact (2026)
In 2026, we conducted in depth interviews to understand what had truly stuck.
1. A stronger, more unified leadership community
Leaders described a greater sense of belonging, shared purpose and mutual support across specialist functions.
2. Personal transformation and increased confidence
Many leaders had achieved promotions, stretch assignments or new responsibilities, crediting the programme with shifting their confidence and mindset.
3. Embedding of key leadership concepts
Terms like resonance, psychological safety and growth mindset became part of everyday leadership language
4. Better collaboration and strategic alignment
The programme helped leaders think more systemically, connect across boundaries and contribute to a wider, more inclusive strategy process.
5. A more coaching-oriented culture
Leaders reported using coaching to develop teams, distribute ownership and improve performance.
6. Real organisational impact
Leaders noted shifts in cross-departmental collaboration, people management behaviours and wider strategic participation – crucial strengths for an organisation navigating growth.
Client Feedback
NCC’s HR Director, Rachael Woodburn, summarised the programme’s impact:
“The programme design, and facilitation, received excellent feedback internally; the neuroscience-backed approach was well received by our largely technical community, and the core concepts of resonance, psychological safety and growth mindset have become part of our continued shared language, organisation wide.
The programme was perfectly timed to set us up for our current organisational growth phase, with many of the attendees having taken on larger roles or stretch assignments in the past year.”
The Legacy
Two years on, NCC has:
- A more confident, capable, future-focused leadership community.
- A shared understanding of how to lead a complex organisation through growth.
- Stronger relationships and improved collaboration across business units.
- Embedding of coaching, resonance and growth mindset into daily work.
- Leadership behaviours aligned with NCC’s evolving strategy and culture.
This programme laid the foundation for NCC’s next chapter – enabling leaders to drive innovation, shape culture, and deliver impact for the UK.
“it certainly helped me in having more future focus. Rather than being focused on the day-to-day and how do we keep the lights on, there’s some big opportunities, so how are we going to chase these? It’s not for our own benefit; we see this as for the benefit of the wider UK. This is what we’re here for; it’s about impact and growth”