You Have Everything You Need to Lead Well

Clear the mental clutter blocking your authentic leadership

Proven Methods, Practical Results

A systematic solution for overwhelmed school leaders who know what to do but are drowning in the day-to-day.

You're Cognitively Overloaded:

Leadership Overwhelm You're drowning in everyday leadership tasks - dreading difficult conversations, watching people check out in meetings, struggling with communication chaos

Decision Fatigue Every choice feels overwhelming because the fundamentals aren't automatic, leaving you exhausted by routine decisions

Imposter Syndrome Despite your brilliance, you feel like a fraud in leadership because you haven't systematised the fundamentals

Authentic Leadership Block You can't access your natural leadership style because you're using all your mental energy on mechanics

Team Confidence Erosion Your overwhelm is affecting your team's trust in your leadership, creating a cycle of doubt

Know-Do Gap You know what good leadership looks like but can't access it consistently because the fundamentals aren't embedded

Limited to just 25 leaders per cohort when launched

What Makes This Different?

Systematic: This programme doesn't teach you to be someone else - it clears the mental clutter so you can be authentically you as a leader

Practical: Every session systematises one leadership fundamental so it becomes effortless, reducing your cognitive load and freeing mental capacity for authentic leadership expression

Measurable: Track how clearing mental clutter improves your confidence, team effectiveness, and authentic leadership expression with evidence-based assessments and visible behaviour change

Meet Shane Leaning

I understand what it's like to want real leadership growth, not just more theory

Having worked with thousands of leaders across schools globally, I've seen brilliant people frustrated by leadership development that doesn't actually develop them. That's exactly why I created this intensive - to guarantee you grow as a leader in ways you can see, feel, and measure.

And I understand the cognitive overload challenge personally. Having transitioned from excellent teacher to overwhelmed middle leader to confident senior leader, I know what it feels like when the basics aren't automatic. As co-author of 'Change Starts Here' (Routledge, 2025), I've learned that you have everything you need for effective leadership - you just need to clear the barriers preventing you from accessing it.

Host of Chart-topping Education Leaders Podcast

Trusted by thousands of leaders worldwide across all sectors

Bestselling Author of "Change Starts Here"

Recognised expertise in organisational transformation

Worked with Thousands of Leaders Globally

Extensive experience across diverse schools and groups

Co-founder of Work Collaborative

Dedicated to inside-out change in organisations

The Hidden Leadership Crisis

The problem isn't that you lack leadership ability. The problem is cognitive overload from basic leadership tasks you haven't systematised. When you're spending mental energy on meeting basics, difficult conversations, and decision frameworks, you have no capacity left for authentic leadership.

Consider this: Master teachers make classroom management look effortless because they've systematised the basics. That's exactly what we do for leadership fundamentals.

This programme doesn't teach you new leadership theories. It systematises the basics so you finally have mental space to be the leader you actually are.

Get instant access to my 10 Leadership Levers with practical actions you can implement this week. The same framework used by thousands of leaders worldwide to create real, measurable growth.

Download this 17-page guide and discover:

  • The Teacher-Leader Bridge that turns your experience into leadership strength

  • The Authenticity Filter for values-based decision making

  • The Shared Understanding Check that transforms your communication

  • 7 more research-backed leadership levers with immediate actions you can take today

    Why it’s called an Intensive

    Step 1: Apply & Get Accepted

    Submit your application with written response and short video to ensure you're ready for the intensity and committed to real growth

    Step 2: Experience 10 Weeks of Intensive Challenge

    Each week you'll be pushed beyond your comfort zone with deliberate practice, real-world implementation, and immediate feedback on your leadership

    Step 3: Graduate with Proven Growth

    Complete the programme with measurable leadership development, a personalised playbook, and evidence of real behaviour change

    In my Education Leaders Intensive, I know that you want to be an authentic, confident leader who creates meaningful change in your school. In order to do that, you need to systematise the leadership fundamentals that are currently draining your mental energy. The problem is that most leadership development adds more to your cognitive load with new theories and frameworks, which makes you feel more overwhelmed and further from your authentic leadership style.

    I believe that every leader deserves to access their authentic leadership potential without cognitive overwhelm. I understand how frustrating it is to know what good leadership looks like but struggle to access it consistently because you're drowning in basics, which is why I created this intensive programme specifically designed to systematise the fundamentals so you can be authentically you as a leader.

    Here's the difference: Master teachers make classroom management look effortless because they've systematised the basics. This programme does exactly that for leadership fundamentals.

    Here's how I do it:

    1. I systematically work through 10 leadership fundamentals that create cognitive overload

    2. You practice each one until it becomes automatic in your real leadership context with structured support

    3. I measure your progress so you can see and feel the mental space opening up for authentic leadership

    So, schedule your strategy call today. And in the meantime, download my free curriculum guide. So you can stop drowning in leadership basics and instead experience the systematic growth that transforms you into the authentic leader you're capable of being.

    Programme Details

    📅 Duration & Format

    • 10 weeks over 3 months

    • September 15 - December 1, 2025

    • Weekly 2-hour live sessions

    • Tuesdays, 4:30-6:30 PM China time

    🏆 Certification

    • Education Leaders Intensive Certificate

    • Research-based competency framework

    • Digital badge for LinkedIn

    🎯 Time Commitment

    • 5-6 hours per week total

    • 2 hours live online sessions

    • 3-4 hours implementation

    • Includes leadership trio work

    👥 Cohort Size

    • Carefully selected participants

    • Application with written response

    • Short video submission

    • Ensures aligned commitment levels

    📚 What's Included

    • All session recordings

    • Evidence-based frameworks

    • Implementation tools

    • Prompt cards for each lever

    • Personal Leadership Playbook

    🌏 Optional Add-ons

    • Shanghai Workshop: £500 (2-day "Leading as a Coach" intensive)

    • 1:1 Coaching with Shane: £600 (Four personal sessions)

    "I'm launching the first cohort in October 2025. If you just need a certificate for your next job interview, this isn't for you - go do an NPQ or a master's instead. But if you want to transform your practice and develop skills that will make you feel more confident, more energised, and more able to handle the challenges of leadership after just a few months together - this is the programme for you. It's practical. It's intense. That's why it's called an intensive."

    Need Help with Strategic Decisions?

    Get my Strategic Decision Guide - the framework from our Education Leaders Intensive that helps you choose the right decision-making process for any situation.

    Download this 4-page guide and discover:

    • How to classify decisions by impact, urgency, and reversibility

    • The right decision-making process for each situation type

    • Stakeholder mapping templates to avoid headaches later

    • A step-by-step framework for when you're under pressure

    Investment in Your Leadership Growth

    Join the most intensive, practical leadership development programme designed to guarantee your growth as a leader

    The Education Leaders Intensive

    School and organisational group discounts available Multiple participants receive exclusive group coaching sessions

    Included Benefits:

    ✓ 10 weeks of intensive leadership challenge and growth

    ✓ Evidence-based frameworks from 100+ research studies

    ✓ Personal Leadership Playbook with measurable progress tracking

    ✓ Leadership trio peer coaching and accountability

    ✓ All session recordings and implementation materials

    ✓ Research-based certification with proven competency

    ✓ Ongoing community access with fellow leaders

    FAQs

    How is this different from other programmes?

    Most programmes add more to your cognitive load with new theories and frameworks. We do the opposite - we systematise leadership fundamentals so they become automatic, freeing your mental capacity to be authentically you as a leader.

    Who is this programme for?

    School leaders experiencing cognitive overload from leadership basics - those who know what good leadership looks like but struggle to access it consistently because they're drowning in fundamentals.

    What's the time commitment?

    The programme includes weekly live sessions plus implementation activities integrated into your existing leadership work. Most participants spend 4-5 hours per week on the programme.

    Ready to add UMPH to your leadership?

    Haven't downloaded the curriculum & price guide yet? Get it here.

    Applications close when my carefully selected cohort is full