Why Leadership Labs Are More Than Just Peer Coaching
- Jaya Kashyap
- May 28
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 25
Organisations invest heavily in leadership development, but too often, training workshops fail to create lasting behavioural change. That is because leadership is not something you learn in a classroom; it is something you refine through experience, reflection and real conversations. This is where leadership labs come in.
Unlike traditional training, leadership labs provide a space where leaders can work through real challenges with their peers, develop essential leadership skills and embed behaviours that matter in the workplace. The value of these groups is not in solving problems quickly but in creating deeper learning, fostering accountability and building leadership qualities that last.
What Is a Leadership Lab?
A leadership lab is a structured, small group of peers who meet regularly to explore real workplace challenges, support each other’s growth and develop leadership skills. These groups are not about giving advice or telling each other what to do, they are about asking powerful questions, listening deeply and helping each other reflect in a way that leads to better decisions and actions.
The group works through a structured process where a participant presents a challenge they are facing, and instead of jumping in with solutions, the group explores the issue through open-ended questioning. This approach helps leaders gain new insights, challenge their own assumptions and commit to meaningful actions.
With the right facilitation, leadership labs can be far more effective than a training workshop on individual leadership competencies. They create the conditions for deep learning by allowing participants to practice real leadership behaviours, rather than just learning about them in theory.
Developing Key Leadership Qualities Through Leadership Labs
Organisations today expect a lot from their emerging leaders. It is no longer enough to be a strong functional expert. Leaders need to demonstrate enterprise-wide thinking, resilience, adaptability and the confidence to make decisions without constantly seeking approval. Leadership development through labs helps cultivate these exact skills in a way that is practical, reflective and directly relevant to the workplace.
Thinking Beyond Your Own Business Unit
One of the biggest shifts for emerging leaders is moving from a department-first mindset to thinking as part of the wider organisation. Leaders need to stay engaged with topics that do not just affect their own function but have a broader impact across the business.
Leadership labs help leaders develop this mindset by requiring them to truly listen and be present for their peers. In every session, they are asked to engage deeply with challenges that may have nothing to do with their own function. They practise staying invested in their colleagues' issues, exploring different angles and helping them work through solutions. This builds the ability to think beyond their immediate area and recognise the broader impact of decisions. It also allows them to hear about challenges in other departments, providing a wider business perspective that is difficult to gain otherwise.
Taking Accountability and Having Difficult Conversations
Leaders need to be able to hold others accountable when things are not delivered. Avoiding difficult conversations leads to poor performance and frustrated teams.
Through leadership labs, leaders gain confidence in holding others to account. They explore real situations where they struggled to challenge or push back and receive constructive feedback on how to approach these moments differently. They also see others practising accountability, normalising the idea that holding people to commitments is an essential leadership skill. Over time, this creates a habit of direct, constructive conversations that drive performance.
Staying the Course Through Change
Change is uncomfortable, especially when leaders are not fully convinced by a new direction. The best leaders do not just go along with change when they believe in it, they commit even when they are not entirely on board.
In a leadership lab, leaders discuss their experiences of leading change and explore their own resistance. They learn from peers who have found ways to stay engaged even when they had doubts. The shared reflections and support from the group make it easier to stay the course, helping leaders develop the resilience needed to lead change effectively.
Building a Culture of Experimentation and Support
A key leadership behaviour that organisations value is the willingness to try new things, take risks and learn from failure. But this is only possible in a culture where leaders feel supported rather than blamed when things do not go to plan.
Leadership labs create a space where leaders can openly discuss failures without fear of judgement. They practise reflecting on what went wrong, what could have been done differently and what they learned. This process normalises the idea that mistakes are a natural part of innovation and that what matters is learning and moving forward.
What makes leadership labs particularly effective in fostering this mindset is the exposure to different perspectives. Leaders hear how other departments approach challenges, which broadens their thinking and encourages them to challenge their own assumptions. The peer coaching dynamic also pushes them to explore all available options rather than defaulting to familiar patterns. By engaging in structured conversations, they strengthen their ability to assess risks, experiment and move forward with confidence.
Making Decisions Without Over-Reliance on Senior Approval
Leaders often struggle with decision-making, especially when they feel pressure to seek sign-off for every move. The challenge is finding the right balance between gathering input, being open to different perspectives and having the confidence to make a call without waiting for executive approval.
In leadership labs, leaders face this challenge directly. They bring real situations where they hesitated on a decision or felt they needed more approval than necessary. The group helps them unpack what held them back and challenges them to take ownership of their decisions. Over time, this builds the confidence to make well-informed, timely decisions while still keeping senior teams informed when necessary.
Engaging and Empowering Others
Leaders do not succeed alone, they succeed by engaging and developing their teams. This requires a coaching approach, where leaders listen, empower others and create the conditions for people to do their best work.
Leadership labs are built on the same coaching principles that great leaders use with their teams. Participants experience first-hand how effective coaching influences leadership development. This first-hand experience makes them far more effective at creating the same conditions for their teams.
Why Leadership Labs Are So Powerful
Surprisingly, the power of leadership labs is not about fixing problems on the spot. The biggest shift for leaders comes from experiencing a different way of thinking and leading, at the heart of transformational leadership development.
Some of the most valuable aspects include:
Experiencing coaching rather than just learning about it
Feeling the impact of open-ended questions and realising how much they shift conversations
Learning to slow down, listen properly and be fully present
Recognising the importance of silence and resisting the urge to fill it
Valuing the space to reflect without pressure to come up with immediate answers
Understanding how to move from exploration to action with accountability
Feeling the challenge and growth that comes from being vulnerable
Leaders who take part in well-facilitated leadership labs develop in ways that a typical leadership programme cannot replicate. The conversations are raw, real and immediately applicable. Instead of learning leadership concepts, they practise them. Instead of discussing accountability, they experience it. Instead of talking about coaching, they live it.
Organisations that want to create leaders who think strategically, take action and empower their teams should look beyond traditional leadership training. Leadership labs, done well, provide the kind of development that sticks, because it is built on real challenges, real conversations and real leadership in action.
About Esendia
At Esendia, we design and deliver leadership development programmes that drive real behavioural change. Our Leadership Labs are a core part of our blended development approach, ensuring that leaders do not just learn about key leadership skills but actively practise and refine them in real conversations with their peers.
We integrate live experiences, coaching, and self-directed learning to create leaders who are ready to think strategically, take accountability and lead with confidence. Get in touch to find out how we can support leadership development in your organisation.
