Recognise potential
Look beyond current performance to willingness to learn, reliability and the capacity to help other people succeed.
Developing others
Developing the Leaders Around You
Develop people who can lead, instead of keeping every decision with you.
By John C. Maxwell
What this programme helps you work on.
When every decision returns to the owner or senior manager, the team’s capacity depends on one person’s availability. This programme examines how to recognise leadership potential and develop people who can carry responsibility. The emphasis is on deliberate preparation, coaching and opportunities to lead.
Original curriculum reference: Developing the Leaders Around You — Maxwell Leadership. Workplace applications on this page describe local facilitation.
Who it suits
Senior managers and leaders building their next layer of leadership.
The focus
Recognising potential, equipping, coaching and reproducing leaders.
Inside the programme
What you’ll explore.
These themes guide the learning. The depth and selection depend on the format and the needs you bring.
Create conditions for growth
Examine whether expectations, feedback and access to meaningful work help people develop or keep them dependent on you.
Equip and coach
Match a real responsibility with the knowledge, practice and support a developing leader needs before and during the assignment.
Develop further leaders
Consider how the people you develop can learn to coach and equip others, extending leadership beyond your direct involvement.
From ideas to action
Put it into practice.
Create a development plan for people in your team.
An example to work through
Select one person who could take on a team responsibility. Define the decisions they may make, the preparation they need and when you will review progress. Practise a coaching conversation that supports ownership.
This is an example of local application. We adapt the discussion to your situation and agreed scope.
Your practical takeaways
What you’ll work towards.
- A development priority for a potential team leader.
- A responsibility matched with preparation, authority and support.
- A review plan for learning and progress, rather than task completion alone.
The learning experience
How it works.
Facilitated learning combines explanation, discussion and reflection on participants’ own situations. Where the agreed format allows, you practise an application and decide what to try at work. Scope, duration and any follow-up are agreed around the group’s needs.
A focused Lunch & Learn
The USD 8 per person fee plus 8% SST (USD 8.64 total) covers the session only; lunch is not included. The session introduces a selected idea and its practical application. It is an introduction to the topic; the wider themes above describe the broader learning available. All sessions are hybrid. Starting in 2027, Lunch & Learn runs on selected Mondays, 12pm–2pm Malaysia Time. Exact dates will be confirmed before enrolment. No preparation is required. Sessions are conducted in English, in Malaysia Time (MYT, UTC+8). We use ClassIn for hybrid sessions. Online and in-person members participate fully in the same class: ask questions, contribute to discussions and work through member cases together. The joining link and learning management system (LMS) access will be provided five days before each session.
The public Mastermind format
USD 118 per member per month plus 8% SST includes one four-hour group meeting each month: two hours of guided study, then two hours for two member cases with everyone contributing on a published rotation. Each member receives one hour of private coaching per month. Each member may request one Urgent Action Session per year for an emergency or urgent business issue, lasting up to four hours. Soo Hoo convenes available group members within three working days of the request, subject to a maximum of two Urgent Action Sessions per group per month. Once that monthly limit is reached, no further urgent sessions are accepted for that group that month. All books and materials are included at no extra charge. No preparation is required. Sessions are conducted in English, in Malaysia Time (MYT, UTC+8). We use ClassIn for hybrid sessions. Online and in-person members participate fully in the same class: ask questions, contribute to discussions and work through member cases together. The joining link and learning management system (LMS) access will be provided five days before each session. Starting in 2027, monthly group meetings will be on a Monday or Friday, 2pm–6pm Malaysia Time; the day and exact dates are not yet finalised. Groups target 12 members and accept a maximum of 15, with one member per specific business category and no direct competitors. We are starting with one founding group of SME owners and senior managers with comparable leadership responsibilities. Middle managers can register interest for a separate future group, subject to demand. The group will vote on which mastermind programme to follow. A manager and their direct report will not be placed in the same group.
Membership begins with a three-month minimum term and requires three months’ written cancellation notice.
Your questions
Before you take the next step.
How do I develop team leaders so every decision stops coming back to me?
Begin with one responsibility a team member could learn to own. Agree the expected result, the decisions they may make, when they should ask for help and a review date. Coach their reasoning at the review instead of taking the responsibility back. This is a local application of people development, adapted to the person and situation.