If you’re leading L&D in a highly technical organisation, you’ve likely hit this wall: your top talent is brilliant at what they do, but view leadership as a ‘side job’.
Leadership development can seem like an extra thing to do for leaders who are academic, technically brilliant and analytical. Some may even be sceptical of learning the very skills the organisation is asking them to build.
We’ve faced this challenge before. Here’s what we’ve learnt about what works (and what doesn’t) when developing leadership capability in technical experts.
1. Recognise the mindset shift
Most technical leaders don’t actively choose to lead, but have been promoted because they’re exceptional at their craft. The shift from individual contributor to leader is often subtle but significant: suddenly, success isn’t about what they deliver, but how they enable others to deliver.
This mindset shift can be uncomfortable. That discomfort is normal, and even predictable. The key is not to push against it, but to meet it with clarity and practical relevance.
2. Make leadership development clearly relevant to their day job
Leadership development must speak to their context. If your programme opens with abstract models or general management theory, you’ll lose them in the first 10 minutes.
We focus on real challenges: giving feedback when the data isn’t clear. Delegating when it feels quicker to just do it yourself. Leading peers with strong opinions. Holding performance conversations with people they used to work alongside.
These are the moments they recognise. When development is grounded in these everyday challenges, it starts to feel necessary rather than optional.
3. Using the right leadership language for technical experts
As the human leadership people, we recognise that humans can react very differently to small changes in language. When it comes to this audience, we’ve found traction when we talk about:
- critical performance behaviours
- tools for leading high-functioning teams
- skills for navigating complexity and change
We’re not here to soften technical leaders with fluffy leadership language. We’re here to equip them with the skills to manage people, drive outcomes, and lead with clarity – especially under pressure.
4. Build credibility early
Technical experts don’t want to be ‘trained’ – they want to know they’re in a room with people who understand the pressures they face and can offer something practical.
That’s why we invest time up front: listening to their challenges, understanding the culture, and building scenarios that reflect the real dynamics of their world. That’s how we gain buy-in before the learning even begins.
We’ve also found that having visible support from peers – leaders who’ve been through the programme and endorse its value – goes a long way. It turns engagement from obligation into curiosity.
5. Give them tools they’ll actually use
We’ve seen a lot of frustration with leadership programmes that feel theoretical or hard to apply. What works is simple, repeatable tools they can start using immediately.
Think: how to structure a difficult conversation. How to analyse performance without micromanaging. How to coach someone who doesn’t think they need help. These are the moments that build confidence, and confidence builds momentum.
Developing your technical experts
Is your organisation full of smart, capable, technical experts who have shown resistance to the idea of leadership development? It doesn’t mean they won’t engage with it, it just means the development needs to be relevant, grounded, and practical.
We’ve helped organisations in exactly this position create programmes that technical leaders not only complete but rate highly, apply for, and rave about. With the right approach, leadership becomes less of an add-on, and more of what it really is: a core part of their role.
If you’re working through these challenges, we’d be happy to share what we’ve seen work.