so it reaches other leaders who are also drowning in AI-flavoured fluff. I’ll keep sharing what I’m learning about leading in the AI age — hopefully without the hype!

Most leadership models/frameworks fail – not because they’re not right for the company – but because they never make it off the slides.

I’ve seen it happen too many times, and I imagine you have too. Months of thoughtful design meetings, a polished slide deck (TBH probably version 36.5), a big internal launch… and then, crickets. Very little actually changes. And we wonder why it doesn’t stick.

When we built and launched Leadership CODE at HiBob – our compass for exceptional leadership – we wanted to make sure we didn’t fall into that trap.

Our goal wasn’t to introduce a new model. It was to bring it to life. That means helping every leader connect to it personally and collectively, and build the confidence to live our CODE habits IRL (see my previous post for the habits!)

So instead of a typical announcement, we ran a global activation — over 20 workshops, reaching 300+ leaders across every level, from Team Leads to our C-level.

Here’s what made the difference 👇

• Senior Sponsorship from the Start: Every CODE workshop was co-facilitated by a C-level or VP, alongside a People & Culture Partner and a Talent & Learning facilitator. That sent a powerful signal that CODE isn’t a HR initiative — it’s our shared compass. We even provided senior leaders with Leadership CODE soundbites — sticky phrases for culturally important moments like team meetings, 1:1s, hallway chats, and more

• Practical & Engaging Workshops: Each workshop followed a simple flow:
  💡 Why CODE matters — what’s in it for you and for HiBob
  🎯 What CODE looks like in real life — stories of leadership in action
  🧭 How to grow — self-assessing strengths and stretches, using CODE cards (more on this below)
  🚀 What’s next — how we’re making it stick
  

  Every workshop was also a listening opportunity — helping us learn what’s resonating or not with our leaders, and how we can better support them
  

• Synced with Performance & Development: We intentionally timed the launch of CODE to take place 3 months before HiGrowth, our people process for Bobbers and leaders to review performance and development at HiBob. This was another critical activation point – leaders self-reflected and received feedback from their manager/others on how they’re living our Leadership CODE. This meant that early on, CODE was embedded into how we talk about performance and development, and not a separate concept.
  

• Getting Creative with CODE Cards: To reinforce learning, we even designed Leadership CODE Cards. Each deck had four categories of cards: Habit Definitions, Habit Red Flags, Habit Reflectors (thought-provoking questions), and Habit Builders (microtips and hacks). We used these cards during the activation workshops, and gave them to every leader as a tool for self-reflection and team reflection.

  

So after all that, what was the early feedback?

• “The Leadership CODE workshop was a massive hit! The energy was incredible, everyone leaned in, embraced the CODE, and kept using it throughout.”

• “It didn’t feel like two hours, it just flew by - so much rich conversation in the room.”

• “Thank you again for last week’s workshop on CODE habits. This was incredibly useful. I don’t remember a workshop I’ve learnt so much from in such a short time .”

• “We’re already using the CODE cards to help leaders think about how they can tackle everyday leadership situations differently.” 

• “Straight away we've incorporated much of the Leadership CODE with how we work with each other and our teams. Really clear takeaways on areas of improvement for myself and how I show up with my team.”

•  “I’ve seen leadership models before and this really is the next level.”

The biggest lesson for us?
Don’t launch a leadership model — activate it.
Let people see it, feel it, and make it theirs.

For those of you leading similar work:
How have you helped leadership model come alive in your organizations?
What’s worked — and what would you do differently next time?

➡️ Next up in this series: Stage 3 — Make It Stick. I’ll share how we’re embedding CODE into our leadership journeys, talent practices, even AI Coaches — and how we know it’s working.

Curious about how to create a leadership model that truly reflects your company’s DNA?

Let's be real: many behavioral models don’t land. They look great in a deck, they get launched with energy… then they quietly disappear into the background noise.

Leadership CODE is HiBob's leadership model — our compass for exceptional leadership. When we realized that we needed a leadership model, we made a choice to do this right, or not at all.

This meant there are three stages to Leadership CODE — all equally critical:
1. Co-create
2. Activate
3. Make It Stick

Stage 1: Co-create

Let's start with co-create. Co-creation is messy. It takes time. It means hearing things you didn’t expect (or always want) to hear. But it’s worth it.

We say that our Leadership CODE is “crafted from the inside, built from where we’re going next.” This meant:
- C-level conversations that pushed us all to think about where HiBob is going, not just where we are now.
- VP discussions that were honest and insightful about what leadership for scale truly requires.
- Dozens of interviews with other leaders around the world who opened up about the realities (and frustrations) of leading in a fast-growing company.
- People & Culture Partners sharing what they see on the ground every day — the patterns, the pain points, the leadership moments that matter.
- Diving into better understand our mission, strategy, market, values, culture, context, and challenges

And here’s the part I didn’t expect: Each time we refined the model, it got simpler. Clearer. More human. Less “competency framework”, more “this is how great leadership actually looks like at HiBob.”

It also meant being deeply humble and letting go of my/our own assumptions. Let's just say that MECE went out of the window pretty early. Humans are messy, not MECE.

So what does CODE stand for? Connect, Own, Disrupt, and Evolve — and each of these pillars has two habits. For example, Connect has Build Bridges Break Fences (connecting across teams) and Zoom Out & Zoom In (connecting the dots between strategy and execution).

Why call them habits? We believe leadership is about showing up consistently in the small moments, and practising intentionally until those behaviors become second nature.

To bring it to life, we also created examples of each habit in the day-to-day of each level of leadership — from C-level and VPs to directors, managers and team leads. The result is both aspirational and practical.

🦄 I’m curious to hear from others in this space: Have you tried co-creating leadership or behavior models? What made it work?

🔥 Next up in this series: Stage 2 — Activate. How we brought the Leadership CODE to life, helping leaders connect to it personally and collectively.

Hello community! As HiBob's Director of Leadership Development, I oversee our leadership strategy and leadership development. I care deeply about helping leaders and teams thrive - and I'm lucky enough to do it in a company that is truly people proud.

I’ve worked at the intersection of leadership, talent, and organizational development for >15 years in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, and I absolutely love what I do.

But perhaps what’s more important to know about me is that I’m a dreamer, a coach, and a design thinker. This means that I want us all to be bold and courageous, to dream of what’s possible, and design the experience and conditions to bring it to life, all while keeping our businesses and our people at the centre of it all.

Which is why you’ll see me here in our wonderful In Good Company community, both sharing thoughts and seeking insights from you. I’ll be talking about how we can reimagine leadership strategy and development, and redesign talent strategies based on business needs. How we can build stronger coaching cultures and change mindsets in organizations. And how we can strengthen purpose, wellbeing, resilience and psychological safety - because when people thrive, business thrives.

We glorify “always on” cultures – late-night emails, back-to-back meetings, leaders who brag about running on four hours of sleep. But exhaustion isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a warning sign.

Arianna Huffington once said: “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.”

The best leaders I know don’t champion working harder. They model boundaries. They normalize rest. They show their teams that it’s about giving the best of you - not what’s left of you.

What’s one small shift you can make?

Change your meeting culture. I once worked for a company that introduced 25-min and 50-min meetings as a default. Simple idea - massive impact.

Update manager expectations so that leaders encourage sustainable working and model healthy boundaries.

Incorporate wellbeing check-ins into engagement surveys or pulse surveys, so you can spot burnout ‘hotspots’ early.

But you can check every box and still fail as a leader – if the way you’re being erodes trust, drains energy, or leaves people behind. I’ve worked with leaders who were masters of strategy and execution, but left the people around them exhausted, frustrated and spinning.

The best leaders are remembered for who they are. I’ve worked with leaders who didn’t have all the answers, but the way they showed up – grounded, curious, empathetic – made people want to follow them anywhere. A Chief People Officer I used to work with often said, “I’m not sure what the right way forward is. What do you think?” And the impact? The team leaned in and stepped up.

Doing drives output. Being shapes impact. And your impact is what lasts.

A few ways to start focusing on being - not just doing:

• Before you rush into your next priority or sprint, pause and ask yourself: Who am I being right now? Am I being the kind of leader I’d want to follow?

• Before diving into today’s to-do list, take 30 seconds to name how you want to show up today (curious, calm, bold, etc.)

• In your next team meeting, instead of just focusing what’s on the agenda or what’s being discussed, ask yourself or ask the team, “how are we being together as a team?

Companies love people like this. They look like superstars. They carry projects, teams, sometimes entire departments.

But peek under the hood and often you’ll find something else. Someone endlessly looking for validation that they’re good enough. Someone with imposter syndrome who works twice as hard to prove themselves. Someone who feels guilty for resting. Who says yes when they should say no. Who puts others’ expectations above their own reality.

Confession - I used to be like this. I’ve coached dozens of leaders like this. And while technically this isn’t the company’s “problem,” burnout always ends up being the company’s problem. And here’s the paradox: yes, you’re getting 200% from this person right now. But if they were truly thriving — they could deliver 500% without the burnout.

What’s one step you can take?

• Don’t just celebrate output and outcomes. Celebrate boundaries, recovery, and sustainable pace as leadership behaviors.

• Build wellbeing check-ins into performance cycles — so conversations aren’t only about goals, but also about energy and capacity.

• Train leaders and managers to spot the signs of unsustainable overachievement driven  — and open up conversations about what support looks like.