The evidence behind LEAD21.
Externally proven. Measured on your team. Calculated in euros.
Three studies show that systematic leadership works. A 10-minute check shows where your team stands today — and which development fields carry the greatest leverage. The LEAD21 effect: you set the levers — and see the performance that follows for your organisation.
Interactive · after Bain & CompanyWhat one weekly meeting delivers with LEAD21Incl. FTE capacity · cost per year · savings through LEAD21
Bain & Company showed it in Harvard Business Review: a single weekly leadership meeting ties up around 300,000 working hours per year — because every level below prepares and feeds into it. Set your own structure.
Cascade model after Bain & Company (Harvard Business Review): the direct meeting time multiplies through preparation and input work across the levels involved. An estimated order of magnitude, not exact time tracking — a thinking frame for the hidden costs of poorly run meetings. FTE conversion using the set annual hours.
InteractiveYour growth potential in eurosGrowth potential in euros · broken down per core dimension
Enter your own figures and set the expected improvement per dimension — the calculation structure is the same as in the study below, just applied to your company.
Expected improvement per dimension — pre-filled with the defensible median values (outlier-robust). Freely adjustable.
Estimated value/revenue potential with consistent application — not an investment calculation, no guaranteed effects. The calculation factors come from independent external studies (Gallup, Towers Watson, LSA Global, etc.); the improvement values are expectations of experienced leaders (self-reported). Not additive.
For contextLEAD21 in the top quintile — in the TOP 11%Almost everyone talks about evidence-based leadership. But how much of it is actually proven?
Our systematic review of 659 articles from the five leading management journals shows: 89% reach only the lowest evidence levels 4 and 5 — case descriptions and expert opinions. Highest evidence, Level 1: 0%. The LEAD21 effectiveness study reaches evidence level 3 — the top segment of roughly 11% of what the entire leadership field achieves at all. Independently led. 567 participants. Not estimated. Not claimed. Measured.
corporate guidance - 1 year - European industrial group · 567 professionals & leaders8 of 9 dimensions of the Transformation & Performance Climate significantly improved.A scientifically accompanied one-year study with 567 professionals and leaders of a European industrial group (78% response rate), independent study leadership: Prof. Dr. Beate Hanson (clinical epidemiologist) & Dr. Branko Kopjar (University of Washington).
8 of 9 dimensions of the Transformation & Performance Climate significantly improved.
A scientifically accompanied one-year study with 567 professionals and leaders of a European industrial group (78% response rate), independent study leadership: Prof. Dr. Beate Hanson (clinical epidemiologist) & Dr. Branko Kopjar (University of Washington).
What leadership expects from the performance of a leadership system:
Corporation · Grand MasterClass — DigitalCorporate Hyper-Growth program €300M -> €2.3bnDigital Grand MasterClassWhat participants say after 7 weeks in the system.
What participants say after 7 weeks in the system.
Transformation potential with consistent application — median across the five dimensions (participants' expectation estimate, self-reported).
“The efficiency that got us here won't carry us into the next order of magnitude — that takes a completely different one. With LEAD21 I close that gap.”
— Overall project leadCorporation · Grand MasterClass — DigitalCorporate Finance CommunityGrand MasterClass — DigitalWhat participants say after 7 weeks in the system.
What participants say after 7 weeks in the system.
Transformation potential with consistent application — average across the six dimensions (participants' expectation estimate, self-reported).
“Participants report a noticeably higher level of clarity, ownership and efficiency. His methodology brought our teams to a significantly higher performance level in a short time.”
— CFO · Corporate FinanceGrand MasterClass - in person - 68 leaders - global market leaderWhat leaders of a global market leader expect with consistent application:Mean (n = 68)
Own expectation survey at an international automotive supplier and global market leader (Dec. 2017): 68 professionals and leaders, 18 dimensions; curated core values from the company-internal evidence presentation (2019). Self-reported, no measured effects. “Negative stress” = expected reduction. A standalone survey — this company's values are below the average of the ongoing overall LEAD21 survey (207 professionals and leaders, detailed below).
Participant survey · since 2016 · 18 dimensionsOngoing survey: 143 leaders …Distilled from the 18 measures: six core dimensions that every new study carries further — future survey waves measure only these six. More to come.
from 15 organizations and 12 industries — Grand MasterClass - in person
207 leaders and professionals from 15 organizations answered the same question after the training — on 18 concrete outcome measures from their working day. The survey continues: this number grows with every new response.
Distilled from the 18 measures: six core dimensions that every new study carries further — future survey waves measure only these six. More to come.
Expectation survey of 207 professionals and leaders from 15 organizations and 12 industries (since 2016, ongoing), 18 dimensions: estimated improvement with consistent LEAD21 application. Self-reported, no measured effects. Source: Huesch (2026), LEAD21 Tool-Impact Expectation Survey, Working Paper.
…the survey in detail: 18 dimensions
…and what that makes LEAD21 truly worth.
