An executive leadership development program is a structured, multi-month journey for senior leaders one step below the C-suite. Bodhih's program combines assessment, cohort workshops, action learning and one-to-one coaching across enterprise thinking, leading functions, governance, board interaction and personal leadership. It is designed with ADDIE and customised to each organisation's strategy.
- Recommended: 4 to 6 months, with 3 in-person modules of 2 days each, monthly virtual sessions and 4 to 6 coaching conversations
- Level: Advanced · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: executive leadership program, senior executive development program, CXO-1 leadership program, VP leadership development
Where and how: executive leadership development training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why senior benches need deliberate development
Senior leaders in 2026 are asked to shape AI strategy, govern new risks and lead across borders, often while the business grows faster than its leadership bench. In the Gulf, national transformation agendas add pressure to grow ready successors quickly.
Exceptional functional leaders do not automatically become enterprise leaders. They need space to widen their view, practise board-level conversations and get honest feedback. An executive leadership development program provides that space with structure.
DDI's Global Leadership Forecast 2025 found 71% of leaders report increased stress, and 40% of stressed leaders have considered leaving leadership.
In a PwC India-FICCI study, over half of GCC leaders cited a shortage of senior leaders with strategic AI competencies.
What participants will be able to do
Think at enterprise level
Weigh decisions by their effect on the whole organisation, not only on their own function's targets.
Read the business fluently
Interpret financial statements, value drivers and risk registers well enough to challenge and shape strategy.
Lead leaders at scale
Build a leadership team that runs the function day to day, freeing them for cross-enterprise priorities.
Handle the boardroom
Prepare and present a board paper, answer tough questions concisely and understand governance expectations.
Lead through ambiguity
Make timely decisions with incomplete information and explain the trade-offs clearly to their organisation.
Sustain their own leadership
Build a personal development plan and energy habits that keep them effective through high-pressure years.
Who should attend
- Vice presidents, directors and heads of function in Indian and multinational organisations
- GCC site leaders and portfolio heads with global mandates
- CXO-1 leaders named in succession plans for C-suite roles
- Senior leaders in Gulf organisations preparing for expanded roles under national transformation agendas
- Business unit heads in family-owned and promoter-led companies professionalising their leadership
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01Launch: assessment and leadership baselineModule 1 · 1 day+
- Leadership assessment and 360° feedback review
- Personal leadership story and aspirations
- Sponsor conversation to agree development goals
- Individual development plan draft
02Enterprise thinking and strategyModule 2 · 1 day+
- From functional strategy to enterprise strategy
- Value drivers, capital allocation and trade-offs
- Scenario thinking for AI, regulation and geopolitics
- Case clinic on a live cross-functional decision
03Leading functions and leadership teamsModule 3 · 1 day+
- Designing the leadership team you need
- Operating rhythms: forums, metrics and decision rights
- Leading change across a function of hundreds
- Building culture through senior behaviour
04Governance, risk and the boardModule 4 · 1 day+
- What boards expect from senior executives
- Writing a clear board paper using a one-page structure
- Handling challenge from directors and committees
- Simulation: presenting to a mock board panel
05Stakeholders, influence and external presenceModule 5 · 1 day+
- Mapping enterprise stakeholders, regulators and partners
- Influencing peers in the executive team
- Representing the organisation externally
- Executive presence under scrutiny
06Action learning and graduationModule 6 · 1 day plus project time+
- Cross-functional teams tackle a real strategic question
- Monthly check-ins with a sponsor
- Final presentation to senior leadership
- Personal leadership commitments for the next year
Sample workshop plan: 3 workshop days, hands-on
These are sample classroom days from the three in-person modules of the executive leadership program. Module 1 moves leaders from functional to enterprise thinking with a live cross-functional decision and capital trade-offs. Module 2 puts them in front of a mock board with a paper they wrote. Module 3 is graduation: action learning teams present their answer to a real strategic question set by the leadership, and each leader commits to a year-long leadership plan. Every day uses the leaders' own mandates.
Leaders can judge a cross-functional decision on enterprise value and explain its trade-offs to peers.
- 09:30–10:15The CEO's chairEnergiser
- 10:15–11:00Value drivers on one pageHands-on lab
- 11:15–11:45Capital is finiteConcept burst
- 11:45–13:00Live cross-functional decisionCase clinic
- 13:45–15:00Three futuresGroup challenge
- 15:15–16:30Action learning launchBuild sprint
- 16:30–17:30Leadership story and development goalsReflection
Leaders can write a clear board paper and answer tough challenge from directors concisely and calmly.
- 09:30–10:00Board or not?Energiser
- 10:00–11:00Paper surgeryFeedback round
- 11:15–12:15Reading the risk registerCase clinic
- 12:15–13:00Short answers to hard questionsSkill drill
- 13:45–15:30Mock boardSimulation
- 15:45–16:45Decision rights for my functionBuild sprint
- 16:45–17:30What I carry into the boardroomReflection
Leaders present a strategic recommendation to senior leadership and commit to a year-long leadership plan.
- 09:30–10:00Stakeholder speed mapEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Influencing an executive peerReal-play
- 11:15–13:00Final project rehearsalPeer coaching
- 13:45–15:30Graduation panelPresentation
- 15:45–16:45Energy and the long gameDiagnostic
- 16:45–17:30My leadership yearAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: a 4- to 6-month journey with three 2-day in-person modules (09:30–17:30), monthly virtual sessions, 4–6 executive coaching conversations and a cross-functional action learning project; one sample day from each module is shown. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is the executive leadership program?
The recommended journey runs four to six months, with three 2-day in-person modules, monthly virtual sessions, four to six coaching conversations and an action learning project. If travel is hard, modules can run as live virtual sessions. Shorter editions suit a single leadership team.
What activities are included in the executive leadership program?
Senior leaders build value driver trees from real financials, allocate a limited capital budget, present their own board paper to a mock board with a hostile director, redesign decision rights for their function and present action learning recommendations to the CEO or CXOs.
How we deliver it
Assessment-led design
Each leader starts with a leadership assessment and 360° feedback, so the program focuses on their real development needs.
Action learning projects
Small cross-functional teams work on a strategic question set by your leadership, which builds enterprise thinking while creating value.
One-to-one executive coaching
Four to six coaching conversations help each leader turn insight into changed behaviour and navigate personal challenges confidentially.
Senior leader involvement
CEOs and CXOs join as sponsors, guest speakers or project panelists, which signals importance and builds relationships across levels.
Tailored versions
For GCC senior leadership
Focus on moving from delivery to global ownership, influencing headquarters and leading AI-enabled operations, with cases drawn from GCC realities.
For Gulf organisations
Content aligned with national transformation priorities, multinational executive teams and the development of national leaders, delivered in person or live virtually.
Condensed executive intensive
A shorter design of three in-person days plus coaching for smaller cohorts or leaders with limited time.
How we measure impact
The program follows the full ADDIE cycle. Leaders complete a baseline and end-of-program assessment on AssessAll, along with a 360° pulse at the start and after six months. Sponsors review individual development plans at set checkpoints, and action learning projects are assessed by a senior panel. With HR, we also track agreed indicators such as succession readiness, internal appointments to senior roles and retention of program participants.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is an executive leadership development program?
It is a structured journey that prepares senior leaders, usually VPs and directors, for enterprise-level roles. Unlike a single workshop, it runs over several months and blends assessment, cohort learning, real projects and coaching. The aim is to widen leaders' perspective beyond their function and build readiness for the C-suite or larger mandates.
What do executives learn in a leadership program?
Executives work on enterprise strategy, business and financial acumen, leading large functions through other leaders, governance and board interaction, stakeholder influence and personal resilience. Our executive leadership development program links each topic to a real challenge in the participant's organisation, so learning is applied immediately rather than stored for later.
How long is an executive leadership program?
Our recommended design runs four to six months, with three in-person modules of two days each, monthly virtual sessions and four to six coaching conversations. This spacing lets leaders test ideas in their roles between modules. We can condense or extend the design after a needs analysis with your sponsors.
How do you prepare directors for the C-suite?
Directors need broader business understanding, stronger enterprise relationships and experience of board-level scrutiny. Stretch assignments, mentoring by current CXOs and feedback on how they show up under pressure all help. The program combines these elements with coaching so each director builds a clear, personal readiness plan agreed with their sponsor.
Does executive coaching work alongside a leadership program?
Yes, and the combination is often more effective than either alone. Group sessions provide frameworks and peer challenge, while one-to-one coaching helps each leader apply them to their own situation privately. Our program includes four to six coaching conversations per participant, timed between modules.
Can the program include leaders from several countries?
Yes. Bodhih delivers across India, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Far East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and Africa. Multi-country cohorts can meet in person at a chosen location with our master trainers travelling from Bengaluru, and join monthly sessions live virtually.
How is this different from a high-potential leadership program?
High-potential programs usually develop earlier-career leaders with future promise. An executive leadership development program is for leaders who already hold senior roles and are close to C-suite or enterprise mandates. The content is more strategic, the governance and board elements are deeper, and coaching is more individual.