You were promoted because you're brilliant at what you do.
But has anyone helped you make the shift from doing to leading?
Above the Line is a nine-month leadership development programme for the people your organisation will depend on next. Participants work with the leadership challenges they are facing now, developing the judgement and commercial perspective to take greater responsibility for the business, not simply more responsibility for delivery.
NEXT COHORT STARTS JANUARY 2027
NEXT COHORT STARTS MARCH 2026. FOR MORE INFORMATION
You didn't get here by accident.
The leaders I work with are highly capable: trusted, respected and brilliant at what they do. Their ability doesn’t change when they’re promoted. The nature of the role does.
At a certain point, leadership stops being about doing great work and starts being about how your decisions land across the whole agency: the client, the team and the business all at once. That transition is rarely named and almost never taught. Managing people is part of it, but most of it is learning to think differently.
You were promoted because you were a strong operator. Then responsibility widened, decisions carried more weight and conversations felt more exposed, and nobody sat you down to explain what leading at this level actually requires.
So you’re doing what capable people do and figuring it out as you go. You’re working harder than you need to, getting pulled back into delivery, and your team isn’t always clear on what you expect.
That costs you time and headspace. It costs your agency too, in slower decisions, avoidable escalations and the quiet drain on performance that nobody names but everyone feels.
Above the Line is a nine-month programme built to change that, using frameworks, shared language and peer support so the shift from doing to leading lasts.
Next Cohort Starts January 2027
You were promoted because you're brilliant at what you do. But has anyone helped you make the shift from doing to leading?
Above the Line is a nine-month leadership development programme for the people your organisation will depend on next. Participants work with the leadership challenges they are facing now, developing the judgement and commercial perspective to take greater responsibility for the business not simply more responsibility for delivery.
NEXT COHORT STARTS JANUARY 2027
NEXT COHORT STARTS OCTOBER 2026
You didn't get here by accident.
The leaders I work with are highly capable: trusted, respected and brilliant at what they do. Their ability doesn’t change when they’re promoted. The nature of the role does.
At a certain point, leadership stops being about doing great work and starts being about how your decisions land across the whole agency: the client, the team and the business all at once. That transition is rarely named and almost never taught. Managing people is part of it, but most of it is learning to think differently.
You were promoted because you were a strong operator. Then responsibility widened, decisions carried more weight and conversations felt more exposed, and nobody sat you down to explain what leading at this level actually requires.
So you’re doing what capable people do and figuring it out as you go. You’re working harder than you need to, getting pulled back into delivery, and your team isn’t always clear on what you expect.
That costs you time and headspace. It costs your agency too, in slower decisions, avoidable escalations and the quiet drain on performance that nobody names but everyone feels.
Above the Line is a nine-month programme built to change that, using frameworks, shared language and peer support so the shift from doing to leading lasts.
Next Cohort Starts January 2027
For MDs and founders
Structure can change overnight, but the way people lead takes much longer to catch up. When the leaders who work for you haven't caught up, you see it in the business first: decisions slow down, escalations land on your desk, clients get a yes when they needed advice, and good people drift.
Above the Line is built around how your business performs, not how the sessions feel.
The changes we agree to look for usually include:
Decisions made at the right level, so fewer escalations reach you and your time goes back to growing the business
Client relationships led with authority: advising, pushing back and spotting opportunities, rather than simply agreeing
Margin protected through clearer briefs, better delegation and less scope creep
The people you most want to keep, staying, because they're well led
Room for new business, because senior time stops going on work that belongs elsewhere
Before the programme starts, we agree what you want to see change in your business, and we review it together at the midpoint and the end.
FOR LEADERS AT A TURNING POINT
You’ve already proved yourself through delivery. Now you’re expected to lead people, influence decisions, raise standards, think commercially and develop others, and nobody ever showed you how.
The programme is for heads of department, client services directors, heads of events, sales directors, senior producers, account directors, creative directors and delivery leads.
You’re already capable and already trusted. What you need now is the frameworks, language and structured support to lead consistently at the level the role requires.
If your agency is sponsoring your place, share this section with your MD. The business case for the programme is on the For Agencies page.
You’ve already proved yourself through delivery. Now you’re expected to lead people, influence decisions, raise standards, think commercially and develop others, and nobody ever showed you how.
The programme is for heads of department, client services directors, heads of events, sales directors, senior producers, account directors, creative directors and delivery leads.
You’re already capable and already trusted. What you need now is the frameworks, language and structured support to lead consistently at the level the role requires.
If your agency is sponsoring your place, share this section with your MD. The business case for the programme is on the For Agencies page.
What changes in how you lead. These are the specific shifts the programme is designed to create
The point is to lead differently, in ways your team and your clients notice.
You delegate and it stays delegated
You hold boundaries without guilt or over-explaining
You make decisions and move on rather than replaying them at 10pm
You lead difficult conversations directly and calmly
You stop absorbing pressure and start directing it
Your team knows what's expected without you repeating yourself
You get your time back without lowering your standards.
Your team feels it. Your clients feel it. Your agency feels it.
When a senior leader stops firefighting and starts choosing their response instead of reacting, the effect doesn’t stay with one person. It moves through everyone who works for them.
Leaders your agency can rely on.
In nine months, here's what changes
Your team performs better because their leader leads better.
Gallup has found that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement. By the end of the programme, the aim is for the leader to become a source of clarity for their team: expectations are set and held, projects run more smoothly and the team delivers without constant hand-holding.
You keep the people you can least afford to lose.
Leaders who feel unsupported and under-developed either leave or quietly disengage, and so do the people who work for them. The programme works on the leadership behaviours that erode retention and builds the ones that give talented people a reason to stay and grow.
The MD or Founder gets their time back.
Right now, too much depends on you. Difficult client conversations, team conflicts and delivery decisions that should never reach your desk land with you, because the leader below you doesn’t yet have the tools to hold them. The programme is designed to change that, and it’s how an agency becomes less dependent on one person.
The experience
SMALL COHORT | BIG CONVERSATIONS | REAL CHANGE
A 9-month group programme
Above the Line runs over nine months and is limited to 8 leaders or managers small enough for real peer connection, structured enough for real change.
The experience includes:
⏺ Nine monthly half day live sessions facilitated by Suzy Malhotra, each focused on one leadership theme
⏺ A peer group at the same leadership level, agency leaders who understand your world
⏺ Structured teaching, not just discussion
⏺ Real agency scenarios brought into the room, not case studies from other industries
⏺ Practical tools and frameworks you can apply immediately
⏺ Support between sessions to embed learning before the next one
⏺ In person kick off and graduation days
·Optional add-on: Private 1:1 coaching alongside the programme for leaders who want additional individual support.
Why nine months?
Leadership develops through experience, reflection and application, which takes longer than a workshop.
Each month introduces one leadership theme, giving participants time to apply what they’ve learnt, see what works and bring real situations back to the room.
How You Will Learn
This programme blends three approaches deliberately so you leave genuinely capable, rather than just inspired. Between each monthly session, participants apply what they've learnt in their own teams before returning to reflect, refine and build on their experience.
THE PROGRAMME IS STRUCTURED AROUND NINE LEADERSHIP THEMES
THE BUSINESS CASE
Why sponsoring a leader is a smart business move.
Every agency has people with real potential. The question is whether they’ll become the leaders your agency needs. Many participants are sponsored by their agency, because the return lands in the business as well as with the individual.
After the programme, the Head of Events at Callow Events reported that her team’s culture score rose from 6 to 8 out of 10, profitability on events improved, less time went on performance issues and client turnaround got faster. She moved from doing the heavy lifting in delivery to leading the team doing it. She is now the agency’s Operations Director.
Before the programme starts, sponsors agree with me what they want to see change.
Common goals include:
- Fewer escalations reaching the MD or founder
- Stronger team performance and clearer accountability
- Better profitability through planning and delegation
- Faster client turnaround as delivery teams strengthen
- Less time lost to underperformance and bottlenecks
- Client relationships held with more confidence and less dependence on the top
If you’re ready to put the case to your MD, the For Agencies page sets out the commercial argument.
Need help requesting employer sponsorship? Email [email protected] and I'll send you a short template to share with your MD or Finance Director.
who leads the programme
Above the Line is led by Suzy Malhotra
Founder of The Leadership Line
For nearly 30 years I co-founded and ran 4D Design, an exhibition and events agency.
I’ve promoted people too early. I’ve rescued teams when I shouldn’t have. I’ve carried difficult clients, and I’ve learnt, often the hard way, what good leadership really looks like.
Above the Line is the programme I wish I’d had when I was building my own leadership team.
I know this industry from the inside: the personalities, the client dynamics, the delivery pressure and the leadership decisions that sit alongside all of it. I’m also a qualified coach, and the Above the Line methodology is built on established coaching practice as well as experience. That combination is what makes the work practical and immediately useful in agency life.
Participants often tell me this is the first time leadership has been explained in a way that matches what they’re living, and that I can name what’s happening when they feel it but can’t yet put it into words.
practical details
Everything you need to know before you apply.
Cohort size: maximum 8 leaders and managers
Duration: 9 months
Start: January 2027
Format: In-person kick off, nine monthly live sessions + peer support between sessions and in-person graduation
Access: Lifetime access to session recordings, workbooks, trainings and resources
Investment: £2,750 + VAT per participant
This programme is often sponsored by agencies as an investment in leadership and retention.
If you’d like to put the case to your MD, the For Agencies page sets out the commercial argument.
For any questions before applying, email me or book a conversation.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAY
“I was supporting the team and doing a lot of the doing as opposed to leading. Now I have definitely moved away from the heavy doing and my leadership style is more coaching and delegating. My team look up to me now as a leader and I have created a safe environment. We’re seeing better performance and great profit output from the team. I feel like I’ve grown to be a good leader, fair to the team, and have created a safe space for my team. They respect me and my time.”
Operations Director | Callow Events
"I was supporting the team and doing a lot of the doing as opposed to leading. Now I have definitely moved away from the heavy doing and my leadership style is more coaching and delegating.
My team look up to me now as a leader and I have created a safe environment. We're seeing better performance and great profit output from the team.
I feel like I've grown to be a good leader, fair to the team, and have created a safe space for my team. They respect me and my time."
WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAY
"I was supporting the team and doing a lot of the doing as opposed to leading. Now I have definitely moved away from the heavy doing and my leadership style is more coaching and delegating.
My team look up to me now as a leader and I have created a safe environment. We're seeing better performance and great profit output from the team.
I feel like I've grown to be a good leader, fair to the team, and have created a safe space for my team. They respect me and my time."
"I was supporting the team and doing a lot of the doing as opposed to leading. Now I have definitely moved away from the heavy doing and my leadership style is more coaching and delegating.
My team look up to me now as a leader and I have created a safe environment. We're seeing better performance and great profit output from the team.
I feel like I've grown to be a good leader, fair to the team, and have created a safe space for my team. They respect me and my time."
Operations Director | Callow Events
IS THIS THE RIGHT NEXT STEP?
It is if you recognise yourself in any of this:
You’re already capable and already trusted, but the role has grown and nobody has given you the frameworks to lead at this level properly. You’re working harder than you should be, and you’re ready to lead differently rather than just feel better about it.
You work in a creative, events, experiential, production or exhibition agency, and you know the pressures in this world are specific. Generic leadership advice doesn’t cut it.
You’re ready to commit nine months to doing this properly, as a programme you actively work with rather than a course you sit through.
If that’s you, the January 2027 cohort has eight places.
STILL NOT SURE?
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the Above the Line Programme designed for?
The programme is designed for senior leaders and managers in creative, events, experiential, production and exhibition agencies, including heads of department, client services directors, heads of events, senior producers, account directors and delivery leads who have taken on, or are about to take on, greater responsibility.
You’re already capable and already trusted. What’s missing is the structured support to lead consistently at the level the role now requires.
Is this leadership coaching or training?
Both, and that's intentional. The programme blends structured teaching with coaching and peer learning, because each does something the others can't. Teaching gives you the frameworks and language. Coaching gives you space to apply them to what's live for you now. Peer learning gives you the perspective of other leaders facing the same pressures in the same industry.
Is the programme suitable for agency-sponsored leaders?
Yes. Many participants are sponsored by their agency, because the return lands at the level of the business, not just the individual. If you'd like to put the case to your MD, the For Agencies page sets out the full commercial argument. At £2,750 + VAT per participant, set it against the cost of replacing one key person, or of an MD spending their week on decisions that belong a level below.
How is this different from traditional leadership courses?
Three things make it different. First, it’s built specifically for creative, events, experiential, production and exhibition agencies. The scenarios, the language and the frameworks all come from nearly 30 years inside this world.
Second, it runs over nine months rather than a single intensive day, because lasting change in how people lead happens over time, with structured support between sessions.
Third, it’s led by someone who has lived what you’re navigating.
Let's Connect
Leadership coaching and advisory for creative, events, experiential, production and exhibition agencies
The Leadership Line works with founders, MDs and senior teams at the point when responsibility needs to move: a new MD, a period of growth, an acquisition, a founder stepping back or a new structure. We build the leadership layer behind the vision, so the business depends less on one person and its leaders have more choice about what comes next.
Founded by Suzy Malhotra, leadership coach and adviser, who co-founded and ran 4D Design, an exhibition and events agency, for nearly 30 years.
Read View from Above, Suzy’s fortnightly letter for MDs, founders and agency leaders.
Based in Henley-on-Thames | Working with agencies across the UK and internationally
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