It’s officially been one year since we launched Miller Leith Consulting, an offering designed to extend our support beyond recruitment and into the heart of what makes organisations thrive: their leaders.
When we launched our consulting division in 2024, our goal was clear: to support clients across the entire career lifecycle, from attracting and retaining talent to developing the capabilities that drive long-term performance. You can revisit our launch story here.
Twelve months in, we’ve partnered with businesses of all shapes and sizes, from fast-growing SMEs to established national brands, and had the privilege of working closely with CEOs, founders, HR leaders, and functional executives. Across all these engagements, one message continues to ring true:
When leadership is clear, aligned, and supported, successful business results follow.
What We’ve Observed from Our Partners
After a year of coaching and advising leadership teams, three clear insights have emerged:
1. Clarity is the Foundation of Performance
When roles, expectations, and strategy are clear, decisions are faster, delivery improves, and people are more engaged. Conversely, lack of clarity at the top leads to duplication, missed opportunities, and strategic drift.
2. Leadership is a Practiced Capability
From first-time managers to seasoned executives, leadership needs to be built, not assumed. Coaching and structured development help leaders strengthen emotional intelligence, decision-making, and team engagement, all of which translate into better outcomes for the business.
3. Strong Leaders Create Strong Cultures
The behaviours and mindset of a leadership team shape the entire organisation. Businesses that invest in developing their leaders foster cultures of trust, accountability, and high performance, and those that don’t often see fragmented teams, missed delivery, and disengaged employees.
The ROI of Executive Coaching in 2025
In today’s business environment, the return on leadership investment is clearer than ever. We’re seeing organisations achieve:
- Faster decision-making and reduced operational bottlenecks
- Greater strategic alignment across departments
- Increased accountability and ownership at every level
- Stronger morale, engagement, and retention
- Tangible performance improvements and business outcomes
And just as importantly, we’re seeing leaders who feel more confident, more connected to purpose, and more capable of navigating complexity.
Why We Built Miller Leith Consulting
For nearly two decades, Miller Leith has partnered with organisations to find great talent. But in a fast-moving market, we recognised the need to support businesses after the hire, by helping leaders develop the clarity, skills, and frameworks they need to deliver lasting impact.
With the creation of Miller Leith Consulting, led by Managing Partner Jarrad Dowling, we’ve built a suite of tailored programs that support:
- C-suite and executive leadership: strategic clarity, enterprise alignment, and confident delivery of commercial outcomes in complex environments.
- Senior and functional leaders: performance coaching that strengthens operational leadership and decision-making, enabling leaders to manage teams, budgets, and drive results.
- First-time managers: building foundational leadership capability and self-assurance, while developing the mindset required to manage resources and contribute to business goals.
- HR and People teams: co-designing capability frameworks and leadership development strategies that embed commercial thinking into people practices and support long-term organisational performance.
Our focus is simple: support leaders at every level to make better decisions, lead more effectively, and align people with purpose. We also help build deliberate connection across decision-makers from all functions of the organisation, ensuring teams are working towards a shared strategy, and leaders are empowered to translate vision into measurable results.
The Risks of Underdeveloped Leadership
Leadership development isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s essential to long-term success. Without it, we see:
- Strategic misalignment and conflicting priorities
- Operational inefficiencies and duplicated effort
- Delayed delivery and missed opportunities
- Disengagement and low morale
- Erosion of culture and customer satisfaction
- Poor “easy option” decisions leading to negative outcomes
- Imbalance between supportive and commercial decision making, leading to performance issues across people and organisation
At every level, from the front line to the boardroom, leadership gaps are felt deeply throughout an organisation.
Our Approach: Tailored, Measurable, and People-First
What sets us apart is our ability to adapt our coaching and advisory services to your organisation’s structure, strategy, and culture. We work collaboratively with clients to deliver:
- Executive coaching and strategic advisory
- Leadership programs and development pathways
- Capability frameworks and performance tools
- Workshops and offsites to align and engage teams
We track outcomes, measure impact, and focus on ensuring your investment in leadership translates into real business value. Our approach goes beyond initial training; we prioritise robust implementation and ongoing support to embed learnings deeply within your organisation. This ensures leaders don’t just gain skills, but apply them consistently to drive long-term, sustainable results that truly transform performance.
Looking Ahead
We’re proud of the work we’ve done in year one, but we know there’s more to do. As FY26 progresses, leadership development will remain a top priority for organisations navigating change, growth, and transformation.
Whether you’re refining your executive capability, investing in your people leaders, or building a new leadership development framework, Miller Leith Consulting is here to support you.
Let’s start the conversation.
To explore how our consulting services can support your organisation, contact Jarrad Dowling, Managing Partner at Miller Leith.
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Want to learn more?
Explore our full Consulting Services offering or learn how we support businesses through Career Transition & Outplacement. consulting@millerleith.com.au