AEG Institute of Leadership
Welcome to the story of your leadership…
The Call to Leadership
A day that changes how your leaders lead. A one-day course for school leadership teams, shaped around the real challenges your school faces.
At a glance
What is The Call to Leadership?
A one-day leadership development course for your team, drawn from the psychology of how adults develop as leaders, then shaped around the real leadership needs of your school.
- Duration
- One day, plus follow-up support
- Group size
- 6 to 24 participants
- Format
- In person at your school; planning and follow-up can be online
- Language
- English
- Designed for
- Schools and their leadership teams
- Certification
- Certificate of completion from the AEG Institute of Leadership
Who should attend
- Emerging leaders taking on responsibility for people for the first time
- Developing leaders in middle leadership, ready to widen their range
- Senior leaders who set the culture others work within
- Leaders new to a role who want a clear model for the step up
- Whole teams who want to work together more effectively
Why The Call to Leadership
A different kind of leadership course
-
I
Coherent learning, not disparate tools
Many courses hand leaders a scattering of tools. The Call to Leadership rests on one coherent model, Integral Theory, the metatheory of psychological development. Participants construct the theory themselves, through experiential activities and discussion, so it stays with them.
-
II
A powerful way of learning
No slide decks. Story is the vehicle: participants travel through a leadership journey, with game-based experiences, plenty of rich discussion and a structured workbook that captures the learning as they go.
-
III
Bespoke impact
The course is designed to adapt. We focus on the areas of leadership your team most needs, add practical leadership tools, and build case studies from your real challenges.
The model
Six worldviews. One map of leadership.
Every leader, and every school, leans towards particular ways of seeing the world. Each has real strengths. Each causes problems when there is too little of it, or too much. Choose a colour to see how it shows up in schools.
Blue
Order & Duty
Structure · standards · responsibility
Inconsistent standards, unclear roles, policies nobody follows.
Rigid rules and slow decisions; initiative is quietly discouraged.
In our commissioning conversations we pinpoint which of these lie behind your school's challenges, and shape the day to address them directly.
How the day unfolds
A leadership quest
Like many great stories, this one starts in the middle. Your leaders have already travelled long roads. On the day, they set out again, guided by a mentor and a map, through challenges that mirror the ones they face in school.
The majlis
A discussion game. Each participant argues from a secret colour card, and the room discovers how differently good people see the same problem.
Into the sandstorm
The reveal. What each perspective offers, where it falls short, and how participants build the map of leadership for themselves.
A gleaming palace
Your own school, seen through the map: its centre of gravity, what helps it, and what holds it back.
The dragon's lair
The moment of truth. Each leader examines where they lead from too narrow a view, and where they need to draw on something different.
The dragon's treasure
Values, made visible. Leaders choose what matters most to them and the behaviours that show it, or undermine it.
The journey home
Commitments to change, an accountability partner, and a clear plan for what happens next week.
Bespoke by design
Shaped around your school
Add the leadership tools you need
Based on the issues your team is facing, the day can include further practical tools:
- Leading change
- Effective delegation
- Tackling poor performance
- Effective line management
- …your issue
Learn through your own case studies
Our commissioning conversations can develop case studies based on the real issues your team is facing. Participants apply the model to situations they recognise, which makes the discussion sharper and the learning easier to carry back into school.
Your learning experience
Before, during and after the day
1Before
- Commissioning conversations
- Success criteria agreed
- Content and case studies shaped to your team
2On the day
- The discussion game: arguing from six perspectives
- The reveal: what each perspective offers, and where it falls short
- Building the map together
- Applying it: your school, your leadership, your values
- Commitments to change, and an accountability partner
3After
- Partner check-ins at two and four weeks
- 90-minute follow-up sessions after one, two and/or three months
- Optional individual coaching
The path to lasting change
- 1BeforeSuccess criteria agreed
- 2The dayCommitments formed
- 3Week 2Partner check-in
- 4Week 4Partner check-in
- 5Months 1–3Follow-up sessions
What you will gain
Growth for the individual and the school
As the Kingdom invests in the potential of its people through Vision 2030, schools carry a special responsibility: to develop leaders who are wise, adaptable and principled.
Each leader will…
- Gain a clear map of how leaders develop
- Strengthen self-awareness through structured, honest reflection
- Learn to recognise the worldviews behind colleagues' behaviour
- Build the range to lead differently when the situation demands it
- Tackle difficult situations with greater calm and flexibility
- Turn insight into specific commitments
Your school will…
- Develop a shared language for leadership across teams
- Engage leaders with the real challenges your school faces
- Connect individual growth to school priorities
- Strengthen accountability through agreed, measurable success criteria
- Turn conflict into understanding
- Apply the learning across the school, with follow-up built in
Example: success criteria agreed before the course
| Focus | Beginning | Developing | Strong impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | Tends to listen mainly to respond. | Listens carefully and asks questions. | Helps others feel heard and understood. |
| Openness to other views | Finds disagreement uncomfortable. | Considers different viewpoints. | Actively welcomes challenge and different perspectives. |
| Handling conflict | May become defensive or avoid challenge. | Responds calmly during disagreement. | Uses difficult conversations to build trust. |
Working together
From first conversation to lasting change
- 1
Commissioning conversations
Understanding your team, your culture and your priorities.
- 2
Session design
Tailored to your context, with case studies where useful.
- 3
Delivery
A full-day workshop for your leaders, at your school.
- 4
Follow-up
Reflection and accountability structures keep the learning live.
Pricing depends on group size and the follow-up you choose. Contact us for a proposal for your school.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can the boss attend alongside their team?
Yes, but with care. A charismatic, pace-setting leader may discourage colleagues from participating fully, so it is often better to arrange cohorts at a similar level: emerging, developing or senior leadership teams.
Is the course delivered in Arabic?
The course is delivered in English. Participants receive a reference list of key terms in Arabic in their workbook.
Can sessions be run for mixed-gender groups, or separately?
Either works well. We will follow your preference.
Can it be run online?
The workshop itself is delivered in person. Commissioning conversations and follow-up sessions can be held online.
Where does the course take place?
At your school. AEG can arrange a venue if you prefer.
What do participants need to prepare?
Nothing. The commissioning conversations beforehand let us aim the learning at the real issues in your team, and potentially write case studies for discussion.
What do participants take away?
Their workbook and commitments, a shared language for leadership, a framework for their further development, and a certificate of completion from the AEG Institute of Leadership.
How will we know it has worked?
Success criteria are agreed transparently before the course, then supported by reflective writing, evidence of new behaviours, accountability partners and follow-up sessions.
How is this different from personality-type training?
Type tools sort people into fixed categories. The Call to Leadership offers a picture of what developed leadership looks like, and a path towards it that every leader can follow.
About us
AEG Institute of Leadership
Aldenham Education Group is a global education organisation that develops, acquires and manages K–12 schools and early years centres. Its heritage lies in two historic schools in the UK, including Aldenham School in Hertfordshire, founded in 1597. In Riyadh, alongside Aldenham Prep School Riyadh, AEG runs a music academy, a football academy and an academic tutoring academy. The AEG Institute of Leadership brings the group's experience of developing leaders to schools across the Kingdom.
Course Director
Luke Harding
Luke is Director of Education at Aldenham Education Group. He brings more than 20 years' experience in education across the UK, Italy and Thailand, including a decade in senior leadership. He holds a First Class degree in English from Oxford and an MBA in Educational Leadership (Distinction) from UCL, is a qualified Level 5 professional coach, and has examined for AQA and KCL.
Shahram Hashemi
Co-founder and Managing Partner, AEG
Moved into education from private equity, inspired by his father's lifelong commitment to teaching. A graduate of Chicago Booth.
Alec H. Nejad
Co-founder and Managing Partner, AEG
Brings extensive experience in operations, building start-up businesses, investment banking, real estate and finance. He attended the Kellogg School of Management.
Continue the conversation
Book a commissioning conversation
Tell us a little about your school and your leadership team. We will arrange a short conversation to understand your priorities, with no obligation.
Message Luke on WhatsApp+44 7423 196347