Beyond the Blueprint

Leadership for engineers is a different problem.

This is where you solve it.

A 6-month, cohort-based leadership programme built specifically for the way technical professionals actually think.

Complexity-grounded, coaching-supported and delivered entirely online.

And it does not end at month 6: completing the programme makes you a lifelong member of the EvolveCollective community.

Founding Cohort: Early 2027

Apply now to secure your place

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Not sure yet?

Register your interest to qualify for the Founding Cohort Discount.

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The Leadership Gap

The instinct that made you excellent now works against you

The Problem

You were recruited and promoted for your exceptional technical problem-solving skills, but leadership fundamentally changes the nature of your work. It becomes about making decisions with incomplete information, weighing trade-offs where no single solution exists, and managing human politics and consequences that reach far beyond your immediate project.

Where Generic Programmes Fall Short

Most leadership training is designed for commercial generalists using MBA-style curricula, and focus narrowly on business performance. For engineers who chose their profession to make things better, not simply to make things, the vocabulary feels alien and the methods rarely survive contact with the real world.

Our Approach

Beyond the Blueprint has been created to help you to develop a leadership style that enables you to do well for your employer, build a life you actually want, and contribute to something bigger. Our aim is a leader who is unmistakably you.

  • Your technical mindset is the foundation, not the problem.

  • We build on how you already think. The skills that made you a strong engineer are exactly the raw material of good leadership.

  • We take complexity seriously. We ground the work in rigorous systems thinking and the Cynefin framework.

  • Learning by doing. You did not learn to ride a bike by studying angular momentum; you got on, wobbled, and built the skill through practice.

Is this for you?

Built for smart, ambitious experts who refuse to settle for ‘generic’

Does any of this resonate?

  • Do you worry about losing technical credibility?

  • Are you tired of ‘fluffy’ leadership theory?

  • Do you refuse to conform to inauthentic leadership styles?

  • Do you want a career that is sustainable and purposeful?

  • Are looking for peers who get it?

Move beyond the blueprint. Step into leadership.

The 6-month Journey - Overview

A structured arc for sustained growth

Real shifts in leadership identity don’t happen in a weekend workshop. Beyond the Blueprint is a 6-month evolutionary process, moving you from technical excellence to systemic leadership through four distinct phases.

  • Move beyond linear thinking. You’ll learn the vital distinction between ‘complex’ and ‘complicated’ and identify which of your existing technical habits are actually working against you.

  • Replace performance with authenticity. You’ll develop a leadership identity grounded in your own values and a complexity-based approach to strategy that survives real-world dynamics.

  • This is the practical engine room. You will apply systemic tools directly to a challenge you are currently facing in your organisation, supported by mid-point 1:1 coaching

  • Connect the personal, professional, and organisational. You’ll build a personal framework for sustaining leadership long-term, culminating in a final Knowledge Share.

The Rhythm of Growth

Built to fit your professional reality

The Three Week Cycle

Every module follows a clear three-step cadence:

  1. Concept: A live online session to explore new material and master implementation tools.

  2. Application: Self-guided reflection and work on your Living Learning Case — a real challenge from your own professional context.

  3. Exchange: Structured peer exchange and shared accountability. You’ll practice the work alongside technically-minded peers who understand your context.

We have designed a predictable, sustainable rhythm that integrates with a demanding role. This isn’t about adding ‘more work’ to your desk; it’s about doing your existing work differently.

Personalized Support: Throughout the 6 months, you are supported by three private 1:1 coaching sessions and the Emergenetics psychometric foundation to ensure the learning is tailored to your specific cognitive and behavioral style.

Community, Not Just a Programme

Completing the programme begins your engagement with the EvolveCollective community

Completing Beyond the Blueprint programme entitles you to lifelong membership of the EvolveCollective community: engineers and STEM professionals at every level of experience, from new graduates to some of the most senior engineers in the profession, who share a single aspiration: amplifying the contribution of engineering and technology to the creation of a vibrant and sustainable world.

Investment

An investment in your systemic leadership capability, and your entry into a lifelong professional community

Register your interest to be the first to know when we finalise the prices, payment plan options and Founding Cohort Discount.

Meet the Architects and Advisory Board

Advisory Board

Beyond the Blueprint is challenged and enriched by an Advisory Board of senior practitioners and researchers from the Royal Academy of Engineering, the University of Cambridge, and the European Federation of Chemical Engineering. Their role is to ensure our curriculum remains grounded in the evolving realities of technical professional life. They are also an early expression of the community that Beyond the Blueprint opens into: senior practitioners committed to building something that outlasts any single programme.

  • Kimberly A. Jackson, PhD MCC

    Founder and CEO, Coach Kimberly International

  • Moazzam Shamsi, FREng CEng MInstMC

    Director, Global Solutions Architect, Emerson

  • Emerit. Prof. Jarka Glassey FREng CEng FIChemE PFHEA

    President, European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE)

  • Alistair Bowden, PhD

    Assistant Professor, Leadership & Strategy, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University

  • Houda Benjelloun, MBA MIA PCC ITCA

    Founder and chief catalyst officer, K2C2 STRATEGIES

  • Professor Jonathan Cullen, PhD

    Professor of Sustainable Engineering, University of Cambridge

  • Ana González Hernández, PhD

    Senior Director of Sustainability, Emerson

  • Professor Gary Kass FIEnvSc, FRGS, CSci

    Visiting Professor in Sustainability Science, Policy and Practice, Imperial College London

Chris Hamlin - Architect of the Programme

A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering with 30 years of experience at the intersection of technical systems and human complexity. Chris is a certified VSM Designer and long-term Cynefin practitioner who knows exactly what generic leadership development gets wrong for engineers.

Penny Hamlin - Facilitation Partner

Penny ensures the programme is as humanly grounded as it is intellectually rigorous. An MSc in Sustainable Development and a Certified Emergenetics Associate, she brings deep expertise in strategy and innovation to lead the cohort’s 27-week evolutionary journey.

Grounded in Rigour

We skip the generic inspiration in favour of evidence-based frameworks that match the complexity of your real-world environment.

  • Emergenetics: Structured language for cognitive and behavioural diversity.

  • Viable System Model (VSM):‍ ‍A technical framework for individual and organisational health.

  • Complexity Science:Mastering the distinction between complex and complicated.

  • Integrative Psychology:Evidence-based models for sustainable leadership energy.

The “In Conversation” Webinars

Join the conversation

Not sure if the programme is the right fit for your specific context? We will be hosting a set of free "In Conversation" webinars for prospective participants and their sponsors.

These sessions explore the question “What does it actually take for engineers and STEM professionals to lead in genuinely complex environments?”

These live conversations will be hosted by different Advisory Board members with one real story running through all of them:

  1. The Case for Complexity

  2. How Change Actually Happens

  3. Almost Lost, Now Leading

  4. Beyond the Technical

These sessions are an opportunity to:

  • Hear Chris, Penny and Advisory Board members discuss our philosophy in more detail.

  • See the complexity-grounded frameworks in action.

  • Ask specific questions about the curriculum and the 6-month arc.

We will be announcing the dates for our webinars shortly.

To ensure you receive an invitation, please Register Your Interest.

We’ll make sure the details land in your inbox as soon as they are confirmed.

Common Questions

  • If you are a STEM professional with 5+ years of experience and you’ve noticed that your technical excellence is no longer enough to solve the 'people and politics' problems on your desk, this is for you. We offer a 30-minute conversation following your registration to ensure alignment—we would rather discover misalignment now than mid-way through a 6-month commitment."

  • Your development does not stop at Module 9. Completing Beyond the Blueprint entitles you to lifelong membership of the EvolveCollective community: engineers and STEM professionals at every career stage, from new graduates to some of the most senior and experienced engineers in the profession, who commit to supporting one another’s development, continuing their own, and using their skills, knowledge and expertise to advance the wellbeing of society. As the founding cohort, the group will also be founding members of the community, helping to shape how it develops.

  • The programme follows a predictable three-week cadence. You will spend 2 hours in a live online session during Week 1 of each module, followed by 2–4 hours of guided reflection and peer exchange over the next two weeks. Total investment is approximately 60–80 hours, designed to be sustainable alongside a full-time leadership role

  • Yes. While designed for those in their first substantive leadership roles, senior leaders often join because their previous MBA-style development lacked the complexity-grounded rigour they need for technical environments. If your current leadership frameworks feel 'fluffy' or inadequate for high-stakes systems, a direct conversation is the best next step to see if this provides the challenge you're looking for.

  • Chris or Penny will contact you within 2 working days to answer your questions and understand your professional context. There is no obligation at this stage, but registering qualifies you for the Founding Cohort discount should you proceed with a formal application

  • We welcome international participants, particularly those in technical environments in Europe, the Middle East, and North America. As the programme is entirely online, you can join from anywhere, provided you can attend the live sessions which run on Wednesdays from 15:00–17:00 UK time. All pricing is in GBP.

Still Exploring?

Learn More

Register Interest


Register your interest to qualify for our Founding Cohort Discount (subject to availability) and join our next 'In Conversation' webinar. Submitting your details opens a conversation, it does not commit you to anything.

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Move straight to the technical review process for a place in the Founding Cohort.
A successful application secures your place in the Founding Cohort.

If you wish to understand more about Beyond the Blueprint please visit the Programme Details Page.