Inspiring Leadership Excellence Across the UK’s Favourite Holiday Parks
At a glance
Goal:
Empower General Managers with the confidence, emotional intelligence, and practical leadership skills to deliver excellence in a dynamic hospitality environment.
Scope:
All General Managers plus selected senior managers across the organisation.
Delivery:
Multi-modular, three-day offsite workshops themed around the Haven Leadership Model and delivered at inspirational venues.
Outcome:
Enhanced leadership behaviours, stronger collaboration, improved commercial awareness, and measurable cultural impact.
Region
UK
Sector:
Hospitality and Leisure
Scale:
Multi-cohort programme delivered nationwide.
Programme Type
Bespoke Leadership Development & Change Programme
The Challenge
Bourne Leisure, owner and operator of Haven, set an ambitious goal to create a world-class leadership programme for its General Managers, one that would develop leaders capable of balancing operational excellence with emotional intelligence.
The organisation wanted to build a confident and consistent leadership community that embodied the Haven Leadership Model: Lead, Interact, Deliver, Think. The aim was to accelerate leadership performance, embed accountability, and translate strategic goals into on-park behaviours that drive guest satisfaction and commercial performance.
The challenge was to design an experience that would stretch, inspire, and connect leaders, turning good managers into role models who could inspire their teams and sustain long-term success.
Our Solution
Inspirational Group partnered with Bourne Leisure to co-design the General Manager Development Programme (GMDP), an immersive leadership journey combining experiential learning, coaching, reflection, and collaboration.
The programme was structured around a series of “Milestone Moments”, each representing a key pillar of the Haven Leadership Model. These offsite, three-day experiences were hosted in iconic locations chosen to inspire high performance, connection, and self-discovery.
Milestone 1: LEAD at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The first milestone focused on self-leadership, emotional intelligence, and high-performance followership. Through experiential challenges, reflective exercises, and discussions with senior military officers, participants explored what it means to lead with authenticity, courage, and clarity of purpose.
Milestone 2: DELIVER at Mosimann’s
Immersed in the precision and excellence of a Michelin-standard private dining club, leaders stepped “back to the floor” to explore world-class service delivery. They learned how attention to detail, communication, and empathy can transform guest experiences and team performance.
Milestone 3: THINK – Entrepreneurism
The final milestone challenged participants to apply commercial thinking in a fast-paced, creative setting inspired by The Apprentice. Working in teams, GMs developed and pitched innovative business strategies — translating entrepreneurial thinking into real-world impact and investment potential.
Impact
The General Manager Development Programme created a step-change in leadership capability across the Haven network. Participants left with greater self-awareness, confidence, and commercial acumen, supported by a strong culture of collaboration and shared learning.
- Sharper leadership behaviours and increased emotional intelligence.
- Stronger empathy and team awareness, with leaders “seeing what their teams see.”
- Improved strategic and commercial thinking, connecting operations with wider goals.
- Enhanced collaboration and a more cohesive leadership community.
What this means for you
If you want to elevate your operational leaders into role models who deliver results through people, this case study demonstrates how experiential learning and emotional intelligence can transform leadership culture.
This programme shows how purpose-driven, high-impact experiences can unlock leadership excellence at every level of hospitality and service delivery.
You can build confident, commercially minded leaders who connect strategy to action.
You can use experiential, immersive learning to embed lasting behavioural change.
You can strengthen your leadership community through shared learning and reflection.
you may also like...
Selecting Future Global Leaders Through a Bespoke National Talent Programme
A transparent, data-led selection process identifying and supporting the next generation of high-achieving students across Saudi Arabia.
VIEW CASE STUDY
KAFD Civil Service Development Programme: Developing the Next Generation of Civil Service Leaders
Building capability, confidence and collaboration across Jordan’s emerging civil service leadership talent.
VIEW CASE STUDY
Building Confident Change Leaders
Through an immersive two-day event at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Inspirational Group helped graduates develop self-awareness, collaboration, and leadership followership skills that set the...
VIEW CASE STUDY
