The Leadership Lean-in Sprint is a structured, four-phase intervention designed to surface reality, create shared understanding, and translate clarity into focused action.
Below is an overview of how the Sprint unfolds and what your time investment looks like.
Phase 1: Discover
Surface lived reality and leadership signalsÂ
The Sprint begins with a focused Leader Briefing conversation.
In this session, we explore:
- The signals you are picking up
- The pressures or changes you are navigating
- Where you sense misalignment or friction
- What feels unclear, stuck, or unresolved
You will receive a short set of briefing questions in advance to support reflection.
Following this conversation, I conduct confidential 1:1 conversations with each of your direct reports.
These interviews are:
- Individual and confidential
- Designed to surface patterns, not opinions
- Focused on lived experience, challenges, and opportunity
Confidentiality is central. No individual comments are attributed.
Your time investment in this phase:
Approx. 2 hours total
(Briefing conversation + light preparation)
Phase 2: Decode
Make sense of patterns and reframe challengesÂ
While you and your team continue daily operations, I synthesise the interview insights.
This phase focuses on:
- Identifying recurring patterns and tensions
- Distilling root challenges
- Reframing issues in human-centred form
- Protecting anonymity while preserving truth
The output is a structured insight overview that clarifies what is really happening beneath the surface.
Phase 3: Design
Prioritise focus and architect the interventionÂ
We meet for a Leader Alignment session to review the findings together.
In this session, we:
- Walk through the synthesised insight themes
- Clarify what requires focused attention
- Prioritise the most impactful challenges
- Define the intention for the team retreat
This ensures the retreat is built around real needs — not assumptions.
Based on this alignment, I design a tailored team retreat agenda structured to deliver the outcomes we have defined together.
Your time investment in this phase:
Approx. 2 hours
Phase 4:Â Deliver
Facilitated team retreat and clear next stepsÂ
The Sprint culminates in a focused, in-person team retreat.
The retreat is:
- Structured and outcome-driven
- Designed for full participation
- Built around the prioritised challenges
- Facilitated so you can participate as a team member
During the day, your team will:
- Build shared understanding
- Address root challenges
- Make decisions
- Create visible artefacts and commitments
Following the retreat, I document key decisions and agreements and provide a concise executive summary with recommended next steps.
We then meet for a debrief conversation to reflect and clarify the way forward.
Time investment:
Leader: approx. 12–13 hours total
Team of six: approx. 45 hours collective time
What this Sprint is and is not
This is not a theatrical offsite or motivational workshop.
It is a structured, confidential, human-centred intervention designed to:
- Surface reality without blame
- Create shared understanding before acceleration
- Help teams focus on the right challenges
- Translate clarity into accountable action
You remain the leader of your team.
I design and facilitate the process so you can engage fully in it.
Practical considerations
- The retreat is in-person by default.
- Dates and location are agreed early in the process.
- Team members are expected to participate fully during the retreat.
- Travel outside the Oslo/Akershus area can be arranged by agreement.
A detailed Sprint Pack, including briefing materials and logistics, is shared after contracting.
Starting the Sprint
The first step is a Discovery Call.
In this call, we explore whether the Leadership Lean-in Sprint is the right intervention for your situation. If it is, I will walk you through pricing, logistics, and next steps.
Book your Discovery Call here
Answer these logistics questions and I'll send you a link to book a time for our call:
Kat MatherÂ
Leadership Partner | Founder, Design Linking
I partner with leaders navigating change and ambiguity, helping their teams build clarity, trust, and accountable ways of working.
Through structured sense-making and participatory design, I support leadership teams in turning complexity into aligned, actionable direction.
