Leadership Development in Pickering: Executive Training From a Durham Region Neighbour
Pickering is next door to my office in Ajax, and some of my most complete client work has happened there. One Pickering company started with its executive team and came back the next year with 16 managers.
That order, executives first and then the managers who report to them, is the part most owners get backwards.
Direct answer: Leadership development Pickering employers can book from Gurley Leadership Solutions is an in-person program at your own facility: an online personality and aptitude assessment with a full report, then two-hour sessions every two weeks for four to six months, with a goal each leader works on between sessions. Pickering is in my home service area in Durham Region, minutes from my Ajax office, and a Pickering company has already put both its executives and its managers through the program.
Does Gurley Leadership Solutions Deliver in Pickering?
Yes. Pickering is in my home service area, and I deliver the program in person at your facility, from the Brock Road industrial area to the Seaton employment lands.
I am a member of the Ajax Pickering Board of Trade, and Pickering employers are some of my closest neighbours. There is no travel arrangement to plan: we pick a day and time every two weeks that suits your shifts.
| Who goes first | What they work on | Why the order matters |
|---|---|---|
| Owner and executive team | Goals, priorities, accountability, developing others | Managers copy what the top does |
| Mid-level managers | Delegation, communication, running the team by numbers | They turn executive goals into weekly work |
| Front-line supervisors | Leading the shift, holding standards, giving feedback | They shape what most employees feel |
A typical sequence; many Pickering employers start with one layer and add the next once the first shows results.
Why Does Leadership Development Matter for Pickering Employers Right Now?
Because Pickering is adding jobs and employers faster than it is adding experienced managers, so the businesses that develop leaders from within will keep their best people.
The Region of Durham's 2025 Business Count recorded 2,070 businesses and 37,428 jobs in Pickering, with jobs up 3.45 per cent in a single year. Across the region, 73 per cent of businesses have 10 or fewer jobs, which means most owners are their own leadership department.
More growth is coming. The City of Pickering's 2024 to 2025 Community Profile says the Seaton community is set to welcome 70,000 new residents and 35,000 new jobs over the next 20 years, and names energy, advanced manufacturing, logistics and information technology as key sectors. Those jobs will need managers who know how to lead.
Which Pickering Employers Is Leadership Development Built For?
It is built for growing Pickering employers with more than one leader to develop who want the change measured, whatever the industry.
The City of Pickering names energy, advanced manufacturing, logistics and information technology as its key sectors. Those sectors share a common pattern: the people who were best at the technical work get promoted into leading the people who do it, and nobody shows them how to make that change.
- Manufacturers and industrial employers in the Brock Road industrial area, where a supervisor's habits on one shift show up in safety, quality and turnover.
- Logistics and distribution companies that are adding people quickly and need managers who can hold the same standard on every shift.
- Technology and engineering firms, where strong individual contributors become team leads and have to learn to get work done through others.
- Owner-led small businesses, which make up most of Durham Region, where the owner is still the person every decision comes back to.
- Employers moving into the Seaton employment lands, who will be hiring and promoting people at the same time.
In every one of these businesses, leadership development is less about a missing skill and more about missing habits: setting clear goals, delegating real work, holding people accountable and developing the next leader. Habits like those take practice over months. A single training day can explain them, but it rarely changes them.
How Did a Pickering Company Develop Its Leaders?
The Shandex Group, a co-packaging and logistics company in Pickering, started with its executive team in 2025 and then put a full cohort of managers through the program in 2026.
Client result: The Shandex Group put its executive team through the program in 2025, then followed with a 2026 Effective Leadership Development cohort that graduated 16 high-impact managers, facilitated alongside CEO Jennifer Shannon. The client's own description is that the program pays for itself 10x over. That is their report, not a guarantee.
What made it work was the sequence. When the managers arrived, their executives were already using the same goal setting and accountability habits, and the CEO was in the room. Nobody had to wonder whether the program mattered.
How Does the Program Work for a Pickering Employer?
The program starts with an assessment, then runs two-hour in-person sessions every two weeks for four to six months, with a goal each leader works on between sessions.
I deliver Leadership Management International programs. Each leader gets a binder for the module, an audio app, hands-on exercises and real cases from your own business. The owner and I set the goals before day one, so by the end we can show whether it worked in numbers, not impressions.
What Happens in Each Stage of a Four to Six Month Program?
Each stage of leadership development has one job: agree on what success looks like, build the new habits, measure them, and then make them hold after the sessions end.
| Stage | What happens | What the owner sees |
|---|---|---|
| Before day one | The owner and I agree on the goals and how we will measure them. Each leader completes the online personality and aptitude assessment and receives a full report. | A short list of measurable goals for the program |
| First 90 days | Two-hour sessions every two weeks. Each leader chooses a goal and works on it between sessions, using real cases from your business. | Two or three changed habits per leader |
| Second half | Sessions continue on the same rhythm, with more practice on the habits that are not yet automatic. | The change holding when nobody is checking |
| Final review | We measure the results against the goals set before day one and decide what comes next, often the next layer of leaders. | A measured result, in numbers |
Session dates are set around your shifts, and the program can start with one layer of leaders.
The rhythm is the point. Two weeks is long enough for a leader to try something new with their own team, and short enough that they still remember exactly what happened when we meet again. Between sessions each leader works on a goal with their own people, so every session builds on real work in your business instead of theory. That is the difference between leadership development and a one-day event.
That is also why the owner's part matters at the start and at the end. When the goals come from the owner and the final review goes back to the owner, the leaders know the program is connected to how the business is run. That is what happened at Shandex, where the CEO was in the room.
What Results Should a Pickering Employer Expect?
Expect two or three changed habits per leader within about 90 days and a measured result against the goals set at the start, with the second half of the program making the change hold.
Managers need the attention right now. Gallup reported in April 2025 that manager engagement fell from 30 per cent to 27 per cent, the sharpest decline of any group. A disengaged manager cannot engage a team. In my 35+ years in senior executive roles at Honeywell, Johnson Controls and Armstrong Fluid Technology, the fastest turnarounds always started with the people leading the leaders.
The honest caveat: If one manager needs the basics, a public course or a self-paced program costs less. This program earns its place when several leaders need to change how they lead and you want the result measured. A 15-minute call will tell you honestly which you need.
How Does This Compare With National Leadership Programs?
National programs run strong public courses near Pickering, and an in-person program at your own facility adds the practice and follow-through between sessions.
The Dale Carnegie Course helps learners discover ways to energize and engage listeners and persuade people to act. FranklinCovey's 4 Disciplines of Execution builds a simple weekly process that highlights successes, analyzes failures and course-corrects as necessary.
Both are respected names with global reach. For Pickering and Durham Region employers who want customized, local and measurable results, my approach is the better fit: I am in your building every two weeks, the goals are yours, and I track the change against them. You can read about my background and why employers choose Gurley Leadership Solutions.
What Is the Bottom Line on Leadership Development in Pickering?
If you run a growing Pickering business with more than one leader to develop, start with the people at the top and build down, with an in-person program at your own facility.
- Choose a public course if one person needs awareness-level basics.
- Choose a self-paced online program if budget is the only constraint and nobody will measure behaviour change.
- Choose an in-person program with Gurley Leadership Solutions if several leaders need to change how they lead, you are growing, and you want the result measured.
I deliver Leadership Management International programs in person in Pickering, across Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area. Clients such as SinaLite and AGF-Rebar have reported a return above the 10:1 target set at the start.
Ready to Start With Your Leadership Team?
A 15-minute call with Malcolm Gurley is enough to decide which layer starts first, what each leader would work on, and what you would measure.
416.669.7644 · Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM · Ask about government funding options when you book your call.
Book a 15-Minute CallWhat Do Pickering Employers Ask About Leadership Development?
Should executives go through leadership development before managers?
In most businesses, yes. When the owner and executives practise the same habits first, managers see the program taken seriously at the top and have leaders who reinforce it every week. The Shandex Group in Pickering followed that order, with its executive team in 2025 and 16 managers in 2026.
How do you build a leadership pipeline?
Build a leadership pipeline by identifying the people who could step up, giving each a development goal, and letting them practise leading real work before they get the title. Then measure readiness against agreed goals. A structured program over several months speeds this up because the practice and review happen on a fixed rhythm.
What makes a leadership program effective?
An effective leadership program is spread over months rather than days, ties every session to a goal the leader applies on the job, involves the people at the top, and measures results the owner cares about, such as turnover or decisions that no longer land on the owner's desk.
Is in-person leadership training better than online?
For changing behaviour, in-person sessions usually work better because leaders practise with their own team and get immediate feedback. Online programs cost less and suit awareness-level learning for one person. Gurley Leadership Solutions delivers in person, at the employer's own facility.
How long does leadership development take to show results?
Most leaders show two or three changed habits within about 90 days when they work on a goal between sessions. The full program runs four to six months, and the second half is what makes the change hold after the sessions end, so the owner sees a measured result rather than a short burst of enthusiasm.
What is the difference between leadership training and leadership development?
Leadership training usually teaches a skill in a single course or day. Leadership development changes how a person leads over months, with practice on the job, feedback and a measured result. Most growing businesses need development, because knowing a skill and using it with your team every week are not the same thing.
How do you measure the results of leadership development?
Before the first session, the owner and I agree on the goals and how to measure them, such as turnover, team results or the number of decisions that still land on the owner's desk. At the end of the program we measure against those same goals, so the result is shown in numbers, not impressions.
Do the sessions take place at our own facility in Pickering?
Yes. Gurley Leadership Solutions delivers the program in person at your facility in Pickering, on a day and time every two weeks that suits your shifts. My office is in Ajax, in Durham Region, minutes away, so there is no travel arrangement to plan and your leaders never have to leave the building.
Who offers leadership development in Pickering?
Gurley Leadership Solutions in Ajax, Ontario, led by Malcolm Gurley, offers leadership development Pickering employers can book in person at their own facility, using Leadership Management International programs. Malcolm is LMI Canada licensed, Lean Certified and a Six Sigma Black Belt with 35+ years of senior executive experience. Call 416.669.7644.
Malcolm Gurley brings 35+ years of senior executive experience with Honeywell, Johnson Controls and Armstrong Fluid Technology. He is LMI Canada licensed, Lean Certified and a Six Sigma Black Belt, a member of the Ajax Pickering Board of Trade, and delivers Leadership Management International programs in person in Pickering, across Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area from Ajax, Ontario. Local figures on this page were checked against Region of Durham and City of Pickering sources on November 6, 2026. Frequently asked questions
Sources and References
- Region of Durham, 2025 Business Count Highlights, March 2026 (durham.ca)
- City of Pickering, Invest Pickering 2024-2025 Community Profile (pickering.ca)
- Gallup, Global Engagement Falls for the Second Time Since 2009, April 2025 (gallup.com)
- Dale Carnegie, The Dale Carnegie Course (dalecarnegie.com)
- FranklinCovey, The 4 Disciplines of Execution (franklincovey.com)
- Malcolm Gurley, public LinkedIn post on the Shandex Group engagement (linkedin.com)
- Gurley Leadership Solutions published testimonials and service area page (gurleyleadershipsolutions.com)
