Leadership Development in Peterborough: Executive Training Delivered by Arrangement From Ajax
The Peterborough owners I talk to are rarely short of loyal people. They are short of people ready to replace the leaders who are about to retire.
That is a solvable problem, but only if you start before the retirement party, not after it.
Direct answer: Leadership development Peterborough employers can book from Gurley Leadership Solutions is the same in-person program I run in Durham Region: an online personality and aptitude assessment with a full report, then two-hour sessions every two weeks for four to six months at your facility. Peterborough sits beyond my home service area, so it is delivered by arrangement from Ajax, and we agree the schedule on a 15-minute call first.
- Do I serve Peterborough?
- Why leadership matters in Peterborough now
- Which teams need it most
- A business with a Peterborough location
- How the program works
- How to prepare
- What results to expect
- What to measure
- Local vs national programs
- Development or executive training
- The bottom line
- Frequently asked questions
Does Gurley Leadership Solutions Serve Peterborough?
Yes. Peterborough and the Kawarthas are served by arrangement: the same in-person program I run in Durham Region, with the travel planned into the schedule.
My office is in Ajax, and Durham Region is my home service area. Peterborough is a straightforward drive up Highway 115 from Durham, so we set the session calendar on the first call so each two-hour session is worth the trip for both of us.
| Area | How I deliver | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Durham Region | In person, at your facility (home region) | Standard two-week rhythm |
| Greater Toronto Area | In person, at your facility | Standard two-week rhythm |
| Peterborough and the Kawarthas | In person, by arrangement | Session dates agreed up front |
| Barrie, Hamilton, Central Ontario | By arrangement | Session dates agreed up front |
Service areas as published on gurleyleadershipsolutions.com.
Why Does Leadership Development Matter for Peterborough Employers Right Now?
Because a large share of Peterborough's experienced workforce has already retired or is close to it, and the next leaders have to come from inside the business.
The Government of Canada's economic profile of the Peterborough area records 12,472 retirements from 2011 to 2021, about 20 per cent of the 2021 workforce, compared with 16 per cent across Ontario. The same profile puts the population at 128,624, with 25 per cent aged 65 and older, and lists health care and social assistance, retail trade and construction as the key sectors, together 43 per cent of local jobs.
The good news is the people are capable. The City of Peterborough's community profile reports that 64 per cent of residents hold a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, and Trent University and Fleming College are both in the city. Skills are not the gap. Leading people is.
Which Peterborough Teams Need Leadership Development Most?
The teams that need it most are the ones where good technical people were promoted into leading others without being shown how, which describes many health care, retail and construction workplaces in Peterborough.
Those three sectors carry a large share of local jobs, and each one tends to promote the same way: the best nurse, the most reliable sales associate or the most skilled tradesperson becomes the supervisor. The skill that earned the promotion is rarely the skill the new role needs.
- Health care and social assistance: charge nurses, team leads and program managers who have to set priorities, handle conflict between shifts and keep good people from burning out. Leadership development gives them a repeatable way to delegate and follow up instead of doing the work themselves.
- Retail trade: store and department managers leading part-time and seasonal teams, where clear expectations and a good first few weeks often decide whether a new hire stays.
- Construction: site supervisors and foremen who are responsible for safety, schedule and crew morale at the same time. Executive training for the owners and leadership development for the supervisors work best together, because the crew hears the same expectations from both levels.
Manufacturers, professional firms and owner-led service businesses around the Kawarthas face the same pattern on a smaller scale. If a long-time leader plans to retire in the next few years, the person who replaces them should already be practising the role now.
How Did a Business With a Peterborough Location Use the Program?
BMS Sanitation and Safety, which operates in Pickering and Peterborough, put its owners and key leaders through a program focused on how the team works together.
Client result: I facilitated the Effective Personal Productivity program for BMS Sanitation and Safety co-owners Jared Shaw and Matt Hryniewski and their key leadership team. The outcome, in their terms, was optimized teaming, communication and workflows, with measurable milestones along the way. That is the client's experience, not a promise; a Peterborough program follows the same format.
The lesson for any owner-led business is that the owners went through it with their leaders. When the people at the top practise the same habits, the rest of the team takes the program seriously.
How Does the Program Work for a Peterborough 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. For a Peterborough employer planning for retirements, we usually build the goals around the next layer: who could step up, what they need to practise, and how we will know they are ready.
How Should a Peterborough Employer Prepare for Leadership Development?
Preparation takes one conversation and a few decisions: who joins, what the business needs to change, and which dates work for the full program.
Because I travel to Peterborough by arrangement, a little planning up front keeps the schedule steady for four to six months. Here is what I ask owners to think about before the first call:
- Who should take part. The program works best with several leaders at once, ideally including the owner or general manager, so the habits become part of how the whole leadership team operates.
- What the business needs to change. One or two business goals, such as reducing overtime, improving handoffs between shifts or getting decisions made without the owner, give every leader something real to work on.
- Who is retiring and when. If succession is the reason for the program, we name the roles at risk and the people who could step into them, so leadership development is aimed at real gaps.
- A meeting room and protected time. Each session is two hours at your facility. Leaders get more from it when phones are away and the time is treated as part of the job, not an extra.
- The assessment. Each leader completes an online personality and aptitude assessment before we start, and the report shapes the goals we set together.
None of this needs a large HR department. It needs an owner who wants the next layer of leaders ready and is willing to protect the time.
What Results Should a Peterborough 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.
Spacing matters more than most owners expect. Harvard Business Review notes that even when people return to work with new skills, they soon revert to their old ways of doing things. Sessions every two weeks, with a goal to report on each time, are how I prevent that. In my 35+ years in senior executive roles at Honeywell, Johnson Controls and Armstrong Fluid Technology, the leaders who changed were the ones held to a goal week after week.
The honest caveat: Peterborough is outside my home region, so a single leader who needs the basics is usually better served by a local public course than by my driving up for one person. The program makes sense 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.
What Should You Measure From Leadership Development in Peterborough?
Measure the business problems that made you start the program, using numbers you already track, and compare them with a baseline taken before the first session.
Leadership development is only worth paying for if something in the business changes. At the start of every program I ask the owner to choose a few measures, record where they stand today and agree how we will check them at the end.
| If the problem is | Measure | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Leaders doing the work instead of leading it | Hours the owner or manager spends on problems a supervisor could solve | A two-week time log at the start and the end |
| People leaving | Voluntary turnover and exit reasons on each team | Payroll records and exit interviews |
| Missed deadlines or rework | On-time completion and rework rates | Job, project or production records |
| Overtime and scheduling strain | Overtime hours on each leader's team | Payroll records |
| Succession risk | Number of key roles with a ready successor | A simple succession chart reviewed with the owner |
Examples only. We choose the measures that fit your business on the first call.
Each leader also sets personal goals, and we review progress at every session. That is how the program connects behaviour change to the numbers the owner cares about, and why the second half of the program matters as much as the first.
How Does This Compare With National Leadership Programs?
National firms see the same leadership gap, and an in-person program at your own facility closes it with practice and follow-through between sessions.
In Korn Ferry's 2025 Workforce survey, 41 per cent of employees reported that their organization had cut management layers, and 37 per cent said fewer managers left them feeling directionless. FranklinCovey points out that new leaders are often expected to achieve results without dedicated training and development.
Both are respected names with global reach. For Peterborough employers who want customized, local and measurable results, my approach is the better fit: the sessions happen in your building, the goals are yours, and I track the change against them. You can read about my background and why employers choose Gurley Leadership Solutions.
Do Your Leaders Need Leadership Development or Executive Training?
Most Peterborough businesses need both: executive training for the owners and senior team who set direction, and leadership development for the supervisors and managers who carry it out.
Executive training focuses on the people at the top: setting goals for the business, planning succession, holding the leadership team accountable and freeing the owner from daily problem solving. Leadership development focuses on the next layer: delegating, communicating expectations, running effective meetings and developing their own people.
When only the supervisors go through a program, they often come back to a leadership team that still works the old way. When only the owners go through it, the change stops at the top. The BMS Sanitation and Safety program brought the co-owners and their key leaders through together. I usually recommend starting with the owner and the leaders closest to them, then extending leadership development to the next layer once the new habits are visible at the top.
What Is the Bottom Line on Leadership Development in Peterborough?
If you run a Peterborough business with several leaders to develop, especially with retirements coming, an in-person program delivered by arrangement from Ajax is a practical option, and the first call will tell you whether the schedule works.
- Choose a local 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 planning for succession, and you want the result measured.
I deliver Leadership Management International programs in person across Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area, and by arrangement in Peterborough, the Kawarthas and Central Ontario. Clients such as SinaLite and AGF-Rebar have reported a return above the 10:1 target set at the start.
Planning for Retirements in Peterborough?
A 15-minute call with Malcolm Gurley is enough to confirm the schedule, which leaders would start, 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 Peterborough Employers Ask About Leadership Development?
Why is leadership development important for succession planning?
Leadership development prepares the next layer of managers before senior people leave, so the business does not lose its standards, its customers or its best people when a long-time leader retires. It turns a list of possible successors into people who have already practised leading, with a record of goals they have met.
What does a leadership development program teach?
A leadership development program teaches practical habits: setting clear goals, delegating, communicating expectations, holding people accountable, managing time and priorities, and developing others. Gurley Leadership Solutions teaches these through Leadership Management International materials, applied to real cases from the employer's own business.
Can small businesses benefit from leadership development?
Yes. In a small business the owner is often the only trained leader, so developing even two or three managers can free the owner from daily problem solving. BMS Sanitation and Safety, an owner-led business with a Peterborough location, put its co-owners and key leaders through a Gurley Leadership Solutions program.
What is the difference between leadership training and leadership development?
Leadership training is usually a single course that explains skills. Leadership development is a longer process that changes behaviour through practice, feedback and measurement over several months. Gurley Leadership Solutions runs development programs of two-hour sessions every two weeks for four to six months.
Who offers leadership development in Peterborough?
Gurley Leadership Solutions in Ajax, Ontario, led by Malcolm Gurley, offers leadership development Peterborough employers can book by arrangement, in person at their facility. 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 across Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area from Ajax, Ontario, and by arrangement in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Local figures on this page were checked against Government of Canada and City of Peterborough sources on November 5, 2026. Frequently asked questions
Sources and References
- Government of Canada (IRCC), Economic profile: Peterborough (CMA), Ontario (canada.ca)
- City of Peterborough, Community Profile (peterborough.ca)
- Harvard Business Review, Why Leadership Training Fails and What to Do About It, October 2016 (hbr.org)
- Korn Ferry, Workforce 2025: Power Shifts (kornferry.com)
- FranklinCovey, 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team (franklincovey.com)
- Malcolm Gurley, public LinkedIn post on the BMS Sanitation and Safety engagement (linkedin.com)
- Gurley Leadership Solutions published testimonials and service area page (gurleyleadershipsolutions.com)
