"We Started as a Group and Finished as a Team": Building Confident Leaders at William Hackett

"We Started as a Group and Finished as a Team": Building Confident Leaders at William Hackett

William Hackett, the UK’s leading name in chain products and lifting systems, partnered with Zenith to enhance their leadership capability across departments. With a growing emphasis on collaboration, communication, and first-line management development, the business recognised the need to invest in its people and strengthen internal leadership for long-term success.

The aim was to equip emerging leaders with practical tools, develop project management confidence, and break down departmental silos, all while creating a strong, team-oriented culture.

As an experienced provider of funded workforce training, we delivered a tailored Leadership & People management Bootcamp to meet these goals.

ClientWilliam Hackett

SkillsSkills Bootcamps

Solution

The bootcamp comprised a series of structured modules, each focused on a key area of effective leadership. Topics ranged from human resources and communication to project management, change leadership and coaching, providing participants with a well-rounded leadership toolkit.

The content was tailored to reflect William Hackett’s operational context, with particular emphasis on:

Strengthening inter-departmental collaboration.
Supporting first-time managers with little prior leadership experience.
Embedding a culture of accountability, communication and growth.

Throughout the programme, participants shared reflections, exchanged experiences, and implemented new strategies within their roles.

Immediate Results & Meaningful change

The information was evident throughout the 11-week programme. Key developments included:

Stronger Cross-Functional Collaboration: The team moved away from siloed ways of working, embracing a more connected and collaborative approach across departments.
Increased Confidence: Participants demonstrated significant personal growth, with many stepping into leadership conversations with greater assurance and presence.
Structured Management Practices: Enhanced understanding of HR policies, performance management, and coaching helped create a more consistent and supportive working environment.
Enhanced Communication: With a deeper understanding of personal styles and emotional intelligence, team members adopted more thoughtful and agile communication approaches.
Ownership & Team Spirit: Leaders began taking greater ownership of goals, while supporting each other in delivering collective outcomes. The focus shifted from individual performance to shared success.

Culture Shift and Future Potential

Beyond technical skill development, the bootcamp catalysed a cultural shift at William Hackett. Team members reflected on their leadership styles, practised coaching skills, and adopted a more proactive mindset towards change.

The closing presentations captured a new sense of energy, unity and ambition. In the words of Group CEO Mick Howard:

“We are absolutely delighted with the outputs from the programme, which were shared today, but also more impressively witnessed over the past 11 weeks. Personal growth in an abundance. Confidence levels growing at pace, silos disappearing, and communication is very much on the up.

Respect and acknowledgement of each other is there to see and very much authentic, and ways of working cross-functionally have improved dramatically.
The dynamic is very much about the Team rather than the individual. We have coaches in our midst. A healthy pipeline of talent, and a thriving culture to boot!”

Key Takeaways

Leadership training helped dissolve departmental silos and encouraged a team-first culture.
Participants developed confidence, communication skills, and project management capability.
The business now benefits from a more cohesive, motivated, and forward-thinking leadership group.