How Barenbrug Built High-Performance Leaders

Results at a glance

• Team alignment improved across all departments
• Clearer ownership and accountability at every level
• Faster, more confident decision-making
• Sustainable leadership practices embedded for long-term growth

The Context: Growth Demands Better Leadership

Barenbrug was growing fast.

With that growth came increasing complexity—more people, more decisions, and higher expectations across the business.

Teams were committed and working hard, but as the business scaled, leadership needed to evolve to keep pace.

“From my point of view, I like to train people so that they can leave, but they choose not to, but equally they’ve got to be fit for us as a business as well.” – explains Katie Washbourne, a HR Manager at Barenbrug.

Leadership recognised that future growth would depend on one thing: developing leaders at every level who could take ownership and drive performance.

The Approach: Building Leadership Capability Across the Business

This wasn’t about short-term training.

It was about developing a consistent leadership standard and building the next generation of leaders to operate within it.

We focused on:

• Creating clarity in roles, expectations, and decision-making
• Strengthening accountability and ownership across teams
• Developing leaders who could step up with confidence and consistency

“Phil’s style was totally different from my previous coach style. His approach was more structured, it holds you accountable, and not too many people do that.” – says Nicole Watkins, Commercial Operations Manager

The approach was practical and structured—designed to embed behaviours, not just deliver ideas.

The Transformation: Leaders Stepping Up Across the Business

As leadership capability developed, the impact became visible across the organisation.

• Teams became more aligned, with clearer priorities and responsibilities
• Communication improved and decisions were made with greater confidence
• Accountability became part of day-to-day operations
• Emerging leaders stepped up and took greater ownership

“I am finding that the person I’ve always aspired to be I am now becoming. I don’t think I would be where I am, within this business now, if I haven’t had 18 months of coaching with Phil. You can see the difference within the business now, it is not the same business it was two years ago.” – adds Nicole.

This wasn’t just individual development.

It was a shift in how leadership operated across the business.

The Outcome: Leadership That Sustains Performance

The biggest change wasn’t just in results—it was in capability.

Barenbrug developed leaders who:

• Take ownership without waiting to be told
• Make confident, timely decisions
• Operate to consistent standards across the business

The result is a business that is better equipped to sustain performance as it continues to grow.

“The outcome- driven nature of the way he operates was really the sort of key cinching for us, for every project that we do with Phil, with every person that goes through training with him. There are a set of outcomes that are in place for everything that really is helping us drive the business forward.” – concludes Katie.