Evidence-Based Leadership · LEAD21

The evidence behind LEAD21.

Externally proven. Measured on your team. Calculated in euros.

One independently led one-year study, four surveys with hundreds of leaders, 207 original voices and two calculators that apply the logic to your company. Every number carries a label showing how it was produced — measured, expected or calculated.

How to read this page

Measured

Before and after, independently led.

The one-year study with 567 professionals and leaders. Evidence level 3 — the top segment of what leadership research achieves at all.

Expected

Estimates by experienced leaders.

Right after the training: how much would your working day change if LEAD21 were anchored everywhere? Self-reported, no measured effects — we say so openly.

Calculated

Models with external factors.

Bain & Company, Gallup, Towers Watson, LSA Global: the calculators apply their findings to your numbers. Orders of magnitude, no guarantee.

For context · How evidence-based is leadership knowledge at all?

LEAD21 in the top 11% — the top quintile.

Almost everyone talks about evidence-based leadership. But how much of it is actually proven? A systematic review of 659 articles from the five leading management journals (2007–2010) shows: 89% reach only the lowest evidence levels 4 and 5 — case descriptions and expert opinions. Highest evidence, Level 1: 0%.

The preliminary replication for 2022–2025 with another 759 articles confirms the picture: Level 1 still 0%, Levels 1 and 2 combined below 1%.

The LEAD21 effectiveness study reaches evidence level 3. Independently led. 567 participants. Not estimated. Not claimed. Measured.

L10%

L23%

L38%LEAD21 study

L434%

L555%

Evidence levels of the 659 articles from the top-5 management journals (2007–2010) · Gold = level of the LEAD21 effectiveness study · L4/L5 = case description & expert opinion

Measured · Evidence level 3Corporate Guidance · 1 year · European industrial group

8/9

dimensions of the Transformation & Performance Climate significantly improved.

A scientifically accompanied one-year study with 567 professionals and leaders of a European industrial group (78% response rate), independent study leadership: Prof. Dr. Beate Hanson (clinical epidemiologist) & Prof. Dr. Mohit Bhandari (McMaster University).

8/9climate dimensions significant

567participants · 78% response rate

3leadership levels trained

4organizational levels assessed

Clarity & transparencysignificantly improved
Genuine involvement & responsibilitysignificantly improved
Performance, goals & learningsignificantly improved
Feedback, support & recognitionsignificantly improved
Team spirit & cohesionstrongest improvement
Values & ethicssignificantly improved
Next-higher leadership levelsignificantly improved
Managementsignificantly improved
Unnecessary rules & administrationthe only one not significantly improved

Why not one dimension? To be expected — in a transformation, perceived administration rises at first (new processes, reporting on a major investment) until it is turned into robust standards. We report what is — not what looks good.

Schematic placement in the field's evidence distribution (five quintiles): the LEAD21 study (Level 3) sits in the top quintile — above what roughly 89% of top-journal research achieves. Not a measured distribution, but a positioning.

Group leadership · Leadership's requirement

What leadership expects from the performance of a leadership system:

“Silos between business units and leadership levels must be actively broken down — through open, regular communication at all levels. We must learn to see our teams as part of one single company, not as a string of silos.”Executive management — CEO, major European group

“A leadership system must reach every level, department and silo of the organization — not isolated trainings for individuals. What matters are regular, open communication channels down into the first two leadership levels, and commitments that are consistently kept.”Managing Director — post-merger integration (around €500M), major European group

From independent interviews with two leaders of the same group (group conference). The study results above show the greatest improvement of all nine dimensions in “team spirit and cohesion” — in all four areas examined.

Significance per dimension measured in both perspectives (leader “given” / employees “received”). Exact values per dimension will follow once the raw-data reanalysis is complete. Source: Huesch et al., A Formal Evaluation of a Novel Leadership Program — Leadership Survey, European industrial group.

Expected · Self-reported

Four surveys. One pattern.

Different companies, formats and years — and yet the same direction: clarity in front, negative stress clearly down. The darker the cell, the stronger the expected change.

	Hyper-GrowthDigital · 27 leaders · median	Finance CommunityDigital · 31 leaders (26 responses) · mean	Global market leaderIn Person · 68 leaders · mean	Long-term studyIn Person · 137 leaders · 9 organizations · median
Clarity	+50 %	+107 %	+61 %	+75 %
Efficiency	+40 %	+45 %	+46 %	+40 %
Collaboration	+50 %	+50 %	+40 %	+50 %
Performance	+40 %	+29 %	+40 %	+37 %
Alignment	–	+25 %	–	+40 %
Negative stressless is better	−40 %	−51 %	−44 %	−40 %

Expected change with consistent LEAD21 application, surveyed right after the program. Self-reported by experienced leaders, no measured effects. “Negative stress” = expected reduction. “–” = not asked in this survey. Global market leader: its “output” item is shown as Performance.

Case studies · Participant estimates

What leaders expect after the program.

Three programs, three formats. Each case study with sample, format, results and — where available — all anonymized original feedback, sorted by tool.

ExpectedDigital · 7 weeks

Corporation · Grand MasterClass Digital

Corporate Hyper-Growth program · €300M → €2.3bn

What participants say after 7 weeks in the system.

1.5 h Mondays + 1.5 h Fridays
7 weeks · virtual
27 leaders · Corporate Finance

“The efficiency that got us here won't carry us into the next order of magnitude — that takes a completely different one. With LEAD21 I close that gap.”Overall project lead

Clarity+50 %

Efficiency+40 %

Collaboration+50 %

Performance+40 %

Negative stress−40 %

Transformation potential with consistent application — median across the five dimensions (participants' expectation estimate, self-reported).

Corporation · HyperGrowth program · around €5bn group revenue (HyperGrowth business unit: around €1.8bn) · 2024 · 27 leaders from the corporate finance area. Anonymized original feedback, no personal or company-identifying details.

ExpectedDigital · 7 weeks

Corporation · Grand MasterClass Digital

Corporate Finance Community

What participants say after 7 weeks in the system.

1.5 h Mondays + 1.5 h Fridays
7 weeks · virtual
31 leaders · Corporate Finance

“Participants report a noticeably higher level of clarity, ownership and efficiency. His methodology brought our teams to a significantly higher performance level in a short time.”CFO · Corporate Finance

Clarity+107%

Efficiency+45%

Collaboration+50%

Performance+29%

Alignment+25%

Negative stress−51%

Transformation potential with consistent application — average across the six dimensions (participants' expectation estimate, self-reported).

Digital 7-week program (Mon + Fri, 1.5 h each): deep dives, application, implementation, Q&A · 31 leaders. Expectation estimate at program end, average of 26 responses. Self-reported, no measured effects. “Negative stress” = expected reduction.

ExpectedIn Person · 3 days

Grand MasterClass In Person · Global market leader

International automotive supplier and global market leader

What 68 professionals and leaders expect with consistent application.

68 professionals & leaders · Dec. 2017
18 dimensions · means
In Person · Grand MasterClass

A standalone survey — this company's values are below the average of the ongoing overall LEAD21 survey.Context

Clarity+61%

Meeting efficiency+56%

Collaboration+40%

Efficiency+46%

Performance+40%

Negative stress−44%

Mean (n = 68). Curated core values from the company-internal evidence presentation (2019).

All 18 items in detail

Clarity+61 %

Meeting efficiency+56 %

Collaboration+40 %

Problem solving+47 %

Project work efficiency+47 %

Decisions (speed & quality)+42 %

Unnecessary escalations−43 %

Overall efficiency+46 %

Priority clarity+42 %

Team spirit+52 %

Duplicate, wasted & rework−46 %

Goal achievement+38 %

Time savings+44 %

Productivity+40 %

Team results+36 %

Negative stress−44 %

Strategy execution+40 %

Profitable growth+22 %

The six tiles above show the same raw-data means as the table below — the six core dimensions from the company-internal evidence presentation (2019). The table additionally shows all 18 surveyed items in detail. Adjusted for 4 exactly identical response patterns (probably duplicate entries); n=13 unique responses. We report what is — not what looks good.

Own expectation survey at an international automotive supplier and global market leader (Dec. 2017): 68 professionals and leaders, 18 dimensions; curated core values from the company-internal evidence presentation (2019). Self-reported, no measured effects. “Negative stress” = expected reduction. A standalone survey — this company's values are below the average of the ongoing LEAD21 long-term study (137 professionals and leaders, detailed below).

Expected · Expert Opinion

Participant survey · since 2016 · 18 dimensions

Long-term study: leaders from 9 organizations — continuously expanded.

Answered after the training — on 18 concrete outcome measures from the working day. The survey continues: the number grows with every new response.

Distilled from the 18 measures: six core dimensions that every new study carries further above — future survey waves measure only these six. More to come.

+75 %Clarity

+40 %Efficiency

+50 %Collaboration

+37 %Performance

+40 %Alignment

−40 %Negative stress

n = 137 · 9 organizations · Wave 1: 2016–2019 · median (outlier-robust) · Performance = productivity, team results, goal achievement · Alignment = strategy execution, priority clarity

The survey in detail: 18 dimensions

Expected increaseExpected reduction (less is better)

Clarity free of misunderstanding+75 %

Meeting efficiency+60 %

Project work efficiency+50 %

Decisions (speed & quality)+50 %

Problem solving (quality & impact)+50 %

Team spirit in your own team+50 %

Collaboration across units & levels+50 %

Duplicate, wasted & rework−40 %

Overall efficiency+40 %

Negative stress−40 %

Priority clarity+40 %

Unnecessary escalations−40 %

Time savings+40 %

Goal achievement+40 %

Strategy execution+38 %

Productivity+30 %

Team results (time · budget · quality)+30 %

Profitable growth+20 %

Recalculated from the raw data of the first survey wave (2016–2019): 137 unique responses from 9 organizations, median per item (outlier-robust). Values below 1 read as percentages, values above 1 as a factor ((factor − 1) × 100%); exactly identical response patterns count only once. Long-term study: every new wave is added and the values are updated.

Where these numbers come from

Since 2016, we have asked leaders and professionals the same question immediately after LEAD21 trainings — on an ongoing basis, not as a closed survey: “Suppose LEAD21 were anchored throughout your entire organization — from the board down to every team — as the operating system for leadership and collaboration, its use a matter of course: by what percentage would the following 18 measures change?”

The chart shows the rounded averages across several industries and the professional forecast of experienced leaders: what would happen if LEAD21 became the operating system for leadership across the board — as much a matter of course as SAP for finance or Salesforce for sales.

Scientific classification — expert opinion from experienced leaders who know their organization intimately and have just experienced the LEAD21 system themselves in training. No measured before-and-after effects — we say so openly, because honest science demands it.

Expectation survey of 137 professionals and leaders from 9 organizations and several industries (2016–2019), 18 dimensions: estimated improvement with consistent LEAD21 application. Self-reported, no measured effects. Source: Huesch (2026), LEAD21 Tool-Impact Expectation Survey, Working Paper.

Calculated

Interactive · after Bain & Company

What one weekly meeting delivers with LEAD21.

Bain & Company showed it in Harvard Business Review: a single weekly leadership meeting ties up around 300,000 working hours per year, because every level below prepares and feeds into it. Set your own structure.

Meeting duration (hours)

Participants in the meeting

Meetings per year (weeks)

Fully loaded cost per hour and person

Levels involved (incl. the meeting)

People per level below (branching)

Efficiency gain through LEAD21

How the load spreads across the levels

Working time bound per year

Cost per year

Releasable with LEAD21

Cascade model after Bain & Company (Harvard Business Review): the direct meeting time multiplies through preparation and input work across the levels involved. An estimated order of magnitude, not exact time tracking. A thinking frame for the hidden costs of poorly run meetings. FTE conversion based on 1,600 annual hours.

Interactive · Growth potential in euros

What LEAD21 is worth to your company.

Enter your revenue and set the expected improvement per dimension. Pre-filled with the defensible median values (outlier-robust), freely adjustable.

Annual revenue (€)

Clarity

Efficiency

Collaboration

Performance

Alignment

Negative stress (reduction)

Growth potential (gross)

Adjusted · after compounding

Contribution per dimension

Estimated value and revenue potential with consistent application, not an investment calculation and no guaranteed effects. The calculation factors come from independent external studies (Gallup, Towers Watson, LSA Global, etc.); the improvement values are expectations of experienced leaders (self-reported). The metrics are not additive.

Self-test · free

Evidence-Based Leadership · LEAD21 Code 08

Transformation & Performance Climate — in 10 minutes.

Nine performance levers plus an upfront estimate of complexity. Your profile appears instantly — with the ideal line, your two biggest levers and an initial classification of your organization type. Your answers stay on your device.

Relate every question to the organizational unit you have direct or indirect influence on. Choose your perspective:

From your own viewHow much clarity, effectiveness and collaboration do you experience yourself right now? From your employees' viewThis estimate comes surprisingly close to reality once you switch perspective. As the whole crewFor an evaluation with multiple perspectives, we run the team check together with you.

Calculated

Growth potential in euros

…and what that makes LEAD21 truly worth.

Scale the logic to your company — the calculation structure stays identical.
What external studies would suggest for a company with €20M revenue · 100 employees

Metric	+1% per improvement	+10% per improvement	Expectation² · revenue effect	External source
Clarity	+€96,000	+€960,000	+75% · +€7.20M	Gartenberg/Prat/Serafeim (Wharton · Columbia · Harvard): clarity × purpose → significantly higher ROA & returns · Gallup 2024
Efficiency	+€91,000	+€910,000	+40% · +€3.64M	Gallup Q12 meta-analysis 2024: +18% productivity (top vs. bottom quartile) · McKinsey Global Institute 2023 · Rogelberg/Otter.ai 2022: one third of all meetings unnecessary
Collaboration	+€86,000	+€860,000	+50% · +€4.30M	Gallup Q12 meta-analysis 2024: −32% quality defects, +10% customer loyalty (top vs. bottom quartile)
Performance	+€104,000	+€1,040,000	+37% · +€3.85M	Gallup Q12 meta-analysis 2024: +23% profitability · Towers Watson GWS: ~3× operating margin
Alignment	+€60,000	+€600,000	+40% · +€2.40M	LSA Global (410 companies, 8 industries): highly aligned companies grow 58% faster and are 72% more profitable · strategic clarity explains 31% of the performance gap
Negative stress	+€24,000	+€240,000	−40% · +€0.96M	Gallup 2024: −78% absenteeism (top quartile) · Gallup burnout: 63% more likely to be sick, 2.6× higher intent to leave · turnover & presenteeism costs
Total (gross)	+€461,000	+€4,610,000	+€22.3M	Not additive
Adjusted	+€300,000	+€3,000,000	€8–11M	After deduction · compounding

Study basis: Gallup Q12 meta-analysis 2024 · Towers Watson Global Workforce Study 2012 · Rogelberg/Otter.ai 2022 · Gartenberg, Prat & Serafeim (Organization Science) · Gallup burnout studies. Basis: 100 employees · avg. salary €80,000 · 60% of value creation generated by people.

Performance Compounding

Clarity accelerates efficiency. Efficiency enables better collaboration. Better collaboration raises performance. Performance reduces stress. The metrics are not additive — they are multiplicative.

Exponential effect

The improvement gets smaller. Your leverage becomes enormous. Where coordination already runs at the highest level — billion-euro projects, tight deadlines, complex transformations — 1% more can trigger an exponential swing.

How we calculate

We disclose our method — so every number stays traceable.

Median instead of average. We show the typical value, not the arithmetic mean. A single outlier at the top does not move it.
When in doubt, the smaller number. We count unclear answers conservatively or not at all. Defensible beats impressive.
Multiples count too. When someone says “it doubles”, that goes in as a legitimate expert estimate — without distorting the typical value.
Self-reported, not measured. These are expectations of experienced leaders, not effects measured in operations. We say so openly.
The number grows. Every new survey wave updates the values. Nothing is set in stone.

¹ Estimated value/revenue potential with consistent application — not an investment calculation, no guaranteed effects. The amounts shown are based exclusively on independent external studies and do not constitute a guarantee of economic results. ² According to external studies · not additive.

Evidence & research on the Transformation and Performance Climate

On the shoulders of motivation research.

LEAD21 connects motivation research, organizational climate, competence research, leadership psychology, and decision, meeting and transformation research into one integrated Leadership Operating System.

David C. McClelland · 1961

The father of modern motivation research

Success is not decided by intelligence or personality alone, but by three motives: achievement, power, affiliation. The shift from “What does a person know?” to “What moves a person?”.

The Achieving Society (1961) · Testing for Competence Rather Than Intelligence (1973) · Human Motivation (1987)

McBer & Company · from 1965

The bridge between science and leadership practice

The first competency models explained top performance through observable behavior, motives and competencies. The foundation for evidence-based leadership systems.

Litwin & Stringer · 1968

The discovery of performance climate

Leadership changes the organizational climate, and that climate shapes motivation, performance, innovation and collaboration. Performance climate is created by daily leadership behavior.

Motivation and Organizational Climate, Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration (1968)

Spencer & Spencer · 1993

Competence makes performance reproducible

Based on hundreds of McBer studies: top performance is observable, measurable and developable. Competent leaders create a performance-enhancing climate.

Competence at Work: Models for Superior Performance (1993)

Gerald Huesch · 2019–2026

Not just measuring performance climate, but shaping it systematically

LEAD21 Meta-Study and LEAD21 Leadership Climate Study. Repeatable leadership routines turn good leadership into a lasting high-performance climate. “Leadership is no longer taught. It is installed.”

These numbers. In your organization.

In the Grand MasterClass, you build your operating system from 21 Leadership Codes, applicable from day 1.

To the Grand MasterClass →To the offer

The evidence behind LEAD21.

Before and after, independently led.

Estimates by experienced leaders.

Models with external factors.

LEAD21 in the top 11% — the top quintile.

dimensions of the Transformation & Performance Climate significantly improved.

What leadership expects from the performance of a leadership system:

Four surveys. One pattern.

What leaders expect after the program.

Corporate Hyper-Growth program · €300M → €2.3bn

Corporate Finance Community

International automotive supplier and global market leader

Long-term study: leaders from 9 organizations — continuously expanded.

Where these numbers come from

What one weekly meeting delivers with LEAD21.

What LEAD21 is worth to your company.

Transformation & Performance Climate — in 10 minutes.

Your Transformation & Performance Climate

How to work with your result

…and what that makes LEAD21 truly worth.

On the shoulders of motivation research.

The father of modern motivation research

The bridge between science and leadership practice

The discovery of performance climate

Competence makes performance reproducible

Not just measuring performance climate, but shaping it systematically

These numbers. In your organization.

The Leadership Operating System
for the Intelligence Age.

The evidence behind LEAD21.

Before and after, independently led.

Estimates by experienced leaders.

Models with external factors.

LEAD21 in the top 11% — the top quintile.

dimensions of the Transformation & Performance Climate significantly improved.

What leadership expects from the performance of a leadership system:

Four surveys. One pattern.

What leaders expect after the program.

Corporate Hyper-Growth program · €300M → €2.3bn

Corporate Finance Community

International automotive supplier and global market leader

Long-term study: leaders from 9 organizations — continuously expanded.

Where these numbers come from

What one weekly meeting delivers with LEAD21.

What LEAD21 is worth to your company.

Transformation & Performance Climate — in 10 minutes.

Your Transformation & Performance Climate

How to work with your result

…and what that makes LEAD21 truly worth.

On the shoulders of motivation research.

The father of modern motivation research

The bridge between science and leadership practice

The discovery of performance climate

Competence makes performance reproducible

Not just measuring performance climate, but shaping it systematically

These numbers. In your organization.

The Leadership Operating Systemfor the Intelligence Age.

The Leadership Operating System
for the Intelligence Age.