— EXCEED Leadership™
Where authenticity and competence are the real performance.
EXCEED Leadership™ is EEG's dedicated leadership development practice — built to formalise and scale the programs, frameworks, and IP developed over two decades of leading, advising, and mentoring senior leaders across government, technology, and enterprise.
Month formal program
durations
Delivery formats
Formal and bespoke
Leadership development
tiers
Proprietary assessment at the
core of every program
Years of leadership experience
behind every program
"Leadership development is not an add-on to our advisory work — it is core to what we believe."
EXCEED was built around a fundamental belief: that organisations perform best when their leaders are genuinely capable, authentically confident, and supported in developing the skills required for the next level — not just the level they are already at.
The frameworks underpinning EXCEED emerged from a distinct perspective: one that centres what mainstream development programs consistently overlook. The real barriers to advancement are rarely about capability. They are about how capable people are seen, how they are supported, and whether the environment asks them to perform a version of leadership that is not their own.
Programs are designed for organisations serious about building leadership capability as a sustained competitive advantage — not checking a development box. Every program is grounded in real leadership experience, not theory, and built to create lasting behaviour change.
— Across all EXCEED programs
What every participant builds.
— How we deliver
Formal programs and bespoke engagements — across both streams.
EXCEED programs are available in two delivery models. Both are available across the leadership development stream and the women's specific development stream. The right choice depends on your organisation's context, cohort size, and development goals.
Formal program
Structured cohort engagement
A sequenced, cohort-based program that builds leadership capability progressively over 6 or 12 months. Designed for organisations investing in a defined group of leaders with shared development goals.
Full-cohort kickoff session — establishing the group, the framework, and shared language
Monthly group sessions — building skills, sharing experience, and applying frameworks in real context
Individual 1:1 coaching — personalised support woven throughout the program duration
Available in 6-month or 12-month formats
In-person, virtual, or hybrid delivery
Bespoke program
Custom-designed for your context
A program designed specifically for your organisation's cohort, culture, and development priorities. Ideal for organisations with specific challenges, diverse participant levels, or unique contextual needs. Format is entirely flexible — from a once-off masterclass or all-day introduction session through to a multi-month intensive — built around what your people actually need.
Discovery process to understand your context, cohort, and goals
Custom curriculum design drawing on EXCEED frameworks and IP
Flexible format — once-off masterclass, intensive, modular, or multi-session
Standalone workshops and conference keynotes also available
Can be integrated into broader EEG advisory and transformation engagements
— Leadership development programs
A clear pathway from emerging leader to executive.
EXCEED was born out of a frustration most leaders recognise: sitting in development programs where the offer was good intentions and networking — but not the actual tools needed to perform better, address real gaps, or prepare for what comes next.
These programs are built differently. Each tier gives people practical frameworks, honest feedback, and real experience — applicable immediately in their current role and the next one. And for organisations, the logic is straightforward: developing your high performers into your next leaders is significantly less expensive than hiring externally — and far less likely to cost you the culture you have spent years building.
Tier 01
Future Leader
For high-potential individual contributors stepping into leadership for the first time. Builds the foundations of authentic leadership — confidence, communication, navigating teams, and understanding the shift from doing to leading.
6 or 12 months
Best for: High-potential ICs identified for leadership roles, first-time managers in their first 12 months
Tier 02
Future Executive
For high-potential managers building the capability and credibility for executive leadership. Develops strategic thinking, executive presence, stakeholder influence, and the resilience required to perform under sustained pressure.
6 or 12 months
Best for: Senior managers and directors on the path to executive leadership
Tier 03 — Pinnacle
Executive Excellence
The pinnacle program. For current executive leaders building the conditions for sustained high performance, resilience, and lasting impact — at the level where the decisions matter most, failures are most public, and the support is often least.
6 or 12 months
Best for: Current executives, C-suite, Directors-General, and senior government leaders
The 5V™ Leadership Assessment
A baseline that changes the development conversation.
Every EXCEED program begins with the 5V™ — a proprietary leadership assessment measuring readiness across five dimensions. It moves the conversation from aspiration to evidence: a clear, scored baseline showing where a leader is today, where the gaps are, and what to prioritise.
For individuals, the assessment produces a personalised development roadmap. For organisations, aggregate team data reveals systemic patterns across the leadership population — the kind of intelligence that makes a meaningful business case for targeted investment.
The 5V™ is deployable to any leader in any organisation. Individual, team, and 360-degree options are available.
Vitality
Energy management, resilience, and sustainable high performance. Measures work-life integration, stress management, and renewal practices.
Boundary setting · Energy restoration · Purpose alignment
Assessment options
Individual self-assessment with personalised report
360-degree option with manager and peer input
Team deployment with aggregate analytics for organisations
— Open masterclass
The Credibility Gap
A masterclass for leaders who want to close the gap between how capable they are and how capable they feel — and build the conditions for authentic, sustainable high performance.
Available as an open public masterclass across five Australian cities, or as a private organisational program. Open to all leaders.
Authenticity + Competence > Performance
What we explore
Why performing leadership is exhausting and ultimately ineffective
The link between perfectionism and the imposter feelings you are trying to escape
Building genuine confidence through self-knowledge — not external validation
Leading authentically in environments that expect something different
Creating the conditions for sustained high performance
Format & availability
Half-day intensive format
Open tour: five cities across Australia
Private program available for organisations
Suitable for all leaders — not women-specific
In-person preferred; virtual available
Forthcoming
You Were Never Behind.
What They Never Told Female Leaders About Confidence, Competence, and Staying Power.
Cindy Schwartz's forthcoming book challenges the narratives that hold capable women back — and offers a grounded, experience-led framework for leading authentically in high-stakes environments. Currently in submission with major publishers.
— Why Cindy
Programs built from lived experience — not theory.
Every EXCEED program is built on frameworks developed by Cindy Schwartz — who has navigated over two decades of senior leadership at Microsoft, Gartner, and Amazon Web Services, and spent fifteen years mentoring female leaders through the specific challenges of leading in environments that were not built for them. Programs are led by Cindy and delivered by EXCEED facilitators who share the same philosophy and standards.
She understands what it costs to lead at the highest level — the pressure, the self-doubt, the moments of wondering if you belong — because she has lived it. Her approach combines strategic rigour, emotional intelligence, and the hard-won wisdom of what actually works. Not what should work in theory.
The programs she wished existed when she was navigating her own career.
