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The Leadership Awards 2026

The Leadership Awards celebrate exceptional leadership across individuals and organisations, honoring those driving innovation, impact and excellence. 

Awards winners 2025

Nominate yourself or someone inspiring today

Every day, people and organisations make a real difference through the way they lead. They may not seek recognition or even think of their work as remarkable. They are simply getting on with the job: developing others, challenging convention, creating better workplaces, investing in future leaders and making an impact beyond their own organisation. 

The Leadership Awards are a chance to give that work the attention it deserves. 

Nominations are open until 19 August 2026 

If someone has made a difference through their leadership, or an organisation is doing work that others could learn from, this is your opportunity to put them in the spotlight. 

Good leadership deserves recognition. 

Nominate today at no cost

What does great leadership look like? 

There is no single answer. 

You might see it in an organisation investing in young people, an individual who brings out the best in colleagues or a programme that genuinely builds confidence and capability. Sometimes it is an idea that changes the way people work. 

That is why the Leadership Awards recognise leadership in all its forms. 

The categories span emerging talent and international leaders, innovative programmes and organisations that make leadership part of everyday practice. They also recognise books that move the conversation forward and providers that help others lead better. 

Who do you know that deserves to be recognised? 

The Leadership Award Categories 

Supporting Young Leaders Award

Great leaders are developed, not made overnight. 

Behind many confident young leaders is someone who noticed their potential early and gave them room to grow. 

The Supporting Young Leaders Award recognises organisations that invest in the next generation of leadership. This could be through apprenticeships, leadership development, a strong induction programme, manager acceleration or an ongoing commitment to learning. 

Nominate an organisation that: 

  • Creates meaningful opportunities for young people to develop as leaders 

  • Invests in leadership capability early in people's careers 

  • Is helping the next generation build confidence, skills and experience 

Know an organisation doing this well? Put them forward. 

Innovation with Impact Award

Innovation only matters when it makes a difference. 

The most valuable innovation is not always the newest technology or the biggest idea. What matters is whether it changes things for the better. 

The Innovation with Impact Award celebrates organisations using fresh thinking to improve how people work, learn and thrive. That might involve technology, culture, wellbeing or a new approach to the employee experience. 

Nominate an organisation that: 

  • Is using innovation to solve a meaningful challenge 

  • Has created better outcomes for people or performance 

  • Is showing what happens when new thinking is put into practice 

If innovation is making a genuine difference, it deserves to be recognised. 

Most Innovative IA Programme

Leadership learning should do more than pass on knowledge. It should change people. 

The strongest leadership development stays with people long after the programme has finished. 

This award celebrates Institute Approved programmes that are rethinking leadership development through learning that is engaging, personal and designed to have a lasting impact. 

We are looking for programmes that build confidence, help people move past imposter syndrome, encourage authenticity and develop the skills needed to lead well. 

Nominate a programme that: 

  • Delivers an exceptional learning experience 

  • Makes leadership development relevant and personal 

  • Creates a lasting difference in people's confidence and capability 

Think a programme deserves recognition?

Leadership Provider of the Year

Who develops tomorrow's leaders? 

Great leadership rarely happens by chance. It grows through thoughtful, high-quality development. 

The Leadership Provider of the Year Award recognises organisations that deliver outstanding leadership learning and give people the confidence, skills and mindset to succeed. 

We are looking for providers that bring together innovative programmes, exceptional learner experiences and clear evidence of impact. 

Nominate a provider that: 

  • Delivers outstanding leadership development 

  • Creates meaningful experiences for learners 

  • Can demonstrate the difference its work makes 

Recognise the organisation helping others become better leaders. 

Leadership Excellence Award - Organisation

What does leadership excellence look like? 

It is not one standout achievement or a single moment. It is what an organisation shows consistently in the way it makes decisions, develops people, works with others and delivers results. 

The Leadership Excellence Award recognises organisations that demonstrate excellence across the Five Dimensions of Leadership: Authenticity, Vision, Achievement, Ownership and Collaboration. 

Nominate an organisation that: 

  • Embeds strong leadership throughout its organisation 

  • Demonstrates excellence across the Five Dimensions of Leadership 

  • Creates a culture where leadership makes a genuine difference 

Who is setting the standard for leadership excellence?

Emerging Young Leaders Award

Every experienced leader started out as someone’s rising star. 

Some people show their potential early. 

They may already inspire the people around them or have shown unusual promise. Perhaps they have taken their first important step into leadership and made it clear that they have something valuable to offer. 

The Emerging Young Leaders Award recognises that potential before it becomes widely known. 

Nominate an emerging leader who: 

  • Is showing exceptional leadership potential 

  • Is already making a positive difference to others 

  • Has demonstrated ambition, initiative and a commitment to developing as a leader 

Know someone with leadership written all over them? Recognise them. 

Leadership Excellence Award - Individual

Leadership is measured by more than results. It is also measured by the difference someone makes. 

Some leaders have an impact that goes beyond their job description. 

They build trust, bring people with them and take responsibility. They turn ideas into action and create the conditions for others to succeed. 

The Leadership Excellence Award recognises individuals who show excellence across the Five Dimensions of Leadership: Authenticity, Vision, Achievement, Ownership and Collaboration. 

Nominate a leader who: 

  • Consistently demonstrates outstanding leadership 

  • Inspires and enables others to succeed 

  • Makes a lasting difference through the way they lead 

If someone consistently shows what great leadership looks like, this is their moment. 

International Leader of the Year

Great leadership reaches beyond borders. 

Leadership can inspire across countries, cultures and continents. 

The International Leader of the Year Award celebrates an exceptional individual whose leadership is having a lasting impact around the world. 

We are looking for leaders who combine purpose, influence and achievement, while showing excellence across the Five Dimensions of Leadership. 

Nominate a leader who: 

  • Is making a meaningful impact internationally 

  • Inspires others across cultures, countries or communities 

  • Demonstrates outstanding leadership with a global reach 

Celebrate a leader whose influence reaches far beyond borders. 

Leadership Book of the Year

The best leadership books do more than inform us. They change how we think. 

Some books leave us with useful ideas. Others reshape the way we see leadership altogether. 

The Leadership Book of the Year Award recognises books that question conventional thinking, offer fresh perspectives and move the leadership conversation forward. 

Nominations can come from authors, publishers or readers. 

Nominate a book that: 

  • Challenges established thinking about leadership 

  • Introduces fresh ideas or perspectives 

  • Is helping shape the future of leadership thinking 

Which leadership book has stayed with you and changed the way you think? 

One nomination can make a difference 

Recognition matters. 

It tells people their work has been noticed. It gives organisations a chance to share what they have learned and draws attention to leadership practices that others can use. 

You do not have to be the person doing the work to see its value. 

If you know someone who deserves to be recognised, nominate them today. 

Nominations close 19 August 

Nominate today

Celebrate leadership that makes a difference 

The Leadership Awards will be part of Leadership Live 2026, The Institute of Leadership’s flagship conference, taking place on 29 September 2026 in Milton Keynes. 

The awards will celebrate people and organisations that show what leadership can achieve, while bringing their work into a wider conversation about where leadership goes next. 

Who will you put forward? 

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