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Why Developing Leaders Isn’t the Same as Changing How Leadership Works
OPENING

FranklinCovey has helped millions of leaders. Their work is built on strong principles, structured programs, and decades of research into leadership and performance.

And for many organizations, that’s exactly what they need.

THE DIFFERENCE

But there’s a difference between developing leaders… and changing how leadership actually shows up inside a business.

That difference is where most companies get stuck.

THE GAP

Because even with strong leadership development, the same patterns often return once the work begins.

Pinpoint Management exists to address that gap by changing how leadership functions inside the business itself.

What Each Approach Is

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These are two different approaches to improving leadership.

Approach One
FranklinCovey

FranklinCovey is a global leadership development company focused on improving how individuals lead through structured programs and frameworks.

Their approach includes:

  • Principle-based leadership training, including well-known programs like The 4 Essential Roles of Leadership
  • Structured learning journeys built around leadership frameworks
  • Facilitator-led programs and workshops
  • Tools and content designed to reinforce behavior change

These programs are designed to help leaders understand and apply proven leadership principles across an organization.

Their model is built to develop leaders at scale through consistent, research-backed content.

Approach Two
Pinpoint Management (PPM)

Pinpoint Management is a business design firm built on Empowerment Design.

Instead of focusing on developing leadership through programs, it focuses on how leadership actually functions inside the business.

It changes:

  • How decisions are made in real situations
  • How teams think under pressure
  • How problems are approached and resolved
  • How ownership shows up across the organization

The goal is not to develop leadership separately.

It is to make leadership something the business produces consistently through how it operates.

What Each Approach Is Good For

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Where FranklinCovey Works Well

FranklinCovey is well suited for organizations that want:

  • →Structured leadership development programs
  • →Consistent content across large teams
  • →A shared set of principles and frameworks
  • →Facilitator-led training experiences
  • →Scalable leadership education

It is especially effective in environments where alignment and consistency across a large group is a priority.

Where PPM Works Well

PPM is effective when leadership needs to show up inside the day-to-day work, not just in structured development settings.

It works best for:

  • →Founder-led companies where decisions continue to flow back to leadership
  • →Teams that have completed training but still struggle with follow-through
  • →Organizations where progress depends on constant involvement from a few people
  • →Businesses where decisions don't consistently carry forward
  • →Leaders who feel the gap between what's taught and what actually happens

This is not about reinforcing principles.

It is about changing how leadership behaves under real conditions.

Where Each Approach Falls Short

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Where FranklinCovey Is Limited
FranklinCovey’s model is built around strong content and structured development. But like most program-based approaches, it operates outside the flow of daily work.

Because of that:

  • Leadership development can become separate from execution
  • Ideas are understood but not consistently applied
  • Reinforcement depends on continued training or facilitation
  • Behavior can shift during programs but drift over time
This is not a flaw in the content. It’s a limitation of where and how the development happens. Leadership is being developed… but the business itself is not changing how leadership is supported. So the environment continues to shape behavior more than the training does.
Where PPM Is Limited
PPM is not built around structured programs or standardized content. It does not provide a defined curriculum or a single leadership model to roll out across an organization.

It requires:

  • Working inside real business conditions
  • Addressing leadership as it shows up in real time
  • Changing how the business operates over time
For organizations looking for a clear program, structured training path, or large-scale content rollout, FranklinCovey may be the better fit.

PPM becomes more valuable when the goal shifts from developing leaders… to changing how leadership actually works inside the business.

Real-World Scenario

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A company invests in a well-known leadership program. Leaders go through the training. They learn principles, frameworks, and ways to approach leadership more effectively.

After the program:

  • →Conversations improve
  • →Alignment increases
  • →People feel more equipped
For a while, things move forward. But over time, something starts to feel familiar.

Inevitably decisions begin to stall again. You will see and feel certain issues keep coming back. And you recognise it as more questions flow back to leadership.

So the instinct is to reinforce the training. More sessions and more reminders and more structure. Not because the program didn't work. Because the business itself never changed how leadership is supported.
PPM

Now compare that to a business working with PPM. Instead of focusing on reinforcing what was taught, the focus shifts to:

  • →How decisions are actually made in real time
  • →How teams think when conditions change
  • →How problems are understood before being solved

Over time, the business begins to operate differently.

As you install, decisions start carrying forward and ownership shows up without being pushed. Your progress no longer depends on constant reinforcement.

The difference is not the quality of the leadership development.

It's whether leadership is something people remember or something the business consistently produces.

Who Should Choose Which Approach

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Choose FranklinCovey If:

  • You want structured leadership programs for your team
  • You need consistent content across a large organization
  • You are building a shared leadership framework
  • You value facilitator-led development experiences
OR

Choose PPM If:


  • Leadership doesn’t consistently show up after development efforts
  • Decisions get revisited or stall over time
  • Ownership depends on constant reinforcement
  • Your team relies heavily on a few key leaders
  • You want leadership to function inside the business, not alongside it

This is for the leader who has already invested in development.

And is now asking:

Why isn’t it showing up the way it should?

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Comparison Table

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FranklinCovey
PPM (Pinpoint Management)
Develops leaders through programs
Changes how leadership functions inside the business
Based on structured frameworks
Built into real-time execution
Training and facilitator-led
Integrated into daily operations
Scalable across large organizations
Adapted to how the business actually runs
Reinforced through content and sessions
Reinforced through how work happens
Focuses on principles and behavior
Focuses on thinking, decisions, and ownership
Leadership is developed
Leadership is produced by the business

FAQ

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FranklinCovey develops leaders through structured programs and frameworks. PPM changes how leadership functions inside the business by embedding it into how decisions, thinking, and execution happen.
Yes. It is one of the most established leadership development providers and is well suited for organizations that want structured, scalable programs.
When leadership development does not consistently carry over into day-to-day execution, and the same challenges continue to surface despite training.
It changes how leadership shows up in real time, including how decisions are made, how problems are handled, and how ownership develops across the team.
Businesses that want leadership to be built into how the company operates, rather than developed separately and applied later.

Personal effectiveness doesn’t fix leadership.

Leadership holds when it is built into how the business operates, not managed through individual habits.

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Explore Business Design for Leadership.