Valeō from the Latin: to thrive, to be strong, to prevail

Stronger leaders. Aligned teams. Sustained results.

Valeo Leadership develops senior leaders, leadership teams and the next generation of leaders, and advises executives on the decisions where strategy and people meet. Our work is grounded in organizational psychology, performance science and real operating experience.

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Strategy consulting at BCG, PwC and Kearney ICF credentialed coaches Leadership Circle certified Grounded in organizational psychology
What we help with

When the business needs more from its leaders than they know how to give yet.

Organizations call us when the demands on their leaders have outpaced how those leaders, and their teams, currently work. The same challenges come up again and again.

  1. Leading through change

    Integrations, restructuring, new CEOs and founder transitions. C-suite leaders carry the people side of the change on top of full operating roles, and it decides whether the strategy lands.

  2. From functional to enterprise leader

    SVPs, EVPs and new members of the executive team who excel in their own function and are now expected to shape decisions about the whole business, and to be seen doing it.

  3. Teams that are not yet a team

    Executive and senior teams with unclear decision rights, unspoken tension or new members. We build the trust, alignment and ways of working that let them decide and act together.

  4. Performing without burning out

    Executives in demanding roles who need to sustain their energy, focus and judgment over years, not quarters.

  5. From doing to leading

    Strong operators still carrying work their teams should own. We help them delegate, develop their people and make room for the thinking only they can do.

  6. Building the next bench

    High potential and new leaders who need a shared leadership language, practical skills and a network of peers before they need them most.

What we do

Development for individual leaders, intact teams and whole cohorts.

01

Executive Coaching

One to one · six to twelve months

For leaders, from newly appointed executives to CEOs reporting to a board. Support and challenge in equal measure, so leaders:

  • Understand how they are experienced by others, and stay steady under pressure
  • Lead with intention rather than urgency, at a pace they can sustain
  • Build trust with their teams, peers, boards and sponsors
  • Develop leaders around them, not dependents, through coaching, delegation and accountability
  • Contribute to the whole business, not just their part of it
  • Hold their ground at senior tables, in tough conversations and when advocating for their impact

Built on 360 feedback, stakeholder interviews and three-way meetings with the sponsor, with coaching conversations kept confidential.

02

Leadership Team Development

Intact teams · team coaching and working sessions

Team coaching journeys and facilitated working sessions for executive and senior teams, built around the real work the team is doing.

  • Team alignment, decision rights and operating rhythm
  • Values and behaviours defined with the people who will live them
  • Integrating new leaders and resetting a team after change
03

Leadership Development Programs

Cohorts · within and across organizations

Multi-month programs that combine assessment, individual coaching, workshops and peer learning, always designed around the client's context.

  • High potential leader pathways and new manager programs
  • Cohorts drawn from across an organization or a group of companies
  • Enterprise leadership cohorts for senior executives, within one organization or across an industry

Enterprise leadership cohort

A twelve-month program for a small group of senior executives, combining workshops, individual coaching and a peer network that lasts well beyond the program.

Leadership frameworks

Leadership competencies and success profiles built from interviews with an organization's top-performing leaders, with a rubric from learner to mastery, interview questions and development ideas, so the same definition of good leadership runs through hiring, development, performance and succession.

Keynotes and workshops

Stand-alone sessions for leadership teams, offsites and employee groups, on sustainable high performance, wellbeing for high performers, emotional intelligence, executive presence and leadership brand.

Strategic advisory

A thinking partner for the decisions between strategy and people.

Some decisions do not belong to strategy or to HR. They sit between the two, and they usually land on a chief executive or leadership team that is already at capacity. Strategic advisory gives them an experienced partner from outside the system who reads the business and the room with equal fluency.

Where it helps

  • Integrations, restructuring and new operating models
  • Founder and leadership transitions, including succession
  • Organization design and the shape of the senior team
  • Turning a strategy into owners, rhythm and accountability
  • People decisions that carry real business risk

How it works

A defined mandate with the CEO or executive team, typically three to six months, with regular working sessions and access between them when things move quickly.

It is not consulting. There are no long reports and no hourly billing, and the aim is always to build the capability in-house, so the organization needs less outside help over time.

Advisory is kept separate from any coaching relationships within the same organization, with clear confidentiality agreed at the outset.

Our approach

Three disciplines, one conversation.

Leadership development usually comes from psychology or from business. Valeo brings both, plus the science of how people sustain high performance, so the work can move between the personal and the strategic without changing gear.

i

Organizational psychology

Validated assessments and evidence-based methods, including the Leadership Circle Profile and CliftonStrengths, to understand what drives how leaders and teams behave.

ii

Performance science

What elite performers know about energy, recovery and focus, applied to knowledge work so that leaders can perform at a high level for the long haul.

iii

Operating experience

Strategy consulting and executive roles, including reporting to boards, so the advice holds up once it goes back into the room.

In our clients' words

What changes.

Jacquie coached a key member of our C-suite during a pivotal stage of growth for our organization, and the impact was exceptional.

What stood out most was how quickly the work translated into visible change in style and approach as a leader. They became more confident in major decision-making, more effective in delegating ownership, and even more poised in moments that called for a steady hand.

Jacquie brings a rare combination of insight, candour, empathy, and practical business judgment. I would highly recommend her to any organization investing in senior executive leadership capability.

Chief Executive OfficerCanadian services company, sponsor of a C-suite coaching engagement
One of the most significant shifts you helped me make was moving from primarily thinking as a functional leader to thinking as an enterprise leader.
Vice President, Marketing and CommunicationsFully integrated Canadian real estate acquisition, management, development and investment organization
The coaching challenged me to recognize that the skills that got me here, taking ownership, getting involved and caring deeply about my people, are still strengths, but I need to use them differently at this level.
Global Customer Service LeaderExecutive coaching, global building technology company
You can tell the people that have a personal trainer, and the same is true with an executive coach. Similar to a financial advisor, your return far outweighs your investment.
Robert Hemmerdinger, Chief Sales and Marketing OfficerDelta Intelligent Business Solutions
Coaching executive leaders is an enormous task. Much harder with a group of senior leaders, and yet ironically, I think the group that needs it the most.
Managing Director, Capital MarketsCanadian chartered bank, enterprise leadership cohort
The coaches are amazing. There is a sincerity there that is felt. In a business that can be very transactional, human is wonderful.
Managing Director, Capital MarketsCanadian chartered bank, enterprise leadership cohort
Increased our team empathy, effectiveness and communication substantially. Highly recommended.
Vice President, Revenue and BrandLeadership team development, B2B services company
Selected engagements

A sample of programs and engagements delivered.

Executive coachingCoached presidents and CEOs reporting to boards, and multiple members of the executive committee of a fully integrated Canadian real estate organization.
Leading through changeCoached the executive team of a global building technology company through new CEO leadership and a cross-border integration.
Leadership frameworksDeveloped global leadership competencies for a professional services firm, drawing on interviews with senior leaders across North America and Europe, with rubrics, interview guides and a launch toolkit.
CultureFacilitated values and behaviours work with executive teams and national organizations, from one-day working sessions to full culture assessments.
Executive cohortsDelivered a twelve-month enterprise leadership cohort for senior executives from across an industry, with a national industry association and a professional services sponsor.
Leadership teamsDelivered a six-month program for a sales and member success leadership team, combining 360 assessments, coaching and team workshops to rebuild trust and alignment.
Jacquie Chapman, Founder and Managing Director of Valeo Leadership
Jacquie ChapmanFounder and Managing Director
Who we are

Founded by a coach who has sat in the chair.

Jacquie Chapman founded Valeo after more than 25 years across strategy consulting, corporate leadership and start-ups. She continues to work as an operating executive alongside Valeo, which keeps her close to the realities her clients face.

  • Strategy consulting at BCG, PwC and Kearney
  • Executive roles reporting to boards, including Chief Operating Officer of a venture-backed health technology company; director on two boards
  • MBA, Ivey Business School; Honours BA, Queen's University
  • Former nationally competitive springboard diver and ski racer, where the interest in performance science began
  • Associate Certified Coach (ICF) and Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC)
  • Leadership Circle Profile Certified Practitioner
  • Masters in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Harvard Extension School (in progress)
  • Guest lecturer, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

For team work and larger programs, Jacquie works with Managing Partner Kyra Blessing and a bench of coaches and faculty with backgrounds in organizational psychology, management consulting, executive search and performance science. Every engagement is led by a senior practitioner.

How we start

Every engagement begins with your context.

1

Discovery conversation

Thirty minutes to understand your leadership challenges, team dynamics and organizational context. No preparation needed.

2

Tailored proposal

A customized approach built around your priorities, whether that is coaching for one leader, a team journey, a program or an advisory mandate.

3

Partnership kickoff

We agree on objectives, timing and how success will be measured. Most engagements launch within two to four weeks.

Start with a conversation.

Thirty minutes, no charge and no pitch. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you, and point you to someone who is.

jacquie@valeoleadership.com →