THE CHALLENGE:
The National Transport Authority (NTA) is Ireland’s statutory body responsible for the planning, regulation, and delivery of public transport across the country. The NTA operates in a highly regulated public-sector environment, with complex stakeholder dynamics and increasing leadership demands linked to transformation, workforce planning, and public accountability. This context made it clear that investing meaningfully in the leadership capability of its existing and newly promoted managers was not only timely, but essential.
The NTA needed its leaders to think strategically, manage people with greater confidence and emotional intelligence, and contribute actively to a culture of collaboration and continuous growth. With 14 managers drawn from six directorates, the programme needed to honour the diversity of experience within the cohort whilst building a strong, shared sense of purpose.
THE SOLUTION:
Working closely with the NTA’s HR and Organisational Development team, we designed and delivered a 10-month, in-person Leadership Development Programme (LDP) running from September 2025 to June 2026. Every element was shaped around the NTA’s specific context, culture, and strategic ambitions.
The programme was led by an exceptional team of learning facilitators and coaches, each bringing a wealth of expertise and genuine commitment to the growth of every participant. Dr. Celine Mullins, CEO and Founder of Adaptas, served as Lead Facilitator, drawing on nearly 20 years of experience as a psychologist, coach, and facilitator. She was joined by Ciarán Hourican, Elizabeth Kingston, and Kevin Quigley, each a specialist in their field, ensuring every module was delivered with the depth, rigour, and human connection that define an Adaptas programme. Each participant was assigned a coach to work with throughout the programme. Participants were empowered and facilitated to create structured peer coaching pods, and were paired with a learning buddy (colleague).
The programme launched with a half-day kick-off session, where participants met their facilitators and peers, agreed on shared operating principles, and were matched into learning buddy pairs. From there, the group moved through eleven full-day, in-person modules delivered monthly, underpinned by insights from neuropsychology and designed to build progressively on one another. The modules covered:
– Group Cohesion, Communication and Behavioural Preferences
– Strategic Thinking and Planning
– Workforce Planning and Recruitment
– Emotional Intelligence and People Management
– Coaching and Mentoring as a Manager
– Legislation and Policy Frameworks
– Leading Diverse Teams
– Stakeholder Management
– Transformation and Change Management
– Conflict Management
– Leadership Presence
Exploration and understanding of communication and behavioural preferences (self and other) was woven throughout the learning from the very first module, giving participants a shared language for understanding their own communication styles and appreciating the diversity within their teams.
Beginning after Module 2, each participant was matched with a coach through a dedicated coaching survey, ensuring a thoughtful and personalised pairing. Each participant then received executive coaching sessions spread across the programme, offering a confidential and individual space to explore their own leadership priorities and challenges alongside the wider group journey.
Participants were also guided through a peer coaching process and peer coaching pods met between modules to support and grow.
Pre-work was assigned before each session and feedback surveys were issued after every module, enabling continuous listening and iterative adjustment throughout. Participants also received supplementary articles/ videos/ articles to deepen their learning beyond each module.
THE RESULTS THUS FAR:
The NTA Leadership Development Programme has been met with strong engagement and consistently positive feedback throughout. Not only has attendance been consistently excellent throughout the programme, but this cohort has also stood out from the very first session for the quality of participation, depth of discussions and openness to reflection.
At the end of each module, participants were invited to complete a feedback survey. The data gathered across the eight modules completed to date paints a compelling picture of a programme that is landing with real impact. Across all survey responses as of April 2026:
– 96% of survey respondents agreed that they learned something useful from each module that they could apply to their current or future role in leadership
– 100% of respondents agreed that the facilitators were knowledgeable and delivered the material professionally
– 95% of respondents agreed that they could apply the learning to their professional growth and goals
– All respondents said they would recommend the programme to a colleague based on their experience
These results reflect not only the quality and relevance of the programme content, but the consistently high standard of facilitation delivered across every module. The data also speaks to something deeper: that participants are not simply engaging with the material in the room, but leaving each session with tangible tools and genuine intention to grow.
As a testament to this programme’s success, approval has been granted for a second cohort to progress through the NTA Leadership Development Programme. Planning for the new cohort delivery is already underway, reflecting the NTA’s ongoing commitment to strengthening leadership capability across the organisation, in collaboration with Adaptas.
The strength of the collaboration between Adaptas and the NTA also led to the development and implementation of a bespoke, shorter programme, designed to support a broader population of colleagues with targeted, practical development. This additional programme request was instigated by some of the managers attending the Leadership Development Programme (LDP) for their own direct reports, which further underscores the strong impact of the LDP.
FEEDBACK:
“The National Transport Authority (NTA) has partnered with Adaptas Training to design and deliver a bespoke in-house Leadership Development Programme, and the impact has been exceptional. From the outset, they took the time to truly understand our culture, our strategic goals, and the real-world challenges our leaders face. The result was a programme that felt uniquely ours; practical, relevant, and aligned with the behaviours we want to foster. Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive. Many participants have described the experience as transformative, citing increased self-awareness, improved collaboration, and a renewed sense of purpose in their roles. As an HR function, we’ve already seen the benefits in day-to-day interactions and in the overall maturity of our leadership capability.
Adaptas has been a true partner—responsive, insightful, and deeply invested in our success. I would highly recommend them to any organisation looking to meaningfully develop their leaders and build a sustainable culture of growth and accountability.”
– Karla Skehan, HR Business Partner, National Transport Authority
The most honest measure of any development programme is what participants carry out of it. Across Cohort 1 of the NTA Leadership Development Programme, feedback told a clear and consistent story: something real was shifting. From self-awareness and strategic thinking to emotional intelligence and coaching, participants left each session not just informed, but provoked to reflect, adapt, and lead with greater courage.
A range of comments from the modules:
“The quality is better than similar leadership courses I’ve been on.”
“The Quality of the trainers and targeting of content is impressive”
“The facilitators have been really good at using practical examples to relay key points.”
“I learned about ways of thinking and that not everyone thinks as I do. That sometimes it is easier to identify what is going on as an observer versus when you are in the situation.”
“Team work resulted in my greater understanding of the current (actual) strategic approach and where this is common across the NTA. This understanding will help me develop approaches to improve how we work.”
“Emotional Intelligence is difficult to define but it is clear when you see someone with it. It is something that makes a huge difference to employees so needs to be worked on.”
“I learned practical tips for supporting the development of my new staff members. I recognised ways I automatically classify people that might negatively impact both of us and our work.”
“I have experience with using the procedures discussed and thought I had a good handle on the topics, but I learned a lot in this module that will help me make better decisions.”
“Taking a ‘Coaching’ approach in managing others is difficult but ultimately rewarding”
“I’m taking awareness of observing emotional intelligence in others in understanding their capability for certain roles. Also observing my own emotional state and managing how I engage others in that regard.”
“I have a better understanding of how people in other directorates are experiencing similar issues to my own”