Burnout is not a workload problem · Lead Differently addresses what is actually underneath it · October 2026 · Ten places
Burnout is not a workload problem · Lead Differently addresses what is actually underneath it · October 2026 · Ten places
Flip the Learning
Most leadership development exports Western thinking to the world. We bring the world's thinking back to Western leaders.
the problem with the current playbook
Most leadership programmes give you new frameworks for the challenges you already have. They bring in better thinking from the same world you are already operating in.
Novel Solutions for Wicked Problems does something different. It takes you into a world where the problems are harder, the resources are scarcer, and the solutions are more ingenious and brings back a lens that changes how you see everything you return to.
That world is India.
Why India?
India is not a case study.
A world where a Mars orbiter was built for less than the budget of a Hollywood film. Where digital payment infrastructure serves a billion people in a way no Western system has matched. Where entrepreneurs solve at scale what the West solves expensively, if at all.
India compels you to move. It never lets you settle into a fixed position. Every assumption you carry about leadership, about resources, about what is possible, India has already found a different answer. Encountering that answer, in the streets and communities and organisations where it lives, does something that no framework can replicate.
It unsettles your thinking. Not your life. Your thinking.
The Mumbai Immersion
A leadership journey into a different world
Six days immersed in one of the most dynamic cities on earth. You will meet social innovators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders who have turned India's greatest challenges into solutions the West is only beginning to understand.
You will not be observing. You will be in conversation. With people whose reality will unsettle assumptions you never knew you were making.
You return with a different lens. Not a new framework to add to the ones you already have. A different way of seeing the ones you already face.
No trips are currently scheduled. If this is something you want to explore — for yourself, your team, or your organisation — get in touch.
You return with three things
A different lens.
Not a new framework to add to the ones you already have; a different way of seeing the ones you already face.
A network that matters
A small group of peers who have been in the same disorienting, clarifying experience. That bond does not dissolve when you get on the plane home.
What would I do if I could see this challenge from somewhere completely outside my own assumptions?
An answer to the questions most leaders never ask
What we offer
Three ways to work with Novel Solutions
The flagship. Six days in India with a small group of leaders. Dilemma-led, community-rooted, transformative. For individuals and corporate teams.
Mumbai Immersion
A six-month closed cohort of monthly masterclasses on the inner life of the leader. For senior leaders and founders addressing burnout at its root. Next cohort opens October 2026.
Lead Differently
The same methodology of reverse learning, dilemmas, the Global South lens brought into your organisation. Designed for leadership teams who want to do the inner work together. Each programme built around your specific context and challenges.
Bespoke Programmes
Testimonials
"I chose to go to India because I wanted to look at the world through a different lens. As leaders, we can get stuck looking through the same window, limiting our perspective on what's possible. Two moments transformed my thinking: being exposed to remarkable entrepreneurs who started with simple ideas and scaled them into organisations with global impact, and being fully immersed in the culture of India — from the early morning market to eating street food. The timing was perfect. This experience came just as I was appointed CEO, when I needed fresh perspectives most. It has shaped my approach ever since."
Rachel Ross, CEO, ElevatorUK
"A unique opportunity to meet and learn with everyday inspiring people who are transforming their lives and the places they live in. Being part of a group that could then think, plan and act together made this not only a journey of discovery but a plan of action."
Emma Ackerman, Executive Director, Mind
"I strongly encourage you to join the next Novel Solutions study tour. India is the cradle of innovation — in tech, in combating poverty, in health systems. Everything operates at scale. You will not see small pilots. We learn so much more when we see ourselves and our work in a completely different cultural context. Noel has a deep understanding of the Indian context and its relevance for challenges in the Global North. And if that doesn't convince you — with Noel in charge, you are going to have fun."
Dr Michael Little, Ratio
