Professional Leader Founding Story
About Professional Leader Magazine
Trusted by Leading Organizations
Leadership Development Beyond Training Courses
The Question That Shaped Everything
Professional Leader Magazine began with a simple question. What happens after your training course ends? The answer has shaped our publication since its inception in 2012. We recognise you need extra support, but budget constraints may prevent you from attending our other courses or coaching programmes. Therefore, you need a leadership resource that stays with you, reinforcing ethical high performance and offering fresh thinking in a format you can return to time and again until you can continue your training with us.
Built from Real Workplace Practice
Professional Leader Magazine is part of a leadership ecosystem developed over thirty years of practical organisational experience. Its editorial perspective is rooted in actual workplace challenges rather than theoretical ideas. Author and editor Nicholas C. Hill FCMI FIoL FIC presents insights gained from extensive immersion in real leadership and management practices. The result is improved performance, productivity, efficiency, and culture, which translate into meaningful outcomes for your organisation.
Filling a Different Market Gap
Many business publications provide news, short opinions, and trend commentary, which is helpful in the moment but easy to forget by the next quarter. Professional Leader Magazine was created to fill a different gap for you. It exists to extend your development beyond formal training and to bring you unabridged exclusive interviews with global thought leaders, along with original leadership principles and management strategies you can apply immediately. This human-to-human commitment is a refreshing change in our new AI-influenced world.
A Distinct Editorial Identity
Professional Leader Magazine incorporates Nicholas C. Hill’s previous titles, Sharpen Magazine (2012 to 2015) and Managerial Magazine (2015 to 2018), under a single umbrella brand. The early editions introduced leadership lessons drawn from influential figures in business, government, and the nonprofit sectors. Thoughtful, grounded, and rooted in leadership that earns authority through competence and character, this foundation shaped the voice that continues to define our magazine today.
From Lessons to Exclusive Interviews
In later issues, our magazine evolved into its defining modern identity. We began conducting unabridged exclusive interviews with internationally recognised thought leaders. These interviews are carefully shaped to move beyond surface answers and uncover the thinking patterns, decision frameworks, and leadership disciplines that rarely appear in mainstream content. This shift gave Professional Leader Magazine a distinct editorial edge and positioned it as a leadership platform with its own voice and intellectual property.
Experience Forged Under Pressure
Unlike traditional journalists who begin their careers in newsrooms, our founder, Nicholas C. Hill FCMI FIoL FIC, began his career in 1989 as a commercial photographer and designer, became a manager in 1993, and has since successfully led teams and managed hundreds of projects. After early trials that brought blood, sweat, and tears, lessons were learned. Many of Nicholas Hill’s leadership principles were developed after long and difficult days, reflecting on real work experiences or on his childhood marked by domestic violence.
Designed for Modern Leaders
We created Professional Leader Magazine as a digital-first publication, designed to fit your busy work schedule. As a leadership and management master trainer, our editor, Nicholas C. Hill FCMI FIoL FIC, recognises you need a magazine to complement your busy world, whether that is between meetings, during commutes, or at home after stressful workdays. Our digital format lets you access and revisit our content on all your devices, fitting into your learning and development schedule. It offers an aesthetic space for you to reflect, grasp, and apply our tools
Wisdom, Relevance and Ethics
The founding story for Professional Leader Magazine remains a work in progress. It explains why our publication exists and what it stands for. From the outset, we have communicated that ethical leadership is the right path to performance, productivity, and efficiency. Our approach considers your long-term sustainable organisational vision and mission. Therefore, you receive ideas formed through critical thinking and ethical practice. That is why our definitive publication was founded and why it continues today and into tomorrow.