As a managing director of Barr Holdings Ltd, Bill Weir is the man who leads the quarry and environmental divisions.

That does not mean, however, that he is the only leader in a wide-ranging organisation that encompasses construction, quarrying and environmental divisions. Barr has been pioneering investment in leadership development throughout its nationwide business - and is reaping rewards.

"The company is more confident, more capable of taking on challenges," says Weir, pictured right. "There is a self-sufficiency in individuals and a strength in the team. We want everybody in the business to be thinking of improvements as part of that team. It's about building a much more dynamic environment."

Group personnel manager Alison Reilly also recognises a renewed confidence in the workforce.

"Having pinpointed areas for development, we organised employee evenings to take these to the workers themselves - and promote engagement in those areas," she says. "The process of encouraging engagement and nurturing new leadership skills has meant that employees have become wholly involved in the business."

Senior managers and directors have attended the Timoney Advanced Leadership Programme and a series of ILM (Institute for Leadership and Management) programmes have been run on a regular basis for the company, in tandem with succession planning, while continual reviews and action plans help drive the company.

"The feedback and monitoring gives everyone the opportunity to reflect and communicate alternative styles of leadership," notes Reilly.

Effective communication and wholehearted engagement on the part of the employees are at the heart of the leadership development process. For their part, Scottish Enterprise has been able to help with knowledge sharing by linking Barr to other organisations, offering external support to look at the business.

Weir adds: "Scottish Enterprise have lists of people through tenders who are assessed, processed, vetted - and they can hook me up immediately. This means we can see how others lead and how they think. The sharing process is a vitally important part of learning and can help lead to a much sharper focus on delivering strategic objectives.

"Leadership training needs to be of the very best standard, or it's simply not worthwhile. Participants also need to be given space away from day-to-day operations, the room to exchange thoughts and experiences. This stimulates, improves and broadens your view of things."

He continues: "People might do a course together but from different parts of the business. This builds a stronger team, one that is more focused. It also reinforces responsibility in everyone: you are the leader, you are responsible. Such confidence increases capability."

Already Reilly has seen how improving skills in Barr's people can bring rewards. She says: "We can all learn how to fulfil our roles in a more innovative and strategic way. There is a willingness to seek a better way of doing things."

Weir agrees, adding: "Improving people brings all sorts of benefits: increased confidence in managers, improved thinking. The more people I have to think well about a problem, the easier it is for me to do my job.

"Training reinforces the ethical responsibilities of leadership in relation to society as well as the company," he says. "It's a very important aspect that a business is ethical. If you don't invest in leadership development, your view can be narrow and tends to get narrower in times of recession. This slows down the development of the company and, therefore, the wider economy."

And that is why Barr continuously runs development and leadership skills programmes and reviews the outcomes.

"What is it actually achieving?" says Weir. "Every day is a learning day. And that's now part of the DNA of Barr."