The programme leader is crucial to the success of a higher education provider's educational portfolio. However, programme leader development is under-researched and is too often conceptualised in a negative way, as the solution to a problem. Here we adopt a positive approach by undertaking an Appreciative Inquiry with programme leaders to understand their development needs. Our work identifies domains of reward and responsibility intrinsic to the programme leader role. Mapping these against a Competence-Based Higher Education Framework, we propose a holistic model for the academic development of programme leaders. We encourage others to adapt this model to their institutional contexts.