Purpose: This study explores the positive and negative factors influencing transformational learning experiences of female leaders in women's leadership development programmes in sports and examines the differences in learning/change factors cited by those who successfully addressed them and those who failed. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a qualitative research method, using phone interviews with women leaders in a sports setting. Findings: The findings revealed that participants presented clear progress in terms of leadership skills, but they failed to report whether this progress can be achieved if the programme is running within a specific sports organisation, targeting a specific kind of sports leadership in the long term. Research limitations/implications There were a number of limitations for this study, e.g. selection of participants, sample size, exploratory methodology, which affected generalising the findings to other sports organisations or other countries. Originality/value: The study provides a starting point for the exploration of the effectiveness of women leadership development programmes and how designers can evaluate the outcome of such initiatives in the UK.