Introduction: Staff retention, with its multiple factors and no single solution, is a wicked problem. Of the multiple factors influencing staff intention to stay in health and social care settings, leadership and culture are two areas where a significant impact can be made. Front-line leaders are in an ideal position to cultivate workplaces where staff want to work. Methods: As part of a two-nation project exploring the impact of various interventions on staff retention, we developed and evaluated a leadership development programme for front-line leaders in health and social care. Two cohorts followed a 12-month programme based on a co-operative inquiry methodology and adult, transformative learning theory. Participants were facilitated in moving through continuous cycles of a) identifying individual or group action, b) executing and observing the impact of their actions, c) sharing their observations and reflecting on the meaning of the observations for leadership intended to encourage staff retention. They self-assessed their transformative leadership development three times during the programme and creatively expressed their development narrative at the end of the programme. Results: In this presentation we share the self-assessment and a participant faction (one fictive narrative based on fourteen participant narratives). As well as increased transformational leadership practice, the narrative reveals development in leading self and others. Skilled facilitation was key and, as facilitators of the programme, we were keen to base the ways we worked on the values underlying transformative and person-centred learning. The leader narrative also demonstrates leadership descriptions that resonate with transformational and person-centred leadership, revealing how participants felt better equipped to cultivate workplaces where staff would want to continue working. Discussion: We conclude that leadership development programmes based on adult, transformative and person-centred learning theory create a learning climate and culture that enables front-line leaders to create workplaces where staff want to stay.