A paddle lead assembly for providing electrical stimulation of patient tissue includes a paddle body; a plurality of electrodes disposed on the paddle body; a plurality of lead bodies coupled to the paddle body; an array of terminals disposed on each of the plurality of lead bodies; and a plurality of conductive wires. Each conductive wire couples one of the electrodes to at least one terminal of at least one of the terminal arrays. The paddle lead assembly further includes an implantation aid configured and arranged to fit over a portion of at least one of the lead bodies to provide additional stiffness proximal to the paddle body for aiding in implantation of the paddle body into a patient.