I Came Home with CPD Credits

Leadership development training has a problem, and nobody is saying it out loud.

I spent thousands of dollars on leadership development. It’s astonishing how much gets spent on flights, hotels, and registration fees. Then you add the cost of being away from work and family and it really starts to add up. It would be worth the investment if I truly came back with something valuable.

But do you know what I usually come home with? CPD credits.

Not growth. Not connection. Not a single insight that changes how I lead.

I come back with a certificate that says I sat in a fluorescent lit conference room in a beautiful place I never actually got to experience. I performed being engaged while waiting for the last presentation to be over so that I could go explore outside.

I am so tired of leadership development being delivered this way. It’s not effective, and it’s clearly not fun. Why fly accomplished women to stunning destinations and put them inside all day? We know that will just drain the exact same people who are craving rest and connection. When has anyone ever come home rejuvenated after spending all weekend in a conference room?

We inherently know what works but nobody wants to deliver leadership training that's fun and interesting. Why is that? Is it because making something that truly connects people to the work seems too hard? Is it because it's a risk? Is it because people are just hoping to check off the box of "I did bare minimum" and move on?

To prove that this works, I designed my own personal retreat in Costa Rica. I planned purposeful movement every day and scheduled our days around enjoying the sunrise and watching the sunset from beautiful vantage points. I learned while reading outside, reflecting on what I was learning while enjoying the sounds of birds flying to and from their nests. We had real conversations about real problems while watching the sunset from an infinity pool overlooking the ocean and the jungle. This was meant as a vacation for me to come back refreshed as a leader, and it worked, despite being more physically active there than I am in my day-to-day life.

When I came home, my colleagues noticed something was different about me. It wasn’t that I looked rested or had a tan, but that I had a ‘different light’.

That is what leadership development should do. That is what it is capable of doing when you stop putting women in conference rooms and start trusting that the insight they're looking for is waiting for them through movement and purposeful professional development.

💬 : What's the most you've ever spent on a leadership experience and what did you actually come home with?

PS - the photo above was taken by me from a Leadership Retreat, where I escaped the windowless conference rooms to find serenity and connection here.

#UnchartdLeadership #LeadBeyondBoundaries #WomenInLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #WomenExecutives #LeadershipExperience