What never shows up on the line item.
Fair warning: I'm about to bring very cliché, Midwest, fall-loving girl vibes here.
There's something about soup and grilled cheese in the fall. ESPECIALLY (not to brag) when it's tomato soup from my garden harvest, with roasted peppers and herbs. And it's not just the meal. It's eating it outside, in a sunbeam on my patio. Brisk Milwaukee air + a warm bowl in your hands + a delicious meal?
It's the combination that makes the magic. Leadership development works the same way.
When budgets get tight, the development line can look like the easiest to trim. But what's at stake doesn't show up on the line item: the magic that comes when your leaders sense they aren't facing hard moments alone, and that your organization is investing in their growth.
Before founding Cardinal Leadership Lab, I designed faculty development for a department growing from 20 to 100 faculty across 5 hospitals. I learned that a great workshop isn't enough. Leaders leave inspired... and then Monday arrives.
Programs that create lasting change pair two things.
A cohort gives leaders peers, shared language, and a place to belong.
In one leadership cohort at a large medical organization, a participant shared that group coaching took it from a leadership program at work to a place where she belonged and realized she wasn't alone.
Individual coaching makes the learning personal, and makes it stick.
In a healthcare program pairing cohort learning with one-on-one coaching, one participant built clear practices: defining his values, delegating outcomes instead of tasks, and having difficult conversations. Within six months, he saw stronger team engagement and faster alignment.
Together, one plus one really does equal three. (Math teachers, please forgive me.)
If you're planning a 2027 leadership program, adding coaching may be the most efficient way to expand its impact. I'm an email away. Let's start a conversation to see what's possible.
To learning that lasts past Monday,
Claire
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