What is National Leadership Development Day?

National Leadership Development Day 2025: A Day to Reflect, Recharge, and Reignite Your Leadership

Now in its 7th year, NLDD continues its tradition of giving back with a powerful, free day of live leadership development. This year’s speakers bring fresh insight into what it truly means to lead today — from turning your inner “I Am” into action to recognizing the invisible leadership wounds we carry. You’ll explore how to unlock hidden potential through coaching, clarify overwhelm, navigate uncertainty with confidence, and rethink the behaviors you’re truly reinforcing.
Whether you lead teams, projects, or just yourself, these sessions will equip you with practical tools and renewed purpose.

This year, eight expert speakers will share their insights across two dynamic sessions: the morning session at 10:00 AM EDT and the afternoon session at 2:00 PM EDT.

Note: This is a live-only event — no replays — so block your calendar for July 30th!

Morning Session 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

Leadership doesn’t begin with a title—it starts with the words you say after “I Am.” This powerful session helps you confront the silent narratives, inherited labels, and internalized doubts that stall your leadership potential.

You’ll walk away with a renewed identity and a bold “I Am to I Lead” declaration that anchors your voice, purpose, and power.

In this high-impact Leadership Development session, we’ll explore how executive coaching serves as a strategic investment in your organization’s high-potential leaders. We’ll examine the reasons top leaders choose to partner with executive coaches and how those navigating key transitions benefit from working with a thought partner to accelerate their impact. You’ll also learn how coaching acts as a catalyst for leadership growth — and how these investments deliver measurable returns for your leaders, your teams, and your overall organizational success.

Most leaders think they’re rewarding the right things: ownership, initiative, and collaboration.
But what if your team is responding to something else entirely?
In this eye-opening session, Susan Collins challenges leaders to rethink what their leadership is really reinforcing — and what it’s quietly teaching.

Almost everyone has been hurt by a leader.
These leadership injuries can negatively impact how we see ourselves and others, creating limiting beliefs and behaviors that hold us back. By learning to recognize, address, and prevent leadership injuries, we can boost confidence, build trust, and accelerate performance — not only for ourselves, but for those we lead.

Afternoon Session 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT

In a fast-changing, unpredictable world, leaders must guide teams through uncertainty — even when they feel unsure themselves. This interactive session equips leaders with practical tools, key mindsets, and grounding practices to lead with clarity and confidence. Whether you’re navigating transformation, technology shifts, changing priorities, or daily disruption, you’ll learn how to stay present, support your team, and lead with intention. Walk away with strategies to show up as the leader your team needs — especially when the path ahead is unclear.

Why is behavior change so hard — even for smart leaders?

In this session, Dr. Kelly Capra introduces the Immunity to Change model (Kegan & Lahey) and shares insights from her coaching and research to uncover what truly gets in the way. Learn how hidden commitments, emotional readiness, and identity shifts affect change — and what it takes to move forward as a leader.

In a world that rewards speed, pausing to think can feel radical — but it might be your greatest leadership move. We’ll explore why having too many ideas isn’t a flaw — it’s a signal — and how a little clarity can go a long way. You’ll get a fresh lens on idea overwhelm, a simple tool inspired by creative problem-solving frameworks, and a reminder that clarity turns ideas into conversations, conversations into action, and action into innovation.

A gentle identity crisis — in slide form!

We’ll talk about leadership, but not the kind that comes with a corner office or a team of direct reports. Think fewer org charts, more existential gardening.
If you’re curious about what branding, boredom, or shower thoughts have to do with leadership — this one’s for you.