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ELE is a peer-powered community where people leaders don't just reframe challenges — they leave with decisions, next moves, and 30/60/90-day commitments to move real work forward.&nbsp;For 22 years, leaders from Fortune 1000 companies have brought their hardest problems here — and left sharper than they arrived.

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Schedule a Meetup

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About ELE

Schedule a Local Meetup

Bring a real bottleneck. Name what's stuck, what's at stake, and why it matters now.

Community-Powered Calendar

Signal what matters most. Your vote shapes what this community tackles next.

Companies In Our Network

Contact ELE

Find the peer conversation that moves your work forward.The right exchange builds better leaders, closes capability gaps, and cuts through what internal meetings can't.

Figure out if ELE is for you. Straight answers on what ELE is, who it’s built for, and how contributing members actually work together. Still have a question? Contact us.

Get answers about how Executive Learning Exchange (ELE) works — peer-powered leadership development that fixes real work issues, reverses burnout, and accelerates business value. No programs. No vendors. In the flow of work.

Real conversations from people leaders tackling today's toughest talent challenges -- captured live, ready to apply with your teams when it fits your schedule, and connected to what's happening right now.

Insights on Talent Challenges | Captured Peer Conversations | ELE

Real challenges. Real peers. Clear next moves.

This is where people-leaders get sharper.

Want ELE to come to you? Propose a local gathering — the community decides what gets scheduled.

CNA Insurance

Executive Learning Exchange (ELE)

What We're Working Through ...

Your leadership development programs aren't working. Everyone knows it. 
They can't scale. No one has time to fix it. No one has time to attend.

<h5>Lead the AI Era—From Insight to Action</h5>
Formerly ELE's fall conference, this year's gathering is a working summit that solves the "no one has time" dilemma — for leaders navigating culture, capability, AI execution, and organizational change.

Business intelligence tells leaders what the data shows. People intelligence helps them understand what the work is becoming.

&nbsp;

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-45699" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ELE-OI-Drives-Value-to-the-Business.jpg" alt="Organizational Intelligence model showing how People Intelligence and Business Intelligence connect to drive better decisions, business value, and long-term sustainability." width="539" height="539" />
ELE brings both closer together.
&nbsp;
<h5>Leadership Learning Moves Back Into the Work.</h5>
This is not a sit-and-listen experience. ELE builds community intelligence that helps unlock organizational intelligence.
<blockquote>A CENTURY AGO, LEARNING STARTED CLOSER TO REAL WORK
Harvard helped scale real-world business learning through cases and peer discussion. But today’s work is moving too fast to only study someone else’s problem after the fact.</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.ele.llc/calendar/shape"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-45639" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/1922-2026-From-Case-Studies-to-Real-Work-in-Real-Time.jpg" alt="" width="918" height="612" /></a>
It is a community-powered working experience where keynote insights become real-time discussion, peer learning, small-group application, and practical next moves leaders can bring back to their organizations.
That is the work of ELE’s Idea Exchange: turning shared signals into sharper decisions, practical next moves, and 30/60/90-day leadership commitments.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-45771" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ELE-Leadership-Development-for-Accelerating-Business-Value-Gemini.jpg" alt="Leadership development framework showing five layers — Listen, Name what's broken, Solve it together, Build the 30/60/90 plan, Employees feel it — built on learning in the flow of work." width="1920" height="1072" />
<h5>How the Exchange Works</h5>
<ul>
 	<li data-section-id="c51569" data-start="208" data-end="348">Real stuck work: Leaders bring the issues actually stalling performance — not abstract trends or someone else's case study.</li>
 	<li data-section-id="c51569" data-start="208" data-end="348">Design Charrettes: Small peer groups work the problem together, challenge assumptions, and shape decisions that move.</li>
 	<li data-section-id="c51569" data-start="208" data-end="348">AI Practical Labs: AI becomes a tool for execution — not another shiny object that adds to the noise.</li>
</ul>
<h5>From Stuck Work to Business Value</h5>
Most leadership development measures how people feel after the program. ELE measures what moved.

When leaders fix the root-cause problems — the stuck work that burns out your best people — engagement follows. Retention improves. Business value accelerates. Not because of EQ fluff. Because the work that was stuck is finally moving.

Leave October 1 with a 30/60/90-day plan, a peer who's already solved your problem, and a leadership development model that actually fits the speed your organization needs to move.

<hr data-path-to-node="13" />

<h5 data-start="143" data-end="161">What to Expect</h5>
<ul>
 	<li data-start="143" data-end="161">Real executive dialogue: Practical, unscripted exchange with senior leaders working through AI-era leadership challenges.</li>
 	<li data-section-id="1424amn" data-start="292" data-end="411">Design Charrette work: Small-group collaboration around real problems, sharper choices, and practical next steps.</li>
 	<li data-section-id="10c4ynl" data-start="413" data-end="580">AI Practical Lab mindset: Explore where AI can reduce friction, improve handoffs, and support execution — without pretending the tool solves the leadership work.</li>
 	<li data-section-id="67hqfu" data-start="582" data-end="705">Peer-powered momentum: Leave with clearer thinking, useful connections, and ideas you can bring back to the business.</li>
</ul>

<hr />

<h5 data-start="829" data-end="949">Real-World Challenges We’ll Work Through</h5>
The agenda will be shaped around the leadership and workforce challenges showing up across the ELE community, including:

<ul data-start="951" data-end="1244">
 	<li data-section-id="1w3nks9" data-start="951" data-end="1002">Building leadership readiness for AI-era change</li>
 	<li data-section-id="1ujy1cy" data-start="1003" data-end="1060">Reducing adoption friction across teams and functions</li>
 	<li data-section-id="1mslx45" data-start="1061" data-end="1113">Strengthening culture when work is shifting fast</li>
 	<li data-section-id="1iw1hr" data-start="1114" data-end="1173">Turning AI interest into practical workflow improvement</li>
 	<li data-section-id="1imnzu9" data-start="1174" data-end="1244">Helping managers lead through ambiguity, speed, and execution drag</li>
</ul>

<hr data-path-to-node="21" />

<h5 data-start="1285" data-end="1314">Who Should Be in the Room</h5>
This exchange is designed for senior leaders responsible for leadership, talent, culture, workforce transformation, and execution.

<ul data-start="1448" data-end="1704">
 	<li data-section-id="a3reg3" data-start="1448" data-end="1482">CHROs and senior HR executives</li>
 	<li data-section-id="p5magz" data-start="1483" data-end="1530">Chief Learning Officers and heads of talent</li>
 	<li data-section-id="hxw81e" data-start="1531" data-end="1636">Leaders responsible for leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and employee experience</li>
 	<li data-section-id="x6ehuv" data-start="1637" data-end="1704">Business leaders working through AI-era change with their teams</li>
</ul>

<hr data-path-to-node="25" />

<h5 data-start="1285" data-end="1314">Hosted at CNA Insurance</h5>
CNA, downtown Chicago office, gives this exchange the right setting: a modern business environment in the heart of the Loop, built for practical conversation, cross-company perspective, and the kind of working dialogue leaders need as AI reshapes work, culture, and execution.


<hr data-path-to-node="28" />

<h5 data-start="654" data-end="670">Register Now</h5>
Your leadership development isn't built for the AI era. October 1 is where that changes.
Join people leaders in downtown Chicago — bring what's stuck, work through it with peers, and leave with a 30/60/90-day plan that moves.

Leadership Development in the Flow of Work | Fall Summit

single-event

engagement &amp; culture

future of work

Full-day Exchange

Talent Executives

Team Leaders

Your Teams

Chicago Cohort

dirk.tussing

nick.allen

teri.hart

ele chicago cohort

chicago

katie.mcallister

in-person event

Future of Work

Leadership

Engagement &amp; Culture

Digital

Strategy

workforce readiness

brady.bair

peter.hogaboam

annual-conference

ai practical lab

leadership agility

Design Charrette

real-time insights

organizational intelligence

ELESUMMIT2026

Zurich North America

Are talent practitioners focused on the right things for executive development? At a time when we are keenly focused on AI and digital transformation, consider if we have appropriately reduced focus on human capabilities or "soft skills." Join us for a discussion of how we can shape experiences that ensure leaders gain both the requisite technical skills and the capabilities that drive success through others.

For too long, executive development has been characterized by expensive, offsite, monolithic programs that are slow to launch and instantly out-of-date. In a world demanding executive agility and continuous transformation, this outdated model is actively creating a leadership capability gap.

This session delivers the blueprint for building a modern, agile executive development architecture that keeps pace with market and technological speed. It’s a crucial shift from merely training leaders to making them catalysts for organizational momentum.

Senior leaders will gain specific, actionable insights into how to:
<ul>
 	<li>Move from Content Consumption to Capability Creation: Shift your focus from delivering static content to enabling leaders to generate and apply dynamic, curated learning within their flow of work.</li>
 	<li>Decentralize for Velocity: Learn how to move accountability from a centralized function to a distributed model , ensuring development is deeply embedded within business units and directly tied to strategic outcomes.</li>
 	<li>Build the "Ecosystem of Practice": Explore the essential components of modern development, including the move from static teams to dynamic networks and the integration of business impact as the core metric.</li>
 	<li>Escape the "Lag Trap": Understand why the old ways of executive development are fundamentally incompatible with the speed of modern business and how to design programs that deliver relevance and impact at speed.</li>
</ul>
This is a forward-thinking guide to replacing slow, high-cost programs with a high-speed, high-impact development ecosystem that powers true business agility.

Agile Executive Development

flow of work

Talent Strategy

soft-skills

executive development

business impact

CHIE2025

brittain.bandura

noelle.awwad

capability creation

decentralized learning

technical skills

leadership capability gap

organizational momentum

ecosystem of practice

L&amp;D architecture

continuous transformation

This session provided a fresh lens on leadership development—moving from instruction to empowerment, from expert-led to peer-driven.

<blockquote data-start="370" data-end="500">
“How can we swing the pendulum closer to coaching… to elicit wisdom instead of just transferring information?” — <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/ana-bedard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ana Bedard</a>
</blockquote>
That one question reframed the challenge HR leaders face: how to build leadership agility in an era where formal programs often fall short. The answer? Coaching—not just from professional coaches, but through peers practicing real-time feedback, powerful questions, and shared accountability.
The session introduced a scalable model inspired by Lead Belay—where leaders grow through structured, facilitated peer coaching circles. It’s lightweight, trust-building, and rooted in real-world challenges, not theory.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-43061" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Shift-from-Formal-to-Empowered-15-MAY-2025-1.jpg" alt="The Shift from Formal to Empowered: Coaching as the New Learning Paradigm" width="1920" height="1103" />
Key Takeaways:

<ul data-start="1036" data-end="1445">
 	<li class="" data-start="1036" data-end="1122">
Coaching fosters agility, empathy, and self-awareness—more than teaching ever could.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1123" data-end="1207">
Peer coaching models are cost-effective and scalable across all leadership levels.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1208" data-end="1287">
Open-ended, clarifying questions expose blind spots and spark deeper insight.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1288" data-end="1363">
“Pay-it-forward” coaching builds internal capacity without new headcount.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1364" data-end="1445">
When leaders coach each other, they also transform their own leadership habits.
</li>
</ul>
Practical Actions You Can Take Now:

<ol data-start="1487" data-end="1864">
 	<li class="" data-start="1487" data-end="1557">
Start a small peer coaching pilot using real leadership challenges.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1558" data-end="1632">
Train managers in clarifying questions and active listening techniques.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1633" data-end="1716">
Design for “exponential learning”—today’s participants become tomorrow’s guides.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1717" data-end="1785">
Supplement formal leadership programs with peer coaching cohorts.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1786" data-end="1864">
Encourage leaders to visibly practice coaching skills in team interactions.
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote data-start="1866" data-end="1988">
“The Lead Belay model is a multiplier. You’re building relationships, coaching skills, and agility all at once.” — <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/jane-shlaes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jane Shlaes</a>
</blockquote>
This isn’t just a new method—it’s a mindset shift. For HR leaders ready to empower people instead of just informing them, peer coaching offers a clear path forward.
It’s a practical, human-centered approach that scales leadership development without scaling cost. And more importantly, it creates the kind of connected, reflective leaders we need now more than ever.
Have a takeaway, challenge, or success story to add? Share it with the community on <a href="https://www.ele.llc/idea-exchange" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ELE Idea Exchange</a>.

The Shift from Formal to Empowered: Coaching as the New Learning Paradigm

jane.shlaes

collaborative learning

performance improvement

leadership development

talent development

anton.maletich

missy.gonzales

Coaching

Performance Improvement

ana.bedard

learning and development

peer coaching

HR transformation

coaching skills

Coaching Culture

wise2025

agile leadership

scalable learning

coaching mindset

empowered leadership

Cognitive Advisors

This session provided a compelling case for reimagining leadership—and the role of L&amp;D—in today’s volatile world. Marty didn’t just talk agility—he showed us what it means to think in systems, learn in loops, and lead like nature.

<blockquote data-start="720" data-end="800">
“Our role isn’t just building skills—it’s helping leaders shift mindsets.” -- <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/marty-rosenheck" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marty Rosenheck</a>
</blockquote>
<img class="aligncenter wp-image-43015" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Rosenheck-15-MAY-2025.jpg" alt="The Agile Leader: An Adaptive Systems Approach to Thriving in Complexity" width="990" height="557" />
That shift starts with seeing organizations not as machines to optimize, but as living systems to cultivate. Where old models of command-and-control break down, complexity invites us to lean into purpose, autonomy, and continuous experimentation.

<blockquote data-start="1050" data-end="1175">
“Safe-to-fail experiments are key. Try small things, see what works, amplify what does. That’s how adaptation happens.” -- <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/marty-rosenheck" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marty Rosenheck</a>
</blockquote>
🧠 Key takeaways for senior HR and talent leaders:

<ul data-start="1232" data-end="1587">
 	<li class="" data-start="1232" data-end="1296">
Treat your organization as a living system, not a machine.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1297" data-end="1364">
Use safe-to-fail experiments to learn and adapt in real time.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1365" data-end="1437">
Build trust-based networks that support horizontal knowledge flow.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1438" data-end="1510">
Anchor decisions in a shared, meaningful purpose—your new compass.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1511" data-end="1587">
Rethink your role: HR and L&amp;D as evolutionary leadership facilitators.
</li>
</ul>
💡 Try this with your team:

<ol data-start="1621" data-end="1964">
 	<li class="" data-start="1621" data-end="1685">
Launch a micro-experiment—test an agile practice in one area.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1686" data-end="1753">
Map your internal communication network—what’s flowing (or not)?
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1754" data-end="1818">
Audit your purpose: is it clear, lived, and decision-driving?
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1819" data-end="1892">
Build a coalition of open-minded leaders willing to try something new.
</li>
 	<li class="" data-start="1893" data-end="1964">
Reframe your L&amp;D goals—are you building skills or shifting mindsets?
</li>
</ol>
This isn’t just a leadership upgrade—it’s a systems-level redesign. Are you ready to move from control to cultivation?
🔁 Let’s continue the conversation on <a href="https://www.ele.llc/idea-exchange" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ELE Idea Exchange</a>—what’s your role in evolving leadership?

The Agile Leader: An Adaptive Systems Approach to Thriving in Complexity

Integrated Talent Management

marty.rosenheck

systems thinking

HR leadership

adaptive leadership

organizational resilience

Mindset Shift

agile leader

thriving in complexity

leadership approach

empowering leaders

navigating complexity

fostering resilience

continuous innovation

practical insights

complex systems

safe-to-fail experiments

regenerative organizations

decentralized leadership

VUCA environment

evolutionary facilitator

Lake Forest Center for Leadership

It’s time to stop treating succession like a box to check—and start seeing it as your best tool for unlocking hidden talent.
At the Milwaukee Talent Development Conference 2025, <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/jennifer-kern" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jennifer Kern</a> and <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/matt-sernaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Sernaker</a> delivered a powerful call to action: evolve your leadership playbook from control and cloning to trust, improvisation, and inclusive growth. Their session reframed succession planning as a daily practice—not a once-a-year HR task.
<img class="aligncenter wp-image-43060" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Jennifer-Kern-WISE2025-Keynote-Speaker.jpg" alt="" width="691" height="518" />
Instead of grooming carbon copies of today’s leaders, they challenged us to foster environments where individuals can experiment, stretch, and bring their full selves forward. That means modeling courage, showing vulnerability, and creating space for people to take risks without fear of retribution.
🔑 What Forward-Thinking Talent Leaders Can Do Now:

<ul data-start="1162" data-end="1503">
 	<li data-start="1162" data-end="1257">
Coach, don’t just delegate: Empowerment means being present—co-creating, not handing off.
</li>
 	<li data-start="1258" data-end="1379">
Liberate talent to lead differently: Stop rewarding mimicry. Invite diverse thinking, even when it’s uncomfortable.
</li>
 	<li data-start="1380" data-end="1503">
Set the rhythm, then step back: Think jazz, not marching band. Define outcomes—but let your people shape the journey.
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote data-start="1505" data-end="1592">
“Potential won’t show up unless leaders make it safe to act.” — <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/jennifer-kern" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jennifer Kern</a>, Lake Forest Center for Leadership
</blockquote>
This session emphasized that empowerment isn’t passive. Liberation isn’t about letting go—it’s about leaning in with intention and trust. Real succession planning happens in the moments when leaders choose to make space, model learning, and prioritize long-term development over short-term perfection.
If you want a stronger bench and a more resilient culture, stop replicating what worked in the past—and start unlocking what’s possible now.

Liberating Potential in Individuals

growth mindset

succession planning

talent management

employee engagement

psychological safety

organizational development

inclusive leadership

matt.sernaker

jennifer.kern

future-ready workforce

HR Strategy

Trust-Based Leadership

liberating potential

talent empowerment

LAK Group

Culture isn’t a poster on the wall—it’s the unwritten rules shaping every decision, every hire, and every exit. In her keynote at the Milwaukee Talent Development Conference 2025, “Culture Shift: Navigating Constant Change Management Using Better Assessments,” <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/shelley-smith">Shelley Smith</a> (Managing Director, LAK Group) challenged us to confront an uncomfortable truth: most culture efforts fail not from lack of effort—but from fuzzy alignment and wishful thinking.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-43036" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Afternoon-Keynote-Shelley-Smith.jpg" alt="Culture Shift - Navigating Constant Change Management Using Better Assessments" width="632" height="352" />

This interactive session explores how advanced, science-based assessments can provide clear insights into leadership agility, team dynamics, cultural alignment, and individual readiness, enabling leaders to proactively manage a dynamic workplace and workforce.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-43038" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Afternoon-Keynote-Culture-with-Shelley-Smith.jpg" alt="Culture Shift - Navigating Constant Change Management Using Better Assessments" width="634" height="351" />
If your culture work feels performative, here’s what Shelley says you’re missing:
🔥 5 High-Impact Moves from Shelley Smith:

<ul data-start="1699" data-end="2389">
 	<li data-start="1699" data-end="1848">
📊 Get brutally honest with assessments: Skip the assumptions. Let the data surface the gap between leadership narratives and employee reality.
</li>
 	<li data-start="1849" data-end="1983">
🚀 Train leaders to see their blind spots: Culture shifts when leaders model the future—starting with their own micro-behaviors.
</li>
 	<li data-start="1984" data-end="2106">
🔄 Redefine ‘change’ as human transition: Change is logistics. Transition is mindset. One sticks, the other doesn’t.
</li>
 	<li data-start="2107" data-end="2248">
🧠 Use neuroscience to rewire habits: Repetition and coaching create new neural pathways. It’s not fluff—it’s how transformation works.
</li>
 	<li data-start="2249" data-end="2389">
🧩 Hardwire culture into your talent stack: Recruitment, onboarding, succession—they’re not separate from culture, they are culture.
</li>
</ul>
Shelley didn’t talk about culture as a vibe—she talked about it as an operating system.
💡Want to lead real transformation? Start with the truth, invest in the brain, and make leaders your culture’s architects—not just its mouthpieces.

Leadership Development in the Flow of Work | Fall Summit

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