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GRITT Programs

Leadership Academy

Develop leaders who create clarity, accountability, and results.

Summer 2026 Cohort - Now Forming.  Two 2.5-day workshops + one live virtual class  ·  $4,950 per participant  ·  Limited seats  ·  SHRM PDC Eligible
Reserve Your Seat
The Challenge

Most Organizations Don't Struggle to Find Talent.
They Struggle to Develop Leaders.

Strong individual contributors are promoted into leadership roles and expected to figure it out.

Some do. Many do not.

The result is inconsistent leadership, unclear expectations, and teams that do not perform at their full potential.

Our Approach

Leadership Academy is designed to change how leaders show up every day.

This is not a one-time training. It is a structured development experience that builds real leadership capability over time.

Leaders learn, apply, and practice skills that directly impact how they communicate, make decisions, and lead their teams.

Program Format
Two 2.5-Day Workshops
& One Live Virtual Class
$4,950
Workshop 1 - In Person · Chicago, IL
June 10–12, 2026
Day 1: 9am–5pm  ·  Day 2: 9am–5pm  ·  Day 3: 8am–12pm
Workshop 2 - In Person · Chicago, IL
July 23–25, 2026
Day 1: 9am–5pm  ·  Day 2: 9am–5pm  ·  Day 3: 8am–12pm
Virtual Class - Online
June 19  &  July 10, 2026
Fall 2026 Cohort
Applications opening soon. Join the interest list →
SHRM Recertification Provider
SHRM Recertification Provider
PDCs available for SHRM-CP® and SHRM-SCP® recertification
What Leaders Learn

Skills That Change How Leaders Show Up.

Participants develop the skills they need to lead with clarity and confidence:

  • Setting clear expectations and priorities
  • Communicating with conviction and clarity
  • Leading difficult conversations
  • Building accountability across teams
  • Understanding strengths and behavioral tendencies
  • Managing performance and feedback
  • Creating engagement and ownership
What Makes This Different

We Focus on Application,
Not Just Content.

Most leadership programs focus on content. We focus on what changes when leaders get back to work.

  • Built on real leadership experience
  • Integrated with behavioral insights and strengths
  • Designed for immediate use in real work environments
  • Reinforced over time to build consistency

This is how leadership becomes a strength across the organization.

The Curriculum

Session Highlights

Each session is designed to build on the last - creating a cohesive arc from self-awareness to team leadership to sustainable accountability.

What All Employees Want

Universal Communication Principles, Strengths & Values, and the 5G Framework.

What Do You Say When…

You or your teams "win" and "lose"? How to lead with consistency through both.

Communicating with Conviction

High Performance Huddles and Resilient Storytelling provide opportunities to practice giving and receiving feedback.

Your Natural Inclination

Understanding behavioral tendencies within yourself and your team.

Present Centered Leadership

Stress Management Techniques to help you and your team persevere through pressure and uncertainty.

How to Speak to 'A' Players

Leading Difficult Conversations, recruiting 'A' players, and applying behavioral interviewing techniques.

Strengths-Based Leadership

Gain deep insight into your strengths and hone the skill of Strength-Spotting in others.

Meaning in the Workplace

Building Meaning & Purpose through coherence, purpose, significance, authenticity, and post-traumatic growth.

Goal-Setting

Explore intrinsic & extrinsic motivation and balance multiple goals in the Flywheel of Success.

Leader Conversations

Turning a job into a calling with identity-based action planning and sustained accountability.

Professional Development Credits

Eligible for SHRM Recertification Credits (PDCs)

GRITT Business Coaching is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities. HR leaders attending Leadership Academy can apply sessions toward their recertification requirements.

SHRM Recertification Provider
Official SHRM Provider

PDCs applicable for SHRM-CP® and SHRM-SCP® holders attending qualifying GRITT programs.

The ROI Argument

What Is $4,950 Worth?

Cost of one bad hire

Industry average: $25,000–$75,000. One leader who can conduct a better behavioral interview recoups the investment before the cohort ends.

Cost of one unaddressed performance issue

Delayed accountability costs in output, morale, and manager time - typically far more than the program fee.

Cost of a leadership gap that stays unfilled

Every quarter a manager isn't developing is a quarter the business depends more on you - not less.

What Changes

When Leaders Are Developed Intentionally, Everything Starts to Shift.

→
Communication becomes clearer
Leaders say what they mean and mean what they say - consistently.
→
Expectations are understood
Teams know what is expected, why it matters, and how they will be measured.
→
Accountability becomes consistent
Difficult conversations happen earlier and land better across the team.
→
Performance improves
Leadership becomes a driver of results, not a source of variability.
Who It's For

Built for Leaders at Every Stage.

  • Emerging leaders stepping into management roles
  • Current managers who need more structure and confidence
  • Organizations building a leadership pipeline
How This Connects

Part of the People Pillar.

Leadership Academy is part of the People pillar. When combined with Financials and Execution, leaders are better equipped to make decisions, align their teams, and drive results.

People with GRITT View All Solutions
Faculty

Led by a Practitioner Who Lives the Discipline.

Tom Bagwell
Tom Bagwell
Vice President of Learning & Development

Tom has 30 years of sales, marketing and operations experience in senior leadership positions. He is a three-time "Teacher of the Year" at Cal State East Bay, where he lectures on leadership, marketing, and organizational effectiveness for MBA programs. Tom holds a BA from UC Berkeley (Economics & History), an MBA from the University of Chicago (Finance & Marketing), and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. A Certified Executive Coach and recognized Executive Scholar at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, Tom integrates mindfulness, resilience, and positive leadership into every session.

Let's Develop Your Leaders

Ready to Build Stronger Leaders
Across Your Organization?

Seats are limited per cohort. Summer 2026 is now forming - reserve your seat or join the interest list for Fall 2026.

Reserve Your Seat Join the Fall 2026 Interest List

Questions? Contact info@grittbusinesscoaching.com