RTO Isn’t the Strategy. Relationship-Fabric Is. Desired outcomes for senior leaders look pretty similar today: faster execution, better collaboration, more innovation, and a culture strong enough to engage great people. Return to office (RTO) has become one of the most visible levers being pulled in pursuit of those outcomes. But RTO isn’t the strategy. It’s […]

Stop Hoping Your Best Talent Will Rise. Build Leaders Who Can See It. As we enter 2026, the leadership bar is moving again. Strategy cycles are shorter. Roles are evolving faster. And the hardest problems—growth, execution, customer trust, and resilience—are rarely solved by a single standout individual. They’re solved by teams. That’s the backdrop for

Treat Leadership Development Like Operating Infrastructure Why “pausing while we redesign” is mortgaging your bench If you’re pausing leadership development right now, you’re not just standing still—you’re falling behind. Across our clients, I’m seeing a familiar pattern: organizations are restructuring, navigating uncertainty, reacting to a softer labor market, and, yes, rethinking their talent systems. Those

Key Challenges for Top Talent Today: What Executives Need to Know The leadership crisis isn’t coming—it’s here. The speed of business, the pressure of transformation, and the integration of AI have outpaced how most companies grow their people. Teams are delivering more but connecting less, and even your best talent is feeling the strain. Working

Mentor Matching: The Magic Behind Leadership Programs That Actually Work Why Matching Is the Make-or-Break A strong match unlocks momentum. Pair the right Mentor and Mentee and you get accelerated learning, better decisions, and visible business impact. Pair them poorly and you get polite coffee meetings. The difference is match quality. What a Strong Match

The Four-Stage Philosophy: Developing Leaders at Every Level Founded in 1995, Pathbuilders introduced its four-stage development philosophy in 2005. Since then, it has become the cornerstone of how we approach every engagement—whether elevating a high-potential individual or addressing an organization-wide need to level up talent. Over two decades of practice have reinforced this framework and

Influence at the Front Line: Are Your Managers Prepared? Influence used to be reserved for senior leaders. But as organizations flatten, spans of control widen, and AI reshapes work, managers increasingly need to lead through influence—not just authority. The question is: are your managers prepared to earn commitment, align stakeholders, and move work forward when