Training Workshops
Practical, Engaging Learning for Today’s Workplace
Leadership Development Training
Delivered in person or via live virtual session
Whether we’re facilitating at your place of business, supporting a leadership team retreat, or connecting virtually across time zones, we deliver leadership development where it serves you best.
Marathon Leadership’s training workshops are designed to accelerate leadership development at every level of your organization. Through engaging, research-based sessions, participants gain actionable tools to improve communication, decision-making, emotional intelligence, and team performance. Whether you’re building new leaders or refining executive presence, these workshops create a dynamic learning environment that fosters both individual growth and organizational impact.
Each topic can be delivered as a standalone module or combined with other topics to support a variety of formats and lengths – fully customizable to your group’s timeframe, context, and goals, as long as the same trainer facilitates the sessions.
This half-day course is based on Gary Chapman & Paul White’s The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. Designed for both formal managers and individual contributors, this highly interactive and entertaining session will help participants recognize and demonstrate “The 5 Languages of Appreciation” in themselves, their peers, and their direct reports. It will also help them apply proven tips, tools, and techniques to increase motivation and appreciation in the workplace.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand why most formal workplace recognition programs fail to increase employee engagement;
- Recognize the important differences between recognition and appreciation;
- Identify “The 5 Languages of Appreciation” in others – including their manager(s), peers, and direct reports;
- Learn their preferred Language of Appreciation based on the results of the Motivating by Appreciation (MBA) inventory; and
- Engage in effective appreciation behaviors for each of the “The 5 Languages of appreciation.”
Assessment
Motivating by Appreciation (MBA) Inventory (required)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours or half day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Personal accountability – from frontline employees to the CEO – is a must for any organization to be successful. However, it remains an elusive characteristic for most individuals and organizations, given the ever-increasing pressure to succeed with fewer resources.
To address this accountability challenge, this course was designed either as a stand-alone session or as a complementary course to our Marathon Leadership® session. It focuses the three different types of accountability:
- Holding Ourselves Accountable (Personal Accountability);
- Holding Other Individuals Accountable (Performance Management); and
- Holding Teams Accountable (High-Performing Teams).
Highly interactive by design, it includes practical, easy-to-apply skills, tools, and techniques to help individuals hold themselves and others accountable in the workplace.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand the key components and definitions of accountability, including the three broad types: Personal, Other Individuals, and Teams;
- Learn and apply tips and techniques for building your personal accountability;
- Recognize the stages and roles of performance management that will help you hold other individuals accountable;
- Understand the importance of setting SMART or CLEAR goals to guide accountability; and
- Explore best practices in holding teams accountable.
Assessment
Accountability Experience (optional)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, or full day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Although most leaders recognize the importance of critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving, surprisingly few have been formally trained in these skills. Nor do they recognize how much their individual attitudes, beliefs, and values influence the decisions they make daily.
To that end, this highly interactive course uses self-analysis, case studies, and group exercises to teach participants effective decision-making and problem-solving skills from a systems perspective. It also provides tips, tools, and techniques for thinking critically in the workplace.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand the subtle, but important differences between critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving;
- Distinguish between the three types of problems and then apply the three different approaches to solving each type;
- Leverage their decision-making strengths, while compensating for their associated weaknesses, as identified by the Measuring Decision Style Survey;
- Apply effective numerical decision-making techniques; and
- Engage in creative, systems-based approaches to decision making, problem solving, and strategic planning.
Assessment
Measuring Decision Style Survey (optional)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, or full day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Most people think you need to be smart to be successful. However, research strongly indicates that traditional intelligence – as measured by IQ – is not a good predictor of success. However, research does support the notion that emotional intelligence (EI) is a good predictor of success, regardless of one’s organizational level or field of work.
To that end, this course is designed to help participants build this critical skill through self-reflection and a highly interactive, practical format that allows for immediate content application.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
Understand the differences between cognitive intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EI);
Engage in more effective EI behaviors when dealing with others;
Apply relevant EI concepts in four critical leadership dimensions: Authenticity, Coaching, Insight, and Innovation;
Display appropriate EI behaviors during times of conflict;
Help develop more effective EI behaviors in their direct reports; and
Leverage their individual EI strengths, while compensating for their individual EI weaknesses, as identified by the Emotional Intelligence EQi-2.0 Leadership assessment.
Assessment
EQi-2.0 Leadership Assessment (optional)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, or full day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
The Everything DiSC® Work of Leaders training combines the power of DiSC® with over three decades of research on leadership. The detailed personal profile will help leaders better craft a Vision through exploration, boldness, and testing assumptions; build Alignment through clarity, dialogue, and inspiration; and Execute their strategy through momentum, structure, and feedback.
By attending this powerful and highly interactive session, participants will gain insights into how they lead others by raising their awareness about who they are as leaders.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
Understand the DiSC® Work of Leaders model and its relationship to leadership;
Recognize their own DiSC® Work of Leaders style, including the specific priorities that drive their leadership behaviors;
Apply the three behavioral drivers and six behavioral continua that help leaders craft their Visions, including how they individually approach each driver;
Apply the three behavioral drivers and six behavioral continua that help leaders build Alignment, including how they individually approach each driver;
Apply the three behavioral drivers and six behavioral continua that help leaders Execute their strategies, including how they individually approach each driver; and
Create an action plan for improvement in those drivers and continua where they face challenges.
Assessment
DiSC Work of Leaders Profile (required)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Half or full day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Harvard researcher and author Howard Gardner once observed: “Every great leader is a great storyteller.”
To that end, this workshop is designed to build one of the most overlooked skill sets for modern leaders: the ability to tell relevant, dynamic business stories that inspire employees, attract and retain customers, and reassure investors/shareholders.
Clients sometimes offer this session in conjunction with our Increasing Your Personal Influence course. However, it can be offered as a stand-alone session.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand how dynamic business stories influence others;
- Creatively employ the fundamental elements of a good story;
- Apply effective storytelling techniques; and
- Craft and deliver the three types of business stories every great leader must tell:
1. Who we are as an organization,
2. Where we want to be (future story), and
3. Who I am as a leader.
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours or half day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Our Leadership Development Series offers a structured, progressive approach to cultivating leadership capability across every level of an organization. Each series is thoughtfully designed to align with your strategic goals, team composition, and culture – whether for emerging leaders, managers, or senior executives. Our programs can be delivered onsite or virtually, and are fully modularized to allow flexibility in format, length, and topic selection.
The series blends foundational concepts with advanced practices, helping participants build the mindset, knowledge, and skills necessary to lead themselves and others effectively. Sessions are engaging, practical, and immediately applicable – combining discussion, assessments, and experiential learning to ensure knowledge transfers to the workplace.
Participants gain the ability to:
Apply effective performance management practices that align goals, accountability, and development
Build emotional resilience and adapt to a variety of leadership challenges
Strengthen communication and feedback skills to create clarity and trust
Resolve conflict with professionalism and empathy
Coach, mentor, and develop others to maximize potential
Lead through change while maintaining engagement and alignment
Foster high-performing teams grounded in accountability and shared purpose
Each series can be customized to reflect your organization’s needs and may include workshops such as:
- Marathon Leadership (Foundations of Leadership) / Performance Management
- The Emotionally Intelligent Leader
- Communication Skills for Professionals
- Building High-Performance Teams
- Conflict Resolution / Navigating Difficult Conversations
- Coaching for Improved Performance
- Leading Change
These topics tend to be among our most popular and impactful leadership development workshops, chosen frequently by organizations seeking well-rounded, skill-based growth for their teams.
We typically recommend a specific order for these sessions so that each course builds upon the last – creating a natural progression of learning that strengthens understanding, retention, and applied performance. This intentional sequencing helps participants connect concepts from one workshop to the next, reinforcing a cohesive and lasting leadership journey.
To support long-term growth, programs can also include:
- Assessments
- Inter-session virtual meetings
- Individual or group coaching sessions
These further reinforce learning and application beyond the classroom.
Whether you’re developing new leaders, strengthening management teams, or preparing executives for next-level leadership, our Leadership Development Series provides a cohesive, customized learning journey designed to create lasting impact.
The U.S. workforce is more diverse than at any other time in this nation’s history. And some of the biggest diversity challenges facing leaders are created by different generations working side by side in the workplace.
To that end, this highly interactive course is designed to help participants better understand and manage the different perspectives and behaviors that members of different generations bring to the workplace. Specifically, participants will learn how to increase effective communication, while decreasing tension and conflict, with members of the four generations that constitute the American workforce: Baby Boomer, Generation X, Millennial, and Gen Z.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand the generational influences that created the skill sets and world views members of each generation bring to the workplace;
- Anticipate and better manage the assets and liabilities that members of each generation bring to the workplace;
- Recognize and better manage the generational influences (both assets and liabilities) on their own leadership skills;
- Communicate more effectively with members of each generation; and
- Resolve conflict between members of each generation more effectively.
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours or half day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Most change-management experts agree that traditional, executive-led change initiatives are not as effective as those led and implemented by the individuals most affected by the proposed changes.
To that end, this leadership development course is designed to help supervisors, managers, and directors implement workplace change more effectively. Created in a highly interactive format, the session gives participants the opportunity to learn, practice, and apply effective communication and employee-engagement techniques and strategies to generate support for – and improve implementation of – change initiatives.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
Understand the five dimensions of change, the stages of dealing with change, and how and why people struggle with change;
Leverage their individual change- leadership strengths, while compensating for their individual change-leadership weaknesses, as identified by the Leading Change at Every Level assessment;
Identify and engage the four key stakeholders in change initiatives;
Anticipate and overcome the challenges of leading change in living systems; and
Apply effective communication and employee-engagement strategies and techniques to generate support for – and improve implementation of – change initiatives.
Assessment
Leading Change at Every Level (optional)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, or full day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Without committed and engaged followers, leaders are doomed to failure. Conversely, a follower’s success depends not just on how well they do their jobs, but also on how well their leaders do their jobs. But while most organizations offer some type of leadership training, few offer sessions on the other half of the relationship: followership.
To that end, this course is designed to improve this crucial relationship by helping participants better understand and apply the skills necessary to achieve a true leadership/followership partnership. Using self-analysis, case studies, and group exercises, the course will help leaders better understand their followers’ needs – while helping followers become more in tune with their leaders’ needs and daily obligations, ultimately benefitting everyone.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand the leadership/followership cycle;
- Build trust and rapport across organizational reporting structures;
- Identify the two dimensions and five styles of followership;
- Apply the R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management to create a true leadership/
followership partnership; - Learn effective communication and conflict-resolution techniques to resolve disagreements between leaders and followers; and
- Develop a community of effective leadership and followership in their organizations.
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, or full day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Modern leaders face a host of challenges: a volatile global economy, significant changes in workplace demographics, increased shareholder expectations, and an accelerated rate of technological change that is unparalleled in world history.
Based on Dr. David Knapp’s book, Marathon Leadership: 26.2 Essential Lessons for Modern Leaders, this highly interactive and entertaining course will help participants overcome the leadership challenges they face every day.
Through self-analysis, case studies, and group exercises, participants will learn how to apply these lessons for becoming better leaders.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Incorporate the “26.2 Essential Lessons for Modern Leaders” into their daily leadership behaviors;
- Understand the key differences between effective leadership and management;
- Leverage their individual leadership strengths, while compensating for their individual leadership weaknesses, as identified by the R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management assessment;
- Assess the performance needs of their followers by applying the R.A.N.™ Model
of Performance Management; - Address the performance needs of their followers by applying the R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management; and
- Execute an effective performance-management conversation.
Assessment
R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management assessment (optional)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, full day, 1.5 days, or two full days
Virtual: One to four 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Most organizations offer some type of training for their supervisors and managers to help them develop their leadership and management skills. But few organizations offer training sessions that teach individual contributors how to help their supervisors and managers lead them more effectively.
To that end, this half-day course is designed either as a stand-alone session or as a complementary session to our Marathon Leadership® course. Created in a highly interactive, informative, and entertaining format, it will provide specific communication strategies and techniques to help participants partner with their supervisors and managers in the performance-management process.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand their current followership style based on the Followership Styles assessment;
- Demonstrate the critical-thinking and actively engaged behaviors of an Effective Follower;
- Assess their own performance quickly and accurately based on the R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management;
- Identify the appropriate performance- management role for their current stage of performance based on the R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management; and
- Apply effective communication strategies and techniques to help their supervisor or manager execute a successful performance-management conversation.
Assessment
Followership Styles (optional)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, or full day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Demonstrating effective performance-management skills is critical for managers at all levels of an organization – from team leads and frontline supervisors to members of the C-Suite.
Therefore, this highly interactive leadership development course will help participants overcome the performance-management challenges they face every day.
Based on Dr. David Knapp’s book Marathon Leadership: 26.2 Essential Lessons for Modern Leaders, the course uses self-analysis, case studies, and group exercises to help participants learn and apply best practices in performance management.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Understand the key differences between effective leadership and management;
- Apply the “Do’s and Don’ts of Effective Management” in their day-to-day behaviors;
- Leverage their individual leadership strengths, while compensating for their individual leadership weaknesses, as identified by the R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management assessment;
- Assess the performance needs of their followers by applying the R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management;
- Address the performance needs of their followers by applying the R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management; and
- Execute an effective performance-management conversation.
Assessment
R.A.N.™ Model of Performance Management (optional)
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, full day, 1.5 days, or two full days
Virtual: One to four 2-hour instructor-led sessions
Robert K. Greenleaf introduced “Servant-Leadership” in his seminal 1970 essay “The Servant as Leader.” Both a broad leadership philosophy and specific set of leadership skills and practices, servant-leadership is based on a service-first – not a leader-first – mentality.
This means servant-leaders focus first and foremost on sharing power, developing people, and meeting the needs of others, rather than initially focusing on gaining power, prestige, and material wealth. It also means servant-leaders see others as partners in a transformational process that develops both leader and followers – with the ultimate goal of creating more servant-leaders, who will repeat the process.
In this highly interactive leadership development course, participants will learn how to become servant-leaders themselves – as well as how to create other servant-leaders – through self-reflection, case studies, and group exercises.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
Understand the philosophy of servant-leadership;
Recognize the key differences between servant-leadership, other types of leadership philosophies, and traditional management;
Learn the personal traits and behaviors that strengthen servant-leadership;
Implement actions that nurture the growth and development of other servant-leaders; and
Discover effective ways to motivate individuals by creating autonomy, mastery, and purpose in the workplace.
Delivery Options
In-Person: Two hours, half day, or full day
Virtual: One or two 2-hour instructor-led sessions
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Leadership is a marathon; management is a series of sprints.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our leadership development and training workshops.
Yes. Every workshop – including topics related to communication skills, team effectiveness, and leadership development – can be tailored to your organization’s goals, culture, and current challenges. Basic customization may include adjusting content, incorporating your examples, or aligning activities with your internal processes. If your workshop requires extensive customization, then there is an additional cost for that service.
Most workshops work well with groups of 12 to 30 participants, but they can be adapted for smaller teams or larger groups depending on your needs.
Yes. Many organizations bundle related sessions into a multi-part series for deeper professional growth. Popular combinations include leadership development or performance management, emotional intelligence, communication skills, and conflict management topics. We can help you design a sequence that aligns with your group's specific goals.
Yes. Sessions include discussion, practical tools, and applied exercises so participants can practice new skills in a supportive environment.
In-person workshops are delivered throughout the greater Denver metro area and across Colorado. We also travel nationally for organizations seeking onsite leadership development or team training sessions.