I do my best leadership design thinking on the trail.
Not because I am escaping from work. When I run, my work comes with me. Client conversations replay in my head. Leadership challenges resurface. Program ideas click into place somewhere between base pace and push pace.
I used to think I needed work-life balance. Clean lines. Separate boxes.
But I do not want balance. I want blend.
When my personal and professional worlds inform each other, both get stronger. A hard hill reminds me how to pace a leadership cohort. A steady rhythm makes me think about sustainable growth. And this week, a burro named Winnie reminded me how leadership development should be designed.
She sparked a powerful reminder about intentional intensity.
Partnership Sets the Pace
Running with a burro is not a solo sport (Be honest, did you even know it was a sport)? π
You cannot sprint ahead. You cannot drag her up the hill. You move together. There is rhythm. Awareness. Adjustment. Some hills are walked. Flats become steady pushes. Occasionally, you both go all-out.
That is intentional intensity.
And it is exactly how leadership development should be built.
Too many leadership programs feel like a sprint. One packed workshop. One overloaded retreat. One marathon webinar with zero breathing room. Information becomes noise. Energy crashes.
Better design asks:
- Where should we walk?
- Where should we push?
(A bit of an Orangethory Fitness reference here).
Intensity without strategy leads to burnout. Strategy without intensity leads to boredom. The power is in the calibration.
Stop Sprinting Your Leadership Programs
Leadership is not built in a single surge of motivation. It is built through spaced learning and applied practice.
Intentional intensity in a leadership webinar series looks like this:
- Base pace – Clear frameworks and shared language.
- Push pace – Discussion, scenarios, and stretch conversations.
- All out – Real commitments and conversations leaders have been avoiding.
Then comes what most programs skip.
Reflection.
Spacing sessions over time allows leaders to test ideas, adjust behavior, and return ready for the next push. Without space, there is no integration. Without integration, there is no transformation.
Walking the hill is not slowing down. It is preparing for the next climb.
Designing for Rhythm, Not Just Content
As learning professionals, we often measure success by how much we deliver.
But leaders do not need more content. They need better pacing.
Designing with intentional intensity means:
- Building in reflection time
- Creating structured peer conversations
- Assigning small experiments between sessions
- Resisting the urge to fill every minute with slides
Leadership growth requires oxygen.
That is the philosophy behind our upcoming leadership webinar series. Each session builds intentionally. There is space for application. We are not sprinting through theory. We are designing sustainable leadership development.
Because high performing leaders are not created in one all out experience. They are developed through rhythm.
Work Life Blend Fuels Better Design
That trail run did not distract me from work. It sharpened it.
Climbing a hill made me think about pressure. Settling into pace reminded me of sustainable performance. Recovery reinforced the power of pause in learning design.
That is work life blend.
Not blurred boundaries. Not burnout. Integration.
You are one human. When you allow your experiences to inform each other, your leadership philosophy deepens. And your programs get better.
If your leadership development feels exhausting to deliver or overwhelming to attend, that is a design issue.
Intentional intensity creates:
- Clear progression
- Strategic stretch
- Built in recovery
- Sustainable momentum
Our leadership webinar series kicks off this week, and it is built around this exact approach. If you are ready to stop sprinting your programs and start designing leadership development with intentional intensity, this is your invitation.
Comment or message me for details. And next time you are on a walk or run, pay attention to what insights show up when you let your worlds blend. That might be your best design session yet.