Our team is certified in action learning, a form of team coaching that builds leadership skills while achieving real outcomes. One key takeaway from this process is the importance of stopping to reflect on learnings as they occur. Like learning to ride a bike—true breakthroughs happen when you ride, fall, reflect, and try again.

We’ve learned the value of contingency planning. Early in the pandemic, we prepared for potential team absences due to illness. This planning paid off when a fire disrupted our office, and our CEO, Shannon, stepped away for six weeks during a busy delivery period.

Be Leadership donates 5% of profits to purpose-led organizations chosen by our team. In 2024, this included supporting the Be Leadership Study Abroad Fund at the University of Kansas, Shannon’s alma mater. Giving back is core to our mission, shaping how we work, operate, and spend our time.

Asking open questions and listening carefully are central to our work. While easier said than done, we’ve learned that everything improves when we listen to learn.

We prioritize learning with and from each other. Every team member brings unique skills and experiences, and by sharing knowledge and engaging with outside experts, we grow and develop collectively.

We practice what we preach, stepping out of comfort zones to innovate, grow, and have fun as a team. Enough said.

We believe leaders learn best when they focus on true challenges that result in real impact. We create learning opportunities that connect global corporations and purpose-driven organizations to co-learn while they solve important societal & organizational problems.

Leaders who are self-aware and a bit vulnerable inspire trust and connection. To support this, we help leaders and teams identify their purpose and values. At Be Leadership, we’ve done this work ourselves and know how much authenticity matters.

In March 2020, we were set to deliver an in-person program in Luxembourg. When COVID-19 struck, we redesigned it for virtual delivery and ran it successfully in May. Challenges are unavoidable, but as we learned from Robert Frost, the best way to deal with these situations is to take one step at a time and find your way through.

As a fully virtual team, we rarely meet in person, and we don’t have an office that people come to regularly. Yet we focus on building genuine relationships that foster psychological safety and deepen collaboration. Connectivity doesn’t necessarily lead to connection, but it can, with effort and attention.