Leadership Institute of Seattle

08/31/2026

"You miss 100 percent of all the shots you never take."
— Wayne Gretzky

Applies to hockey. Applies to leadership. Applies to your development.
How many times have you said you wanted to grow, invest in yourself, go deeper, or make a real change in how you lead, and then let the moment pass?
September is here. Tough Stuff is October 5 to 9. Info sessions for the master's program are September 10 and September 24. The shots are right in front of you.

Register for Tough Stuff: lios.org/tough-stuff
Join our Info sessions: lios.org/upcoming-info-sessions

What is one leadership goal you have been putting off that you are going to commit to this fall? Drop it below.

Discover how our Master of Science in Leadership, Management and Organization Development will benefit you!

08/28/2026

There are 37 days until Tough Stuff™.

October 5 to 9, 2026. Seattle, WA. Five days that can genuinely change how you lead.

We know that is a bold claim. But here is what a Transit Authority official said after sending their leaders through Tough Stuff:

"We do an annual employee engagement survey and the results have shown no statistical improvement with one notable exception: the scores for the leaders we have sent through Tough Stuff have all improved in a statistically significant way."

That is their data. Not ours.

If you have been waiting for the right time to invest in your leadership development, this is it.

Register now at lios.org/tough-stuff

What would it mean for your team if you came back from a week of intensive leadership development with genuinely new skills?

Join our Tough Stuff T-Group to enhance your leadership skills. Sign up now for this unique learning journey!

08/27/2026

LIOS has been training leaders since 1969.

Not with lectures. Not with theory alone. With experience.
The MS in Leadership, Management and Organizational

Development is built around 12 week-long residencies over 2 years in Seattle, WA. Small groups. Expert faculty. An 8 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio. Real skill development in real time.

Graduates leave knowing how to lead through conflict, navigate organizational change, coach individuals to their full potential, and build teams that actually function at a high level.
Over 2,000 alumni. State authorized. Applications now open.

The next info session is September 10. Register at lios.org/upcoming-info-sessions

What would change about your leadership if you had two years of intentional, experiential development behind you? 👇

Discover how our Master of Science in Leadership, Management and Organization Development will benefit you!

08/19/2026

“Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf.” — Native American Proverb

Short. Simple. And one of the most underrated leadership lessons there is.

The leaders who build the most trust are not the ones who have all the answers. They are the ones who make people feel genuinely heard. Not listened to while waiting to respond. Actually heard.

It is a skill. And like any skill, it can be developed with practice and real feedback.

What is the difference between a leader who listens and one who truly hears? How do you tell them apart?

08/10/2026

"The higher up in the hierarchy, the bigger the emotional impact. Don't leave the EQ at the top of the organization to chance." — Gil Crosby

This is not a soft leadership idea. This is an organizational performance issue.

When a leader at the top is reactive, anxious, or avoidant, those patterns ripple through every layer below them. Teams mirror their leaders. Cultures reflect who is at the top.

EQ at the senior level is not optional. It is structural.

Have you ever worked under a leader whose emotional patterns shaped the entire team culture, for better or worse? What did you notice?

07/31/2026

Organizational change is hard. But here is something that makes it harder than it needs to be.

Trying to change everyone at once instead of starting with the people doing the work.

From Strategic Organizational Alignment by Chris Crosby: you must identify the end users, the people who actually have to do things differently, and work with them before the change happens. Not after. Not during. Before.
When people are involved in shaping a change they are far more likely to own it. That is not a theory. That is 50 years of practice.

What is the number one reason you have seen change initiatives fail in your organization?

07/29/2026

A Transit Authority official who sent their leaders through Tough Stuff™ said it best:
"We do an annual employee engagement survey and the results have shown no statistical improvement with one notable exception: the scores for the leaders we have sent through Tough Stuff have all improved in a statistically significant way."

That is a real result from a real organization. Their own engagement data.
Tough Stuff™ works because it targets behavior, not just awareness.
October 5 to 9, 2026 in Seattle, WA. Limited spots.

Register at lios.org/tough-stuff

Have you ever seen a leadership training actually move the needle on engagement scores? What was different about it?

Join our Tough Stuff T-Group to enhance your leadership skills. Sign up now for this unique learning journey!

07/27/2026

"Insist on emotionally intelligent leadership at all levels." — Gil Crosby

Not just at the top. At every level.

The ripple effect of emotionally unintelligent leadership is enormous. A manager who cannot regulate their own anxiety, who goes defensive under pressure, who avoids hard conversations — that behavior spreads through their entire team and beyond.

EQ is not a soft skill. It is a performance variable. And it can be developed.

What is one thing emotionally intelligent leaders do consistently that others do not? 👇

07/24/2026

What do 2,000 alumni across 50 years have in common?

They all went through a program that refused to take the easy path.
The MS in Leadership, Management and Organizational Development at LIOS is not about memorizing frameworks. It is about doing the hard work of developing yourself so you can lead others more effectively.

You will leave knowing how to work up, down, and across any organization, navigate and resolve difficult conflicts, lead large-scale change tied to measurable results, and create groups that actually function at a high level.
12 residencies. 2 years. Seattle, WA. 8 to 1 student-faculty ratio.

Applications are open. Visit lios.org/masters-program
What would a master's degree in leadership change for you right now in your career?

Master of Science of Leadership, Management and Organizational Development.

07/22/2026

TODAY: Free Info Session for the MS in Leadership, Management and Organizational Development

July 23 | 6:30 to 7:30pm PST | Virtual

This is your second and final chance in July to hear directly from LIOS faculty and alumni about the master's program. No commitment, just a real conversation.

Who should attend:
Leaders looking to formalize their skills with a graduate degree
OD practitioners wanting deeper training
Change agents ready for the next level

Register now at lios.org/upcoming-info-sessions
Know someone who has been thinking about going back to school for leadership? Tag them here.

Discover how our Master of Science in Leadership, Management and Organization Development will benefit you!