The Leadership Challenge — Take Control of Your Leadership Identity
A program for high-potential leaders – created by former executive educators from Harvard Business School
We challenge you to answer a simple question — who are you as a leader?
The honest answer will determine how ready you are for new leadership challenges in your organization.
And remember, there is no such thing as a perfect leader. Your strengths – and your perceived imperfections – shape your leadership identity at work — how others see you — how you see yourself — how you build trust — how you create authentic relationships — how you bounce back from failure — how you deal with anxiety — and, how well you make decisions under stress and uncertainty.
If you are ready to take control of your leadership identity and prepare mentally for new challenges outside your comfort zone, we invite you to join The Leadership Challenge.
Our team will take you through a series of exercises to help you rethink and reforge your leadership identity – and help you mentally prepare for increased leadership responsibility in your organization. – Exercise: Discover how others really see you as a leader. Like it or not, there is a gap between how work colleagues see you as a leader, and how you truly want to be seen. We will work with you to bridge this gap. – Exercise: Name your imperfections. Even if you excel in your current position (as you surely do), eventually your boss or your board will assign bigger, more important projects. Some will inevitably trigger fear, anxiety, and expose capability gaps. We challenge you to identify and actually give a name to your imperfections. You can’t fix your flaws until you first give them a name. – Exercise: Engage in deep reflection. Emerging leaders live in a work-world obsessed with setting goals, forming to-do lists, and creating short-term tangible targets that are easy to measure. But without systematic time for deep reflection, you will begin to drift. Others will shape your leadership identity and control your destiny. We will help you reflect on your career trajectory, mental models, and leadership aspirations within your organization. – Exercise: Practice giving and receiving honest feedback. This leadership skill is essential — and much more difficult than it seems — but it literally defines your ability to create authentic relationships. Most emerging leaders sugarcoat feedback, get too emotional, or avoid the process altogether. During group sessions, we will help you give – and receive – honest feedback under the constructive eye of our team of executive coaches. – Exercise 5: Start practicing new behaviors. Our coaches will encourage you to begin practicing new behaviors that align with your aspirational leadership identity. No one can change overnight. It takes practice, reflection, and feedback.
Who Should Participate? –Professionals in law, investment banking, consulting, real estate, and healthcare — who would benefit from hands-on support from a team of experts versus ad-hoc advice friends, colleagues, or online classes. – Emerging leaders in private equity or venture capital backed organizations – where predictable results are expected regardless of increasing pressure. – High-potential leaders who recognize the importance of the quote — “What got you here, won’t get you there.” – Individuals willing to take on the risks of openly giving and receiving honest feedback. This is not a 'check-the-box' program for detached observation.
How Is Success Measured? We measure participants increased readiness to take on greater leadership responsibility within their organization. Key metrics: We work with partner companies to determine the correct mix of success metrics. –Do participants have a clearer understanding of how others view them as a leader? –Have they begun to close the gap between how others perceive them as a leader, and how they view themselves? –Have participants started practicing new behaviors that are in line with their aspirational leadership identity? –Have participants explored with their coach preexisting mental models and assumptions? –Have participants displayed intellectual curiosity and a learn-it-all mindset (versus a know-it-all mindset) during the program? –Were participants open to new ideas – and did they incorporate the (good) ideas of others into their own mental models? –Have participants had honest conversations with our team of coaches about these new behaviors; how people reacted; and their feelings? –Did the participants explore fears that are common among all high-potential leaders – anxiety, fear, shame, imposter syndrome, etc.? –Have the participants learned to give – and receive – constructive feedback? –Have participants made an honest attempt to identify their personal ‘imperfections’? –Do participants feel more comfortable ‘in their own skin’ even though their responsibility level has increased? – Did participants have a good time and enjoy this process?
Who are Guest Speakers? Recent guests include – thought leaders from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Oxford, Milken Institute, World Economic Forum, and many top CEOs. Psychological safety pioneer at Harvard Business School, Amy Edmondson. #1 Thought Leader, Roger Martin. Harvard University Dean, Rakesh Khurana. Leadership guru, Professor Linda Hill. Columbia Psychology Emeritus, Dr. Robert Carter. Founders and CEOs: Pixar, Sequoia Capital, Cirque du Soleil, IDEO, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, and many others.
Why Should Organizations Consider this Program for Rising Stars? Top performers are understandably proud of their reputation as hard chargers. But there is no such thing as a perfect leader. Beneath the surface all high-performers experience the same imperfections and uncomfortable emotions and feelings as the rest of us — fear, anxiety, insomnia, extreme introversion, conflicting values, and stress, to name just a few — yet they must continue to perform at a high level even as they take on more leadership responsibility. If personal feelings are neglected, discomfort will morph into a toxic culture, dysfunction, and attrition. We believe the best solution is an integrated team approach to helping exceptional talent solve personal challenges and become more human-centric leaders. Quotes: "Either you take the lead in defining yourself, or someone else will do it for you – and it's infinitely better to do it yourself," Harvard Business Review, March 2025. “If some of the worlds best CEOs have discovered the importance of the human side of leadership and have taken the time to go deep within themselves to build that capability, then surely this approach will be valuable to many others in all types of organizations.” McKinsey, 2024 “When CEOs can admit their flaws and mistakes, they create a sense of trust and authenticity with all stakeholders." Russell Reynolds, 2024 "Imperfect leaders are more innovative and open to new ideas than leaders who focus on maintaining a perfect image." Spencer Stuart, 2024 “Adding vulnerability to personal growth journeys heightens leadership potential.” McKinsey, 2024 “Millennials, in particular, want their leaders to share their human side, including their vulnerabilities. What they are seeking, in short, is authenticity.“ Russell Reynolds, 2024 – Senior leaders should compare notes with future leaders, get them to open up about their biggest challenges, and jointly determine how to address them. McKinsey Global Managing Partner
The Benefits — Why Join the Leadership Challenge?
It's like your own personal board of advisors – executive educators, coaches, psychologists, and brand strategists – to help you construct a leadership identity that aligns with your career aspirations.
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Map your leadership identity, and close the gap between how work colleagues see you, versus how you truly want to be seen. There is always a gap.
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Receive honest feedback from professional assessors on your leadership readiness and blind spots. It’s far better to have this insight before your next formal assessment or big promotion – and start fixing them ahead of time.
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Rethink deep-seated assumptions that are creating psychological barriers to reaching your full leadership potential — even though they may be the exact same habits and beliefs that helped you succeed in the first place.
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Probe deeply with your executive coach on what you perceive as ‘imperfections’ — like fear of failure, extreme introversion, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, insomnia, risk avoidance, and many others — that are quite common among highly-motivated individuals.
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Tap into new leadership insights from a remarkable lineup of guest speakers — thought leaders, professional athletes, performance psychologists, coaches, and executive educators from top business schools around the world.
Meet the Team Leaders
This program was developed and is facilitated by Jeffrey Cohn and Dr. Carrie Muchow, and are joined by thought leaders, executive coaches, and academic gurus.
Jeffrey Cohn
Jeffrey was a former fellow at the CEO Leadership Institute, and case facilitator at the Harvard Business School, where he helped write the very first case study on Apple. He was also an assessment expert and leadership advisor at Spencer Stuart and Heidrick & Struggles. Recent articles: "How Yale Law School is becoming the next Harvard Business School," and "Why CEOs Should Model Vulnerability."
Dr. Carrie Muchow
Dr. Carrie Muchow is a sought after executive coach, cognitive behavioral therapist, and professional assessor. Dr. Muchow received her Ph.D. with Honors in psychology, with an emphasis in neuroscience, from Columbia University. She specializes in helping high-potential leaders manage stress, anxiety, and uncertainty in their careers. She has also helped global talent consultancies create proprietary assessment tools.
Program Activities & Takeaways
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Create Your Leadership Identity Map. Under our guidance, you will create an identity map — a simple device that will help you identify, visualize, and ultimately leverage the many interconnected elements that make up your sense of who you are, and who you want to become as a leader in your organization.
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Practice Telling Your Leadership Story. Our team of former Harvard Business School case writers will help you reflect, reframe, and articulate your authentic leadership story in a more compelling way.
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Be an Active Participant in Group Discussions. Practice giving and receiving constructive feedback in professionally moderated group discussions. Sharing feedback is hard – asking for honest feedback, about your leadership style and ability to create authentic connections, is even more difficult.
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Share Personal Challenges with Your Coach. You will have an executive coach to discuss personal challenges that directly impact your leadership identity, mental models, and career aspirations.
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Practice New Behaviors. Espoused-but-unlived identities create cynicism because they promise what they do not deliver. Work with your coach to ensure that the leadership identity you advertise is embodied in your day-to-day work, and check in with those around you to verify impact. Do they see you as you wish to be seen? If you say you are flexible and approachable, do others find you so?