Why Most Leadership Training Fails — And the Skill You Really Need

Organizations spend billions every year on leadership training. Yet, research shows that fewer than 10% of programs actually expand a leader’s ability to think differently. 

This is not shocking. If you've been on LinkedIn lately, you have undoubtedly seen the diluted 'leadership' content being floated around (one of my biggest triggers these days, but I digress...).

When people think 'leadership' training, they think about learning soft skills like delegation, feedback, conflict resolution. Don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with honing your soft skills. Those skills are certainly needed in today's world.

But 90% of the time, these trainings are designed to give you helpful information—think 7 Strategies for Building Trust on Your Team, or 5 Ways to Handle Difficult Conversations with Confidence—and they leave out the most important part: how to change the thoughts, feelings and actions in the moment when these skills are needed.

Why? Well, in short, BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT. It's uncomfortable; it requires you to not only give them an alternative solution, but also to impact their default response under stress.

If you want to build learning that actually has a behavioral impact, you need to engage the part of the brain that deals with advanced functioning and behavior.

How do you do that, you ask? Let's get nerdy for a second.

Horizontal vs. Vertical Learning

Most training focuses on horizontal learning. This kind of learning expands what we know: facts, tools, and strategies. Neuroscience tells us it engages the explicit memory system. This is the part of the brain that stores and retrieves information. It’s efficient and measurable, but limited.

Think of this as a flash card moment. You see "conflict" and your explicit memory says "time to pull out my best-practices checklist".

By contrast, vertical learning expands how we think. It activates the brain’s executive function network in the prefrontal cortex — the system responsible for perspective-taking, reframing experiences, and making meaning out of complexity.

You see “conflict” and instead of reaching for a prescribed checklist, you pause and notice your own tension. You ask yourself, “What’s really happening?” and choose to engage with curiosity rather than defensiveness.

The Limits of Horizontal Learning

Horizontal learning is fast, practical, and tangible. It can improve performance in the short term — much like downloading a new app onto a phone. But apps don’t solve the problem if the operating system itself is outdated and filled with bugs.

In organizational life, that means people may be able to adopt new tools, yet still struggle with deeper, systemic challenges:

• Breaking down silos

  
  

• Leading cultural change

  
  

• Navigating uncertainty or rapid growth

  
  

These are problems that resist technical fixes. They require new ways of seeing and sense-making — precisely what horizontal learning does not provide.

The Promise of Vertical Growth

Vertical learning helps leaders rewire the brain for adaptability. It:

• Strengthens mental flexibility to view problems from multiple perspectives.

  
  

• Builds resilience in the face of ambiguity and stress.

  
  

• Creates systemic awareness, enabling individuals to identify patterns, root causes, and leverage points for change.

  
  

In short, horizontal learning solves today’s problems. Vertical learning prepares you for tomorrow’s uncertainty.

Where to Find Vertical Learning

Finding these opportunities is not difficult if you know what to look for. Unlike traditional training, vertical learning doesn’t live in a manual or a slide deck, and you likely will not find it in an on-demand class or conference breakout with 200 other individuals.

It happens in spaces that stretch how you think, feel, and respond. Some of the BEST places to find it are:

• Executive/Leadership Coaching – 1:1 guidance that helps you uncover blind spots, shift perspectives, and expand adaptive capacity.

  
  

  (Note: Please be sure that the 'coach' is trained and ICF-certified; there are many people calling themselves coaches who have absolutely no professional training - another pet peeve!)

  
  

• Peer Circles & Learning Groups – Safe, challenging spaces where individuals reflect together on real-world problems.

  
  

• Experiential Programs – Smaller, immersive workshops, retreats, and case-in-point facilitation that surface live dynamics.

  
  

• Mindfulness & Embodied Practices – Yes, you can even start by focusing inward in your daily habits by becoming aware of your own feelings and approaching them with curiosity. Journaling, meditating, and listening to different perspectives on things you are passionate about are all ways to begin to expand your own ways of thinking.

  
  

Rethinking How to Invest in Leadership Training

If leadership development is to keep pace with the demands of modern work, it must move beyond the comfort of horizontal learning. Organizations that fail to make this shift risk producing individuals who are highly trained, but ill-equipped to navigate the very complexity that defines today’s environment.

The future belongs to leaders whose brains — and behaviors — have been rewired to think differently, adaptively. And that is the true promise of vertical learning.