From Lived Experience to Learning Impact: Designing Leadership Training That Actually Changes Behavior
Registration Deadline: April 9
Leadership development programs often raise awareness but struggle to create lasting behavior change. Learning and development professionals are under increasing pressure to design training that resonates with leaders, reflects real workplace challenges, and translates into meaningful action long after the session ends. This presentation explores how experiential learning can be intentionally designed to close the gap between knowing and doing. In this session, participants will examine why traditional content heavy approaches frequently fall short and how experience based learning better aligns with how adults learn and retain information. The session introduces a clear, repeatable framework built around experience, reflection, and application. Rather than relying on storytelling alone, participants learn how to structure lived workplace experiences into purposeful learning moments that support insight, engagement, and transfer. Through guided discussion and interactive activities, attendees will explore common leadership training challenges and practice redesigning a learning experience using an experiential lens. The session emphasizes practical application rather than a single topic area, making the framework adaptable across leadership development, burnout prevention, inclusion, and change initiatives. Participants will leave with actionable tools, facilitation strategies, and a practical approach they can immediately apply to elevate the impact of their leadership training and create learning experiences that leaders remember and apply in their day to day work.
Learning Objectives:
1.Identify why traditional leadership training often fails to drive sustained behavior change.
2.Explain how experiential learning and lived experience can be intentionally structured to improve engagement and retention.
3.Apply a simple experience–reflection–application framework to redesign a leadership or talent development session.
4.Design one practical learning activity that can be immediately adapted for leadership development, burnout, inclusion, or change initiatives.
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Presented by:
Chef Maria Kemp
Chef Maria Kemp is an Experiential Learning Strategist and leadership development facilitator with more than a decade of experience designing and delivering learning experiences that drive real behavior change. She brings a strong foundation in corporate environments, facilitation, and experiential learning design to her work with organizations and learning and development teams. Maria is known for turning real workplace challenges into practical, engaging leadership development tools that help leaders move from awareness to action. Her work supports learning professionals who want to create training that resonates, sticks, and delivers lasting impact.
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Join ATD Charlotte for our monthly chapter meeting. Meet other talent development professionals in the Charlotte area, discover job opportunities and - if you're recruiting - connect with job seekers, hear about the latest chapter news, and participate in a fantastic program.
All times Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Location: NOTE: New Location!!
CPI Security Systems Corporate Office
4300 Sandy Porter Rd, Charlotte, NC 28273
Parking: please park anywhere in the parking lot (EV is for employees only, though).
Enter through the main entrance in the front of the building that faces Sandy Porter Road, please enter 4300 building (not 4200 building).
Check in: 5-6pm
Meeting start time: 5:45pm
Note: For any guests attending (without a guest pass), please select 'Guest-In Person' for your registration; the cost is $25 to cover the meeting and food.
We are looking forward to seeing you! Remember that in order to protect food costs and your membership dollars ATD charges a $25 no-show fee. So if something comes up please cancel by Thursday (7 days prior to the event) 12noon before the meeting. Thanks!!!
Meeting Schedule:
All times Eastern Time (US & Canada)
- 5:45pm - Meeting starts
- Dinner!
- Networking & Job Forum
- Chapter Announcements
- Presentation
- 8:00pm - Meeting Concludes
