Are your leaders helping you retain top talent—or accidentally driving them away?

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, HR leader Courtney Stevens and host Mickey Fitch-Collins explore how intentional leadership development fuels stronger culture, deeper engagement, and better retention. If you're an HR or L&D professional looking to boost impact without burning out your budget, this conversation will give you real-world insight into what works—and what undermines your efforts. From inclusive onboarding to pre-leadership pipelines, Courtney shares candid stories, concrete actions, and one vital truth: your leaders shape the employee experience more than any slogan or poster ever could.

This Episode Covers:

• The “wheel” model for ongoing leadership growth (and how it prevents one-and-done learning)
• How pre-leadership programming helps avoid promoting someone who’s great at tasks but not ready for people leadership
• The biggest mistakes organizations make in leadership development—and how to avoid them
• Why authenticity is a leadership superpower—and how Courtney learned this the hard way
• One question you can ask your team today to immediately deepen engagement

Timestamped Highlights

00:00 – Welcome & intro: Why leadership development is key to culture and retention

01:50 – Courtney’s leadership background: from education to HR

02:15 – The impact of revamping leadership development five years ago

03:30 – Creating a shared language across all leadership levels

05:00 – “The smartest person in the room is the room”: Learning from each other

06:40 – Ego-free leadership: leading with humility and curiosity

07:30 – Connecting leadership training to organizational values and goals

09:10 – “Values aren’t words, they’re actions”: Bringing company values to life

10:25 – Why bad leadership—not bad companies—drives turnover

12:30 – The employee experience lives in the leader-employee relationship

13:50 – Leadership programs as visible proof of internal investment and growth

15:00 – Including executive career journeys in new hire orientation

16:30 – Making learning continuous: The “leadership development wheel”

18:00 – Keeping training relevant with blog posts, pulse checks, and peer cohorts

19:55 – Designing inclusive, personalized leadership experiences

21:50 – The dangers of one-and-done training and inauthentic leadership

23:40 – Misalignment between stated values and lived experiences

25:00 – When a performance issue needs a conversation, not a class

26:40 – Launching a “pre-leadership” track to prepare future leaders

28:00 – Pre-leadership as a testing ground: “Is this path right for you?”

30:40 – Courtney’s biggest leadership lesson: authenticity beats imitation

33:30 – Why trying to be someone else as a leader never works

35:00 – “These are the hours I have on this earth—I’m going to enjoy them.”

36:45 – Uncomfortable truth: Not everyone who’s good at their job should be a leader

38:30 – Leadership is getting results through others—not doing it all yourself

40:40 – Action tip #1: Reflect on your conversations—are they about tasks or growth?

42:00 – Action tip #2: Start with one conversation focused on someone’s future

43:30 – Final takeaway: “Investing in leaders changes everything”

45:10 – How to connect with Courtney on LinkedIn

45:50 – Outro: subscribe, review, and share the conversation on LinkedIn

About Courtney

Courtney Stevens is the Director of Human Resources at CoServ, where she leads talent development, aligns HR strategies with business goals, and builds culture through intentional leadership programs. With 15+ years in leadership, training, and org development—and nearly two decades in education as a school principal—Courtney brings deep experience and a people-first approach to growing leaders at every level.

Resources Referenced

Courtney Stevens on LinkedIn

CoServ

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