In preparation for an upcoming webinar, we spoke with Blanchard’s chief product officer, Dr. Jay Campbell, about one of the most stubborn challenges in leadership development: why so many training efforts fail to stick.
What Dr. Campbell shared was both sobering and encouraging: sobering, because the obstacles to sustainment are real and persistent; and encouraging, because the solutions are within reach.
Why Training Fades
When I asked Campbell why leadership training so often fails to create lasting change, his answer was blunt: workload.
“Leaders return from training sessions full of ideas and motivation but immediately find themselves overwhelmed by pressing deadlines, stacked calendars, and urgent requests. That critical window—just a couple of weeks when new skills are fresh and learners are most likely to apply what they’ve learned—quickly closes.”
Distractions are another culprit, Campbell explains.
“In busy workplaces, attention is constantly pulled in different directions, and new learning is easily forgotten.”
Even more damaging are mixed messages from managers.
“If a learner’s boss isn’t supportive—or worse, signals that the training wasn’t important, people naturally set it aside.”
And finally, there’s confidence.
“New skills often feel awkward. Without proficiency, many employees are reluctant to try out the new stuff and end up slipping back into familiar habits.”
Taken together, these forces make sustainment a fragile process—and without deliberate attention, fade-out becomes almost inevitable.
The Cost of Lost Momentum
The consequences of this fade-out are significant. As Campbell points out, “Organizations design training programs with ambitious goals—better leadership, stronger teams, more innovation. When training isn’t applied, those goals go unmet. Initiatives stall, investments underperform, and, perhaps most discouraging of all, potential is lost. The ideas and improvements that could have emerged simply never surface.”
Building a Toolbox for Sustainment
This is where Campbell’s upcoming webinar will focus. He intends to go deeper into the obstacles that prevent training transfer, and to highlight the blind spots L&D professionals often miss.
“Delivering training is only half the battle. What organizations need is a sustainment strategy.” Campbell describes this as a “toolbox” of approaches, not a one-size-fits-all solution.
“The key is for leaders and managers to select the right combination of techniques that fit their culture, their teams, and even the subcultures within their organizations. With the right mix, training has a far greater chance of sticking.”
The SLII® Redesign: Sustainment by Design
In connecting this discussion to Blanchard’s own design work. I asked Campbell how the redesign of Blanchard’s SLII® leadership development program addresses sustainment. He shared that sustainment is woven into the program.
“The new design for SLII® builds reflection and metacognition into the learning journey, encouraging participants to think deeply about how the skills matter in their work.”
He also shared that beyond mindset, the program integrates practical supports. Activities that start in the classroom are designed to carry over into the workplace, easing the transition from theory to action.
“We build in support tools that are introduced in class and then carried back into the workplace. For example, learners practice several conversations in class using diagnosing and matching—but the real conversations actually happen after class. That way, the transition from the learning environment to the job is smooth.
“Then there are new tools such as the updated SLII® mobile app and the SLII® chatbot that support people, send reminders, and act like training wheels during those tricky early periods.”
Three Essentials for Lasting Impact
One of the most practical features of the SLII® redesign is the three-step action plan. Campbell explained how earlier follow-up programs included 21 steps, which were later condensed to 12, but were still too much for busy professionals. The new approach keeps it simple by focusing on three essentials:
1. Have the SLII® conversations with team members that they prepared for in the classroom. This gets them practicing SLII® right away around their real situations.
2. Teach the SLII® language to team members. This creates accountability and a shared understanding, making sustainment a team effort.
3. Schedule regular one-on-ones. Campbell calls these “almost magical” because they naturally pull leaders into diagnosing, listening, and supporting.
By focusing on these three steps, leaders dramatically increase the likelihood that they will still be practicing SLII® a month after training.
The Power of a Common Language
We also discussed one of the foundational ideas in SLII®: creating a common leadership language. Campbell described it as vital for two reasons.
“First, organizational leaders often want to establish some approach or framework as a common part of their culture. Shared language is an important part of that. It creates social cues that this framework is important to learn and use.”
“Second, a common language builds clarity and connection. When people can say things like ‘I’m at D2 on this,' (shorthand for disillusioned learner) or ‘I need more support, not direction,’ expectations are clear and alignment grows.
“What’s more,” explains Campbell, “the language spreads. Those who haven’t taken the course often overhear these terms and ask for training so they don’t miss the bus.”
Campbell shared how curiosity from colleagues can create a ripple effect, drawing more people into the learning and amplifying its cultural impact.
Who Should Attend the Upcoming Webinar—and Why
When I asked Campbell who should attend his webinar, his answer was broad: anyone interested in organizational learning will benefit—L&D professionals, HR leaders, facilitators, executives, even entrepreneurs. “Sustainment is a universal challenge. If you’re trying to help people learn and grow inside an organization, this is an issue you’ll face sooner or later.”
One Key Takeaway
Finally, I asked Campbell to sum it all up. What’s the one message he hopes people take away? His answer: training by itself is only half the job. “Without sustainment, you’re making the sandwich, but it’s not being eaten.”
The good news, he stressed, is that sustainment is doable.
“By identifying two or three techniques that fit your culture, and by noticing other ideas or language that have already been adopted in your environment, you can make training stick. The key is to be intentional. Otherwise, the investment and the potential simply fade away.”
Campbell’s passion for this topic is clear, and his message is one every leader and learning professional should hear. If your organization has struggled to turn training into behavior change, or if you’re curious about how Blanchard’s redesigned SLII® program builds sustainment into its design, this webinar is a valuable opportunity.
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Join us for a free webinar on September 24.
Why Leadership Training Fails—and What to Do About It
Wednesday, September 24, 2025, 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time
Organizations invest heavily in leadership development, yet many leaders struggle to keep skills alive beyond the classroom. Research shows that without reinforcement, much of what is learned fades within 60 to 90 days. So how can companies ensure their leadership programs deliver lasting impact?
Join Dr. Jay Campbell, chief product officer at Blanchard, for an engaging webinar on how to apply sustainment strategies in a way that helps leaders refresh, practice, and apply core leadership skills after initial training.
Using examples from the redesign of Blanchard’s SLII® leadership development program—a reimagined leadership learning experience built for real-world impact, you’ll learn how to protect your leadership programs from fading.
In this session, Dr. Campbell will share:
Whether you’re an HR leader, L&D professional, or executive sponsor, this session will give you insights in how to keep leadership development alive and thriving. You’ll walk away with strategies for ensuring that development investments create not just short-term learning, but also long-term cultural impact.
Don’t miss this opportunity to discover how to make learning stick.
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