When one of the world’s largest creative companies sets out to help 26,000 employees across 50+ markets get better at difficult conversations, the results are worth celebrating. This month, VML swept the Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards, winning eight of the eight categories they entered, including five Gold.
Four of those wins recognize Hi, VML’s leadership development series built in partnership with Yoodli:
Gold, Best Competencies and Skill Development
Gold, Best Use of AI for Leadership Development
Silver, Best Unique or Innovative Leadership Program
Silver, Best Leadership Development Program
Congratulations to Kelly Stuart-Johnson, Jamie Forman, and the entire VML learning and development team. These awards are famously hard to win, and an eight for eight sweep speaks to the caliber of the work.
The Hi Program Results at a Glance
Organization: VML, one of the world’s largest creative companies (26,000 employees, 50+ markets)
Program: Hi, a multi-episode leadership development series using Yoodli’s AI roleplays to practice difficult conversations
Results: 20 percent improvement in leader confidence; 81 percent of participants prepared for their toughest conversations
Recognition: Four Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards (two Gold, two Silver), 2026
Why Difficult Conversations are the Hardest Skill to Train
The Brandon Hall HCM Excellence Awards are among the most respected honors in human capital management, judged by independent panels of industry experts on program design, delivery, and measurable results. Winning one is difficult. Winning four for a single program is a signal that something different is happening.
The Hi Series tackles one of the hardest skills in any workplace: difficult conversations. Giving hard feedback, navigating disagreement, delivering unwelcome news. These are moments most professionals dread and few ever get to practice before the stakes are real. Traditional leadership development training relies on videos, slides, and the occasional in-person workshop, none of which give leaders a safe place to actually rehearse. That is where AI roleplays and real-time coaching change the equation, taking leaders from fearful to fluent in the conversations they used to avoid.
Using AI Roleplays to Practice Difficult Conversations at Scale
Through Yoodli’s AI roleplays, VML employees practice difficult conversations in realistic, low-stakes scenarios, receive feedback in real time, and build measurable competence in minutes rather than months. It is how the Hi Series takes users from confident to competent: practice builds the confidence to walk into a hard conversation, and repetition with feedback builds the competence to handle it well. For an organization of VML’s size and global footprint, that kind of scalable, personalized practice was not possible before AI.
The results are quantifiable: the Hi Series improved leader confidence by 20 percent, and 81 percent of participants reported feeling prepared for their toughest conversations.
“Yoodli made possible a scale of practice I could only have dreamed of earlier in my career. Thousands of people getting real feedback on hard conversations, at the moment they needed it, with no facilitator required. What made the difference for VML was that Yoodli saw us as real partners in shaping an already excellent product. We felt heard and saw changes as a result of sharing our experiences. Yoodli made a meaningful, measurable difference in our people’s ability to have clear and psychologically safe conversations and I can’t thank them enough.”
Kelly Stuart-Johnson, VP, Global Head of Learning, VML
A Partnership that Shaped the Product
What makes this story special is not just the technology. From the start, VML has taken an active role in shaping the product alongside Yoodli’s team, pushing on what AI roleplays could do for an enterprise learning organization and helping define what great looks like.
“We’re known for the ways we creatively push the limits of our tech stackThe partnership with Yoodli gave us the ability to build the learning experience exactly the way we wanted, teach a framework first and follow it with guided, customized practice. Before Yoodli, we didn’t have a way to scale that kind of practice, let alone measure it. Now participants get personalized feedback the moment they finish practicing, and for the first time, we can measure the resulting skill improvement.”
Jamie Forman, PhD, Global Manager, Learning and Development, VML
“Kelly and the VML team never treated Yoodli like a vendor. They pushed us, challenged our product team, and made the platform better for every customer we serve. These four awards belong to them, and we could not be prouder to have played a part.”
Varun Puri, CEO and co-founder, Yoodli
What Award-Winning Leadership Development Looks Like Now
At Yoodli, we believe the future of learning and development is experiential. People do not build communication skills by watching videos or reading slides. They build them by practicing, getting feedback, and practicing again. That is the journey the Hi Series was built around: from fearful to fluent, from confident to competent.
VML’s recognition from Brandon Hall Group is proof of what happens when a world-class L&D team pairs bold program design with AI roleplays that make practice possible at scale. It joins a growing body of evidence from enterprises using Yoodli for leadership development, like Ochsner Health, which gave frontline leaders a private, repeatable way to practice their hardest conversations, from performance reviews to rebuilding trust. Different industries, same principle: people get better faster when they can practice.
Congratulations again to the entire VML team. We are honored to be part of the Hi Series and excited for what comes next.
Want to see how AI roleplays can transform leadership development at your organization? Book a demo.
TL;DR:LAK Group, a boutique career and leadership development firm, partnered with Yoodli AI Roleplays to deliver scalable, on-demand coaching to enterprise clients across industries, from early-career professionals to senior leaders. By embedding their proprietary LAK communication, conflict, and feedback models directly into Yoodli’s customizable rubrics, LAK extended the reach of their live human coaching into a safe, judgment-free AI practice environment. The results: clients interview better and land jobs faster, sales teams in client organizations saw double-digit improvements in sales performance, and several organizations experienced up to a 50% reduction in employee turnover.
Background
LAK Group is a professional services firm operating two primary offerings: career coaching for individuals navigating growth and job transition, and enterprise leadership development delivered through their proprietary Oriel platform. Their client base spans recent college graduates through seasoned executives, with a particular focus on mid-level leadership populations inside enterprise organizations.
As demand for coaching at all levels in organizations scaled, LAK faced a challenge familiar to many high-touch service providers: how do you maintain the quality and personalization of career development through a balance of live coaching, assessment and learning adapted to each individual when large populations of learners at once while also enabling the ability to learn in the flow of work with practical experience?
The Challenge
LAK’s existing approach leaned heavily on microlearning videos to supplement their human coaching engagements. The results were underwhelming. Video content failed to drive meaningful engagement, and learners weren’t building the muscle memory that comes from actual practice.
The core problem was structural: live coaching is powerful but finite. A coach can only be in one conversation at a time. LAK needed a way to extend the impact of their proprietary frameworks, their models for conflict, communication, and feedback, into an on-demand format that felt personalized, not generic. LAK needed to help individuals learn in the flow of work with practical tools that anchored the right behaviors.
They also needed a solution purpose-built to serve diverse learner profiles across industries — one flexible enough to meet healthcare professionals like nurse managers and physicians, early-career talent, revenue producing professionals and people leaders where they were, including in the high-stakes conversations most tools aren’t designed to support.
The Solution
LAK Group partnered with Yoodli to bring their proprietary frameworks to life inside AI-powered roleplays. Rather than using off-the-shelf scenarios, LAK embedded their own communication, conflict, and feedback models directly into Yoodli’s customizable rubrics, ensuring every practice session reflected their methodology, not a generic coaching template.
The implementation included:
Hyperpersonalized Rubrics: LAK built rubrics rooted in their proprietary IP, so learners received feedback calibrated to LAK’s specific frameworks rather than boilerplate criteria.
Safe, On-Demand Practice: Learners could practice leadership conversations, interview scenarios, and communication skills on their own schedule, without the pressure of performing in front of a coach or colleague.
Enterprise ROI Dashboards: For each client organization, LAK built unique ROI dashboards to track engagement and outcomes, giving enterprise buyers tangible data on program performance.
Long-Term Cultural Activation: Beyond initial program delivery, LAK uses Yoodli to sustain culture activation long after the formal engagement ends. Even after the seven-month process of defining organizational cultural beliefs, employees can continue anchoring behaviors and leadership skills through self-directed Yoodli resources.
Why Yoodli
LAK evaluated alternatives before selecting Yoodli. Yoodli stood out immediately. The feedback felt natural and human-centered, the platform was flexible enough to reflect LAK’s nuanced methodology, and the experience was designed for the kind of coaching LAK actually delivers — not generic skill-building.
Yoodli stood out for its flexibility, adaptability, and its approach to feedback that felt natural rather than robotic. Critically, LAK wanted a technology partner they could grow with, an innovative team willing to build alongside them as their client base and use cases expanded.
As LAK looked ahead, the ability to integrate Yoodli with AI tools like Claude to design roleplays instantly aligned directly with their vision for “learning in the flow of work.”
The Results
Since implementing Yoodli AI Roleplays, LAK has seen measurable impact across learner confidence, client performance, and enterprise retention:
Improved Interview Performance: Clients utilizing Yoodli’s on-demand practice tools alongside live coaching sessions are interviewing better and securing jobs faster, with the combination of human coaching and AI practice proving more effective than either alone.
On average 9% – 12%Increase in Sales Performance: Across several enterprise client organizations using LAK’s Yoodli-powered programs, sales performance improved meaningfully, a direct result of reps building communication and objection-handling skills through structured, repeatable practice.
Up to 50% Reduction in Sales Team Turnover: In certain client sales organizations, LAK observed turnover rates drop by up to 50%. The combination of stronger onboarding, continuous skill-building, and culture activation programs supported by Yoodli contributed to significantly higher retention.
Expanded Coaching Reach into Mid-Level Leadership: LAK successfully scaled coaching engagement into mid-level leadership populations that previously received limited development support, a segment that is notoriously difficult to serve at scale.
Confidence Gains Across Diverse Learner Profiles: Healthcare professionals including nurse managers and physicians improved communication and leadership skills. Early-career professionals and introverted learners showed visible confidence gains after practicing with AI, overcoming initial hesitation to engage with the technology.
High Engagement After Initial Skepticism: While learners were initially apprehensive about AI-powered coaching, engagement quickly shifted once they experienced the benefit of practicing in a judgment-free environment. The psychological safety of AI practice unlocked participation from learners who would otherwise disengage.
What’s Next
LAK Group is actively expanding how they use Yoodli across in their Oriel Platform for both career development, career coaching and leadership development offerings. They are exploring deeper integration between the two platforms to create a seamless learning experience for enterprise clients, one that combines the cultural activation work of Oriel with the communication skill-building of Yoodli AI Roleplays.
As AI-native learning continues to evolve, LAK sees Yoodli as a long-term partner in their mission to deliver hyperpersonalized development at enterprise scale.
“We wanted to work with an innovative company we could grow with. The level of hyperpersonalization Yoodli gives us, embedding our own models into the rubrics, is vital to how we serve enterprise clients. Other tools were too dry and mechanical. Yoodli gave us the flexibility we needed.” — Michael Grubich, LAK Group
The partnership combines Black Dog Consultants’ 18 years of expertise in behavioral change and leadership development with Yoodli’s AI roleplay platform, giving enterprise learners a private, high-impact space to practice workplace conversations and reinforce learning beyond the classroom.
Seattle, WA — May 20, 2026
Yoodli, the AI-powered experiential learning and AI roleplay platform, today announced a partnership with Black Dog Consultants, a leading behavioral change and leadership development firm with over 18 years of expertise serving enterprise clients across APAC. Among the first partnerships of its kind in the region, it embeds Yoodli’s AI roleplay technology directly into Black Dog Consultants’ leadership and communication programs, enabling clients to practice workplace conversations on demand, beyond the boundaries of live learning experiences.
Why this matters One of the biggest challenges in learning and development today is proving that learning translates into sustained behavior change on the job. A two or three-day leadership program may create momentum in the room, but applying those skills consistently in real workplace conversations, under pressure and over time, is where organizations often struggle. Black Dog Consultants has built its 18-year reputation on addressing exactly that challenge, partnering deeply with enterprise clients across APAC to drive measurable, lasting behavioral change rather than one-off training events. A core focus of their work has always been learning transfer: ensuring that insights, frameworks and skills developed during a program continue to show up in day-to-day leadership and communication behaviors long after the workshop ends.
Across client engagements throughout the region, a consistent need emerged: leaders and professionals wanted more opportunities to rehearse workplace conversations in realistic, psychologically safe environments. Not only difficult conversations, but also moments involving influence, stakeholder management, coaching, feedback, customer and sales conversations, performance conversations and executive presence.
The partnership with Yoodli directly addresses this need, giving Black Dog Consultants’ clients access to AI-powered roleplay scenarios they can practice privately, repeatedly and on demand, with immediate feedback designed to strengthen confidence, capability and real-world application.
About the partnership Black Dog Consultants conducted extensive market research before selecting Yoodli as their technology partner, including 21 structured one-on-one conversations with senior client stakeholders across the APAC region. The feedback was consistent: enterprise leaders wanted to better understand how AI could strengthen learning outcomes and they increasingly expected evidence that learning investments were translating into measurable workplace performance.
Selecting the right platform required more than evaluating features. For Black Dog Consultants, whose clients operate across diverse markets, languages and communication cultures throughout APAC, it was critical that any technology partner demonstrated a genuine commitment to the region rather than treating it as a secondary market. Yoodli’s investment in APAC support coverage, responsiveness and regional partnership was a key differentiator.
Black Dog Consultants has built its reputation on deep regional expertise, cultural fluency and highly contextualized learning design. Any technology integrated into client programs needed to reflect those same standards.
Through Yoodli, Black Dog Consultants can now offer clients:
AI-powered roleplay scenarios tailored to each client’s specific business context, industry, language requirements and communication frameworks
Immediate, personalized feedback that helps learners refine delivery, communication and leadership behaviors in the moment
Private, judgment-free practice environments where leaders can rehearse workplace conversations without the pressure of being observed
Continuous reinforcement between live sessions, extending learning beyond the workshop and strengthening long-term behavior change
Richer insight into learning application and progress over time, helping organizations move beyond traditional satisfaction metrics toward clearer evidence of capability development and behavioral adoption
Scalable coaching and rehearsal opportunities that reduce pressure on busy line managers, who are often expected to provide ongoing one-to-one practice, feedback and development support alongside operational responsibilities
For Black Dog Consultants’ clients, which include regional heads of learning and talent across financial services, professional services and other enterprise sectors, the partnership directly addresses a longstanding challenge in corporate learning: demonstrating the impact of development investments in ways that are meaningful to both business leaders and finance stakeholders.
About Black Dog Consultants Black Dog Consultants is one of Asia-Pacific’s most experienced behavioral change and leadership development firms, with over 18 years of expertise working at the intersection of human performance and organizational transformation. Headquartered in Hong Kong and Singapore, their consultants bring deep expertise in learning consultancy, design, facilitation and leadership, developing learning solutions that are rigorously tailored to each client’s culture, industry and business goals. Some client relationships span more than 15 years, reflecting the trust Black Dog Consultants has built by consistently delivering learning experiences that translate into observable workplace behavior change, providing measurable ROI for their clients.
About Yoodli Founded in 2021 in Seattle, Washington, Yoodli is an AI-powered experiential learning platform that helps people practice and improve communication skills through personalized AI roleplays, adaptive coaching and real-time feedback. Trusted by enterprises worldwide, Yoodli enables learners to build confidence, measure progress and perform when it matters most. Learn more at yoodli.ai.
To learn more about the partnership across the APAC region, organizations can reach out to Black Dog Consultants and connect with Raatha Ganesh, Head of Partnerships, who has led the strategic partnership initiative.
NxtGEN Executive Presence, a global leader in executive presence coaching with over 20 years of experience, has partnered with Yoodli AI since 2022, using its AI-powered communication platform to enhance leadership development. This partnership has transformed NxtGEN’s leadership development programs, benefiting elite clients such as Vodafone, Microsoft and Virgin Media by offering personalized communication coaching to sharpen leadership and presentation skills.
A Transformative Partnership
Through this collaboration, NxtGEN’s leadership programs now feature:
Human and AI Coaching seamlessly integrated with NxtGEN’s methodologies
Performance Analytics providing comprehensive insights into communication skills
Custom Roleplays with targeted practice questions for real-life leadership challenges
Simulated Audience Feedback with varied audience reactions
NxtGEN’s integration of Yoodli’s AI platform enables professionals to engage in personalized communication roleplays, including high-stakes presentations, leading meetings, and managing difficult interpersonal dynamics. Yoodli’s platform will offer real-time feedback on key aspects like tone, pacing, and delivery, helping leaders refine their skills and amplify their impact.
A Commitment to Leadership Excellence
Our clients have experienced transformative growth by incorporating Yoodli into their development,” said Paul A. Slattery, CEO of NxtGEN. This partnership has enabled leaders to enhance their communication, build confidence and lead with authenticity.
We’re excited to collaborate with NxtGEN, whose leadership programs have a profound impact on professionals across industries,” said Esha Joshi, Co-Founder of and Head of Customer Success at Yoodli. By combining our AI-driven coaching platform with NxtGEN’s proven leadership expertise, we’re empowering executives to elevate their communication and executive presence, driving meaningful success for themselves and their organizations.
Elevating Executive Presence and Leadership Development
Since adopting Yoodli AI, NxtGEN has continuously elevated executive presence and communication strategies for clients. This partnership reflects a mutual commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions for leaders in today’s fast-paced business world.
About NxtGEN
Based in Ireland, NxtGEN specializes in executive presence coaching and leadership development. With over 20 years of experience, they offer tailored programs that empower professionals to refine their leadership skills and build executive presence. NxtGEN’s approach focuses on developing authentic leadership qualities, helping individuals thrive in dynamic business environments. Visit www.NxtGEN.ie for more information.
About Yoodli
Based in Seattle, Yoodli uses AI to help individuals improve their communication skills. Whether preparing for meetings, presentations, or interviews, users receive real-time feedback on their content, clarity, executive presence, and pacing. Yoodli is trusted by learning and development professionals, coaches, and organizations aiming to enhance leadership communication. The platform empowers individuals to refine their speaking abilities, fostering confidence and impact. Visit www.yoodli.ai for more information.
Taking advantage of roleplays for leadership development in your company training and enablement programs can completely transform team dynamics for both emerging and established team leads alike.
In our guide, we’ll explain everything you should know about this type of interactive developmental training tool, from the unique benefits of roleplaying for enablement to actual roleplay scenarios you can leverage with your up-and-coming leaders and ways to measure ROI and leadership success.
Why Roleplays for Leadership Development Should Be Baked In Your Training Programs
If you’re looking for a transformative tool to upgrade your training programs, look no further than roleplays for leadership development. Leveraging interactive roleplays to foster leadership skills and abilities in your company’s leaders is a great way to invest in team leads. Here’s why they’re so valuable.
Arguably, the best part of roleplays for leadership development is that they provide the necessary experience for team leaders without risk or consequence. Leaders can practice and experiment with different scenarios and strategies completely risk-free while gaining the experience of said scenarios.
For example, company leaders can build and reinforce key leadership skills, like strategic thinking, conflict resolution, and professionalism under times of stress. As opposed to traditional leadership training methods — like workshops or training videos that aren’t interactive — roleplays for leadership development allow current and future leaders to transform knowledge into everyday habits.
But the benefits of leadership roleplays don’t end there.
5 Ways Roleplaying Can Benefit Both Emerging and Established Leaders
No matter what stage a leader is in their profession, roleplays for leadership development can hone their existing skills and take them to the next level. It’s a valuable tool for team leads new to the game as well as established leaders, and the time and effort translate to benefits across the board.
Here are five ways roleplays for leadership development can benefit both emerging and established leaders in any industry.
1. Improving the ability to make decisions under pressure
Even though every leader has faced it at some point in their life, having to make decisions under pressure is never easy. On top of that, it’s a tricky skill to practice. However, roleplays for leadership development do precisely that — they provide a space that simulates high-stress situations for leaders to practice making decisions under pressure.
For example, some leadership programs take advantage of AI roleplays to simulate situations where you’ll have to make a high-stakes decision. The scenarios used are based on real-life situations, like budget cuts, project or deadline delays, and organization or staffing changes, to name a few.
There are plenty of advantages to practicing scenarios like this. Not only can new and established leaders experiment with different situations and strategies, but they can also work on building their confidence while doing so.
2. Developing empathy
Although empathy comes naturally for some folks, for others, it’s a learned skill. It can be tricky to practice stepping into someone else’s shoes, but roleplays for leadership development allow you to do just that. It’s one of the best advantages of this type of training. There’s no better way to practice empathy and empathetic listening, especially since there’s no risk involved.
Leaders can use different simulated situations to practice and prepare empathetic responses to common situations. For example, one of the most difficult scenarios leaders deal with is organizational changes, like layoffs. There’s no great way to practice delivering life-altering news like a layoff, but roleplaying allows you to gain some of that experience without the actual experience. It might not make future layoffs any easier, but it’ll give you an idea of what you can expect.
3. Practicing active listening
The ability to listen attentively and engage with other folks when having a conversation is a valuable skill for leaders, and it’s one of the benefits of practicing with roleplays for leadership development. Roleplaying forces participants to listen to the speaker and build their active listening skills in a controlled environment.
Engaging in roleplay will also boost your existing communication skills, as it encourages clear, open communication between participants.
4. Building emotional intelligence
Similarly to empathy, having a high level of emotional intelligence is another skill that can be learned and developed. In roles where you’ll face high-stress situations or scenarios where you need to make decisions under pressure, having emotional awareness is a must. Roleplays for leadership development allow new and established leaders to build up their emotional awareness and intelligence so they can better manage their own emotions during times of stress. This improves their ability to respond appropriately to difficult, unexpected, or otherwise challenging situations.
On top of that, having a higher level of emotional intelligence allows leaders to foster a more open dialogue with their team, so employees feel comfortable and safe sharing their thoughts and opinions. This can even improve employee retention rates.
5. Improving problem-solving skills
Another worthy benefit of leveraging roleplays for leadership development is the improvement in problem-solving skills. Since you can simulate any type of scenario, it’s much easier to develop your ability to think of creative solutions to problems that crop up.
For example, team leads can benefit from participating in roleplays around:
These types of exercises are perfect for transforming your ability to ideate solutions and solve problems, no matter the situation.
4 Essential Roleplay Scenarios for Leadership Development
When engaging in roleplays for leadership development, the most important thing to remember is to prioritize realistic scenarios above all else. Although you can always practice specific, unlikely scenarios for the experience, it’s more beneficial to prep for experiences you might have to face one day as a leader.
Here are four realistic roleplay scenarios for leadership development to include in your enablement programs.
1. Learning how to navigate ethical dilemmas
Although it’s not an “everyday” scenario, learning how to navigate ethical dilemmas is vital for leaders. They’re often seen as trusted figures for dealing with these types of challenges.
For example, imagine a scenario where a whistleblower comes forward and discloses unfair treatment they’ve experienced. How would you handle it? A scenario like this one forces leaders to work on their critical thinking skills while also making informed decisions under pressure or high-stakes situations.
These kinds of roleplay scenarios help future leaders develop a stronger moral compass and understand the protocol for ethical standards at the company.
2. Mediating and resolving conflict within the team
Resolving team conflicts and mediating conversations is a situation that sometimes crops up, so it’s a good idea to be prepared for it. For many people, conflict is uncomfortable and awkward, and roleplays for leadership development provide a safe, controlled environment for team leaders to practice navigating these conversations.
For this scenario, imagine a common situation that could cause a disagreement or conflict among team members, like a miscommunication. Perhaps a misunderstanding led to a missed deadline. How would you, as the team lead, handle it to maintain a positive team environment? This situation prioritizes skills like problem-solving, conflict resolution, and active listening.
3. Navigating organizational change
Organizational change — even “positive” change — can be difficult for teams and team dynamics. Roleplaying a situation where an organizational change needs to be implemented is great practice for future and established leaders. Team leads who aren’t confident during these types of situations aren’t able to lead their teams through change effectively.
To practice this scenario, imagine a structural change like a change in management. How would you calmly deliver the news and field questions from stressed or skeptical team members? Think about how you’d prepare your team for these changes and reassure them during feelings of uncertainty.
4. Mentoring and coaching employees
One of the most common situations leaders face revolves around mentoring and coaching. Because leaders are usually seen as trustworthy figures, employees will come to them for advice and feedback for professional development.
Imagine your employee is facing performance issues and schedules a call with you as their team lead for guidance. Think about how you’d handle the call and what you’d say. Feedback delivery can be challenging for newer leaders because you need to address issues without destroying their confidence and willingness to change. The goal here is to deliver constructive feedback that’ll empower them to action.
Designing Roleplays for Leadership Development With Yoodli
For companies looking to invest in their brand leaders, roleplays for leadership development are a great addition to any enablement program. When it comes to scalable roleplay training and certification solutions, Yoodli is an ideal option.
Yoodli is an intelligent roleplay and communication coach powered by AI that offers next-level roleplays for leadership development. It’s a great way to invest in your company’s new and established team leads. In fact, top brands likeGoogle, Korn Ferry, and Dale Carnegie have already used Yoodli for training, certification, and enablement, among other use cases.
Practicing crucial conversations is a crucial component of roleplays for leadership development.
How it works
When it comes to building leadership skills, users can choose from many existing roleplay scenarios on the platform. But Yoodli’s roleplay capabilities go way beyond these existing scenarios. Users can also build their own roleplays from the ground up to work on specific skills and experiment with various situations and outcomes. For example, if you’re a team lead who has a 1:1 meeting with one of your direct reports coming up, you can roleplay that scenario multiple times to see different outcomes.
Regardless, during your roleplay, you’ll interact with an AI-generated partner who replies to what you say in real time. Engaging in back-and-forth banter (just like a human would), this AI partner will keep you on your toes to provide the most realistic training experience out there. Plus, there are multiple personalities you can engage with to get more practice with different types of folks. With Yoodli, no one roleplay is the same.
When participating in roleplays for leadership development, you can set specific goals for leaders to achieve.
Once you’ve wrapped up the roleplay, Yoodil provides you with a detailed evaluation of how your performance went. You’ll get in-depth, actionable feedback for improvement based on data about your speech patterns, delivery, and listening abilities. The report is totally dependent on your performance, so you can sharpen specific skills.
Leveraging roleplays for leadership development through Yoodli is the most realistic way to turn existing employees into better leaders.
The admin in your company can even customize the tool based on their own most pressing use cases and train it on their brand methodology. Plus, Yoodli offers enterprise-grade privacy, including SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, and more.
When it comes to leadership development, don’t wait — You and your brand can get started for free at https://yoodli.ai/ to invest in your company’s next generation of leaders.
How to Measure ROI with Roleplays for Leadership Development
Measuring the return on investment (ROI) with roleplays for leadership development can depend on your brand’s goals. However, in general, here are a few ways you can measure ROI with this type of interactive training method.
What metrics should you use to measure ROI for roleplays for leadership development?
The good news is, there are plenty of metrics and data points you can leverage to measure the ROI of programs that use roleplays for leadership development. The hard part is deciding which metrics fit your needs best.
For example, employee retention rates and engagement levels are two worthy metrics you can track to see how your team leads and their employees respond to an investment in leadership skills and development. These metrics can give you some insight into the impact of roleplaying on team dynamics and morale, especially if you use something like anonymous surveys to get direct feedback.
Brands also track how their company leaders have leveraged the skills they work on during roleplays for leadership development.
At the end of the day, there are lots of various metrics to evaluate as team leads work through your leadership development program, but the best metrics to track for your program will depend on your goals for your leaders.
The Bottom Line
Honing leadership skills can be challenging with traditional training methods, but roleplays for leadership development can take your team leads to a whole other level. Plus, incorporating technology like Yoodli’s AI roleplay capabilities can revolutionize your current leadership training program offerings.
Investing in your team leads this way can lead to better employee retention rates down the line and help foster a more positive work environment for everyone.
TL;DR: LAK Group implemented ORIEL Coaching on Demand, powered by Yoodli, to boost coaching ROI by 14x, triple service efficiency, increase retention by 28%, and improve goal attainment by 70% for leaders and teams. By modernizing their coaching approach, LAK Group now delivers scalable, high-impact coaching that prioritizes strategic guidance and supports leaders at every level.
Background
LAK Group, based in Wisconsin, is dedicated to empowering organizations across industries such as healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing, as well as supporting individuals in enhancing leadership capabilities and advancing their careers. Their approach emphasizes in-depth discovery, practical application, and experiential learning to deliver meaningful growth and development. Their key focus areas include:
Leadership Development: Equipping leaders with skills for resilience, strategic growth, and change management to inspire and elevate teams in today’s dynamic business environment.
Preparing Emerging Leaders: Empowering emerging leaders across multigenerational workplaces through mentorship and experiential learning, enabling them to take on greater responsibility.
Career Development for Key Individual Contributors: Developing career paths for key contributors to retain top talent and build a skilled pipeline, aligning individual growth with long term company goals.
Career Planning: Helping individuals and organizations align career aspirations with strategic goals through personalized guidance and targeted development plans.
By integrating ORIEL Coaching on Demand, powered by Yoodli, into their service offering, LAK Group increased leader accountability and engagement in personal development by 40%.
The Challenge
Despite their success, LAK Group encountered challenges in scaling their high-value leadership coaching to meet client needs and evolving workforce demands. Key challenges included:
Meeting Multigenerational Needs: Addressing coaching preferences across generations required a flexible approach beyond traditional methods.
Enhancing Career Pathways: Younger employees sought personalized, mentorship-driven growth opportunities.
Maximizing Coach Impact: High demands limited coach bandwidth for strategic guidance, highlighting a need for scalable, self-directed coaching.
The Solution
LAK Group introduced ORIEL Coaching on Demand, a unique approach that integrates a coaching technology platform powered by Yoodli’s AI. This innovative solution blends traditional coaching with an AI-enhanced framework, delivering a personalized and scalable coaching experience. Through ORIEL, clients gain access to Yoodli’s AI to practice giving feedback, navigating difficult conversations, and reinforcing accountability.
The results speak for themselves: 88% of leaders reported feeling more prepared for their roles after participating, and 40% demonstrated increased accountability and engagement in their personal development.
The Results
With Yoodli’s AI, LAK Group achieved significant improvements:
14x Average Return on Investment (ROI): Delivered consistent measurable value, far surpassing investment expectations.
3x Efficiency Boost: Reduced live coaching hours by 3X, enabling greater scalability.
28% Increase in Talent Retention: Enhanced stability and satisfaction within teams.
40% Rise in Leader Engagement: Improved accountability and commitment to development.
88% Satisfaction Rate: Leaders felt better prepared and more confident post-coaching.
Partnering with Yoodli has enabled us to be an agile, adaptive solution. Participants now experience accessible, effective AI-supported learning, allowing us to stay impactful and relevant. Together, Yoodli and LAK Group exemplify a truly symbiotic partnership. — Michael Grubich, President and Managing Partner at LAK Group
Looking Ahead with Yoodli
As LAK Group and Yoodli advance their partnership, they are poised to revolutionize workforce development through innovative, scalable solutions. Upcoming initiatives include expanding into multilingual capabilities and tailoring programs for diverse functional areas, including sales, media communications, and technical sales engineering. Together, Yoodli and LAK Group are setting new standards for skill development, building adaptable solutions that drive growth and engagement across industries.
For more information on LAK Group’s leadership and career development services, click here. To learn how Yoodli can enhance your organization’s learning programs, contact us at sales@yoodli.ai.
Check out the ORIEL Coaching on Demand in the video below.
What happens at The John C. Maxwell Leadership Center? How might it serve you in your career?
If you’re a student of leadership, chances are you’ve learned from John C. Maxwell. For years, this “leader of leaders” has taught and inspired leaders through his bestselling books, speaking, and coaching.
Maxwell has a track record that reaches back decades, and The John C. Maxwell Leadership Center is all about the future. Continue reading to learn about what goes on at the center and how it could be your pathway toward impactful leadership.
The John C. Maxwell Leadership Center
Founded with the help of a gift from generous donors in 2014, the center exists to “inspire and develop next-generation ministry leaders.” The John Maxwell Leadership Center is actually a brand that encompasses the 12Stone Church Residency program, EQUIP®, the Coaches Leadership Network, and other leadership training initiatives at 12Stone Church. Let’s take a look at the center’s story and their main programs.
The Story
Perhaps you’ve learned that “leadership is influence.” You might have heard that “everything rises and falls on leadership.” If so, whether you realize it or not, you’ve been influenced by John C. Maxwell. A former pastor, he’s been equipping leaders inside and outside of the church since 1974.
The John C. Maxwell Leadership Center is the realization of a dream of Maxwell’s from many years ago. His dream wasn’t just to have a leadership center; it was to have a leadership center that’s connected to a local church.
Years before, Maxwell bought a brick that had been part of the John Wesley Chapel in Bristol, England. He wanted it to be the cornerstone of the leadership center he dreamed of. In 2013, at 12Stone Church’s 25th anniversary celebration, Maxwell gave the brick to Pastor Myers. The next year, they cut the ribbon to open The John C. Maxwell Leadership Center at 12Stone Church.
Speech Coaching for Maxwell Leadership Members
Hundreds of Maxwell certified coaches are using Yoodli, a free AI powered speech coach to refine their speaking skills. Yoodli provides them with private, personalized, and judgment free feedback on their filler words, pacing, eye contact, body language, and much more. If you’re considering working with the Maxwell Leadership Center or becoming a coach yourself, make sure you check out Yoodli at http://www.yoodli.ai.
Based in a Local Church
Maxwell’s focus is on leadership in the context of the local church. So, it makes perfect sense that The John C. Maxwell Leadership Center is a part of 12Stone Church in Duluth, Georgia. (The John Maxwell Company also is located in Duluth.) This allows for training and experience in real-life ministry contexts. They refer to this as a “teaching hospital” or a “live lab” setting.
Take a look at the center’s beautiful facility, including the Williams Auditorium, the rotunda, and the statue of John Wesley. You also can tour the facility if you’re in the Atlanta area. (Call 678-990-8100 to schedule a tour.)
12Stone Church Residency
If you sense a call to vocational ministry in a local church, check out the 12Stone Church Residency program. The program serves “emerging pastors” (men and women) after college.
The program is basically an internship in which residents get practical experience in leadership roles while receiving top-notch training. For two years, they serve full time at 12Stone Church campuses and partner churches. Also, they receive personal mentoring to help them develop into impactful ministry leaders.
Residents choose to focus on one of these areas of ministry:
Graduates from the 12Stone Church Residency program have gone on to serve in churches such as Life.Church, Seacoast Church, and Saddleback Church.
Coaches Leadership Network
The Coaches Leadership Network is a growing support community for people who coach kids in sports. The network understands that athletic coaching, especially for young people, goes beyond teaching lateral passes, three-pointers, and penalty kicks.
EQUIP®
The John C. Maxwell Leadership Center houses the headquarters of EQUIP®, one of the center’s partner organizations. EQUIP® is an international not-for-profit organization that John Maxwell started in 1996 to develop servant-leaders all over the world.
Primarily, EQUIP® prepares people to engage in personal evangelism—sharing their faith with others. It’s not about sharing information, per se. EQUIP® mobilizes people to provide service that can transform a community—and hope that can transform the world. Of course, like everything else Maxwell touches, it’s about leadership. Specifically, servant leadership.
Do you want to hear some impressive stats? In 2015, EQUIP® reached one of its huge goals—to train leaders from every country on earth. Since its inception, EQUIP® has trained over six million leaders. Wow!
Salt & Light
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus taught His followers that they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light that gives light to the world.” He urged them to “be a light for other people” (Matthew 5:13-16). Basically, Jesus told His followers to go out into the community and the world at large to serve people, share hope with them, and cultivate a hunger for God.
The people behind EQUIP’s Salt & Light initiative take this commission to heart. They realize that not everyone will come to a church. So, the church must go to them. Salt & Light equips and mobilizes believers to go out into the community to cultivate relationships—serving people and adding value to their lives—and to share their faith.
The Salt & Light initiative involves a seven-session small group program called Beyond Success. It helps people grow in character and leadership, equipping people to go out and share their faith. Beyond Success includes some of Maxwell’s training and his personal testimony. The idea is that program participants will go on to become facilitators, growing the number of groups exponentially.
Both individuals and organizations can connect with the Salt & Light initiative. They can attend events, join the prayer team, serve as a Beyond Success coordinator or facilitator, or become a resource partner.
12Stone Church offers valuable resources to church leaders for free. You can find tools to plan events, information about multi-campus systems and volunteer management, video and audio files, and tons more. Browse their resources here.
Wrapping Up
The John C. Maxwell Leadership Center is literally a dream come true for John Maxwell. It’s church-based programs and resources can be a one-stop shop for both aspiring and seasoned ministry leaders. If you or someone you know can benefit from their training and resources, definitely get connected—and see what a difference it can make.
Would you like to receive to receive individual and customizable training in motivational strategies? What about effective coaching? Engaging humor?
These are just three of the paths the make up Toastmasters International Pathways, the organization’s educational program for members. Through this program, you can develop career-enhancing skills in public speaking, communication, and leadership.
Continue reading for an overview of Pathways.
What Is Toastmasters International Pathways?
Toastmasters International Pathways is an interactive, customizable learning experience for Toastmasters members. Pathways teaches more than 300 competencies in the broad skills of public speaking, communication, and leadership.
The name “Pathways” derives from the 11 learning paths you can choose from (see more on this below). The program is available in several languages, and Toastmasters is continually adding more.
The primary way to access Pathways is through an online platform called Base Camp, which includes videos, quizzes, interactive activities, feedback, and recognition. If you don’t have online access, a limited version of Pathways is available in print for a $25 fee unless you print it yourself.
The cost of your first path is covered by your membership fee. Each additional path costs $20.
Toastmasters Pathways Paths
Toastmasters International Pathways has 11 paths to choose from. You can complete as many as you want over time. Click on a path for details.
If you’re not sure which path (or paths) to choose, Base Camp includes an online assessment that recommends three paths that match your skills, interests, and goals.
Each path comprises five levels:
Level 1—Mastering Fundamentals
Level 2—Learning Your Style
Level 3—Increasing Knowledge
Level 4—Building Skills
Level 5—Demonstrating Expertise
In each path, Level 1 (Mastering Fundamentals) comprises these projects:
Ice Breaker
Writing a Speech With Purpose
Introduction to Vocal Variety and Body Language
Evaluation and Feedback
The required projects in Levels 2 through 5 are unique to each path. In Level 3, you choose two elective projects. In Levels 4 and 5, you choose one elective project in each level.
Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech
Let’s take a look at the Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech, since it’s how each pathway begins. Chances are, you’re familiar with the concept of an ice breaker—an activity that aims to help people know each other better and connect with each other. You’ve probably participated in an ice breaker a few times!
Toastmasters International sees the value in these connections, so they’ve coupled up the ice breaker concept with their focus—public speaking—to create the Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech.
The Ice Breaker speech is the first project in the first level of each path in the Toastmasters Pathways learning experience—whether you’re on the Effective Coaching path, the Engaging Humor path, or any of the 11 paths.
When someone delivers a Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech during a club meeting, they tell a story about themselves that introduces them to other club members. They might do this when they’re new to the club or later on when they want to share something about themselves that they haven’t talked about before.
You can experience an Ice Breaker speech firsthand by visiting a Toastmasters club meeting. If you’re not a member, you may attend as a guest. Clubs meet in person and/or online.
A Sample Journey Through Pathways
Next, let’s take a look at a sample journey to get a better idea of how Toastmasters International Pathways works.
Kirsten is a teacher. She wants to improve her presentation skills and the connection she has with her students. She chooses the Presentation Mastery path.
In Level 1 (Mastering Fundamentals), she learns about writing a speech with purpose, vocal variety, and body language.
In Level 2 (Learning Your Style), Kirsten gets further training related to body language and gets a handle on her own communication style. She also gets an introduction to Toastmasters mentoring, which is a Level 2 project in each path.
In Level 3 (Increasing Knowledge), Kirsten receives instruction related to persuasive speaking. From a list of 14 elective projects, she chooses two: Connect With Storytelling and Using Descriptive Language.
In Level 4 (Building Skills), she learns how to manage a difficult audience. From a list of seven elective projects, she chooses one: Question-and-Answer Session.
In Level 5 (Demonstrating Expertise), Kirsten chooses one elective project—High-Performance Leadership—from a list of five. Drawing on all that she’s learned, she delivers an extended speech that she’s prepared and practiced using the free AI-powered speech coach from Yoodli, a Toastmasters partner. With Yoodli, she gets private, personalized and judgement free feedback on her public speaking. She can track her filler words, eye contact, pacing, word choice, body language, and much else!
Progress, Completion, & Recognition
Each club has a Base Camp manager who tracks your progress.
When you complete a level, you receive recognition in the form of a digital badge and certificate. When you complete a path, you’re recognized as “Proficient” in that expertise.
Upon completion of Level 3, 4, or 5, you may ask Toastmasters to send a letter to your employer to notify them of your achievement.
If you complete two learning paths, you’ve met one of the requirements to become a Distinguished Toastmaster.
