"I would want to share this experience with all of the people I love and care about. As human beings we live and die based on our ability to make connections with one and other.  On a deeper level we have a choice on how deep and prosperous those connections can be. Effort and desire to do good to people is part of the equation, but a large half is skill based (leadership, emotional intelligence, mindset development, habits, etc.). You will learn a lot of valuable things as you traverse through life, but why not take advantage of written knowledge on leadership (LDS for example) and take full advantage of your potential in everything you do and deepen the connections that are present at work, in your family, or community. I would want to share this with everybody I care about because it’s applicable to every walk of life and if implemented will improve the quality of your life, and more importantly allow you to effectively support and give back to others in the best way you can.

I would also specifically recommend this to anyone just beginning a career. There’s a lot that will be “learned by doing” as you head into the working world. A lot of learn by doing is failing and adjusting. There’s nothing wrong with that, but this course will train your mind and allow you to study many different social interactions and how to navigate them in a way that aids others and earns yourself trust and maybe respect. Just participating in one or two of these seasons will allow you to train a whole new school of thought outside of the typical career-based concepts you learned at university."

"Leadership is a journey.  I didn’t know what I was getting into at first, and now I can’t wait for more. The first season was spent entirely on reconceiving my incorrect notions about what “leadership” actually is.  Somewhere in the second season I “got it”, and felt what leadership meant.  In the third season I “caught” myself practicing the principles we had learned. Throughout season 4, I learned how to lead everything in my own world. In fact, I would go so far as to say season 4 was about learning how to be the best “follower” as someone with a leader mindset. We are all followers, but we always have the opportunity to at least lead ourselves and everything in our world. I'm excited to see where it will go from here, and I am grateful that I’ve GROWN my mindset and CHANGED to be a better person."
 

"Great discussion-based class I look forward to every week! Very interesting to see different perspectives on leadership and people-related questions from different individuals.  Lots of sparks for self-reflection. Great readings going along with the class."

"I have had plenty of leadership experience throughout my life, and taken several courses, but never one like the Leader Development Series. This series has taught me more than I thought possible at this point in my life. It has opened my eyes to all of the intricacies of leadership and influencing people. I have appreciated the thought-provoking readings, questions, and group discussions immensely."

"The skills learned in this class are the ones that set you apart in your work and personal life.  It is a class that is more valuable than any other course you have taken, and will pay dividends in your career and family life.  Understanding leadership is largely about understanding relationships, and healthy relationships are key to a well-lived life."

"The course gave a better perspective of day-to-day things that can be easily overlooked. Just implementing general principles that we learnt could result in high productivity and better output. You also lean towards giving thoughts to the things that might be beneficial for society, and evolve beyond just thinking about yourself."

"The leadership development series gives you an opportunity to engage in concepts that you will see and likely experience on a daily basis. To a certain extent, you can only influence what you understand, and for me there is a lot about leadership I do not understand. The great thing about this course is that the lessons and content can be IMMEDIATELY applied to better your relationships, increase your positive impact on others, and find purpose in what you do and who you are, or who want to be.  I think anyone with an inquisitive mind and desire to lead more effectively in any aspect of their life will benefit. Many of the principals we cover are truths that can be applied to anyone regardless of their position or path in life."

"This course has been done a lot towards changing the way I think about, look at, and act on different leadership qualities. The books, though mostly the discussion, have helped hone my thinking to better discern good and bad leadership examples/qualities. This thinking has started to turn into intentional action as I recognize in myself areas of needed improvements."

"This course is a great way to start understanding and practicing the essential skills of a leader; some of these skills you know intuitively, and some challenge your prior beliefs."

"My experience with the leadership development series has been great. It’s sparked an interest in leadership that will last a lifetime and I know that when I stop attending this course I’ll have left with a much deeper understanding of the topic of leadership and what it really is. I’d recommend the course to anyone who wants to add value to their careers, their families, and their life as a whole. My recent study of leadership has helped me answer some questions I had been struggling with related to my identity as a person, who I want to be, and what I want to do. I think the course would benefit any person of any background that had not studied leadership previously. The group aspect is excellent and I was taken aback by the amount I was able to learn from the experiences shared by others.  However, you will probably get as much out of this course as you put into it. This course scratches the surface and really got me inspired to learn more."

"This is a great way to start thinking about and making improvements on leadership ability in a casual environment that fits well with a busier schedule. The readings are easily managed, while the discussions are what you make of them. In my experience, spending 5-10 extra minutes on top of the reading is all that is needed to feel ready to contribute to a fruitful discussion each week."

"LDS Season one will bring things about leading to the surface that you didn’t know existed and challenge the way you currently think about things relating to leading. The two books studied in the course offer two different perspectives on leading with some overlap that allows the big points to be understood by people with varying positions. This course will change the paradigm you posses with respect to leading in an extremely valuable way. I would highly encourage you to take the LDS course; if you are new to leading, there is no better place to start than this course, and no better time than now."

"The discussions are great and looking back you can see personal improvement."

"Share your honest opinions, read and listen with an open mind. The readings spend time on recognizing one’s weaknesses and entrenched beliefs. Recognizing those and learning what others believe will be beneficial. Even if you disagree with what is written or with what others say, it is crucial for leaders to have diversity of thought and be able to understand others on a personal level."

"It’s a lot more work than I expected but I’ve definitely noticed the ideas from the course infiltrating for the better into multiple aspects of my life."

"This class really makes you think internally and externally about how you conduct yourself and how others see you. I think different sections resonate with everyone and it was interesting to see different perspectives."

“This series gave me the opportunity to learn from and connect with my peers while growing in a skill that will help me in my career, marriage, and life.”

“I really enjoyed the class, and took a number of great ideas and big picture habits away from everything we discussed."

One-Year Post Season 1

"I still think about the topics we discussed throughout season 1. The way it has directly impacted my professional life is how I lead and work with my intern. He was not directly assigned to me (he was assigned to my boss), but he has really become my intern. Personally, quite a few bits of advice sought by my girlfriend in navigating some difficulties at work have come from what we discussed during LDS."

“I went into the class with an open mind and a decent amount of leadership experience. Through this class, I was able to reflect on past leadership experiences I’ve had (both when I’ve been the leader and the follower), and I learned how to be a better leader and person. A lot of being a good leader is being a good person, so I think the class is beneficial to anyone, even if they aren’t sure if they want to be a leader.”

“The main thing I would say to a friend is that it really opens your eyes to your mindset and what you really appreciate from a good leader. It shows you why you hated being led by this guy, and loved being led by a different guy. You just become aware of how to better apply yourself into the everyday situations you’re in. Everyone is on hundreds of different teams, and you could make them all better. It’s one of the most beneficial courses one could take, especially considering that it’s a relatively low time investment compared to the other tasks that my friends would also take part in. I would definitely recommend it.” 

"I became much more self-aware after just one season of this course. I also learned so much about leadership. It broke down ideas of what I used to think leaders were like. It is a motivating class with rich conversations and you will leave it rethinking how you treat everyone around you."

"I’d say that the content covered is great.  Nice to be in a group talking about it because you can get others perspectives and experiences that are different than your own.  I think it’s all relevant content people can relate to and need to hear."

One-Year Post Season 1

“Being in the working world for one year has shown me that there really is a need for better leaders in this world.  Many of the important elements discussed in being a leader in LDS do not appear to be present in many of the leaders in the corporate environment.  Nonetheless, I have been able to use what I’ve learned in the series to improve my working environment and make a positive impact on those around me while I continue to learn the ropes of my industry and develop my leadership skills."