Death by PowerPoint…or Umbridge? 🪄
Nothing makes me want to yawn faster than the phrase professional development…🥱
You know the vibe: fluorescent lights. Blue-gray slides. Someone reading bullet points about “synergy” in a voice that could tranquilize an entire sales team.
l don’t need a crystal ball to know that most of us have survived a few “development” horror stories…
💤 The trainer who monologues for hours.
💤 The motivational speaker who sells more ego than insight.
💤 The “interactive session” that’s really just… more slides.
Somehow, we’ve turned learning (one of the most exciting parts of being human!) into a compliance exercise where you sit through a workshop, get your gold star, and maybe earn that promotion or extra headcount.
It’s not that people don’t want to grow. It’s that we’ve made growth feel like homework (no thanks)...
That’s why I don’t call what I do professional development. Around here, it’s real leadership growth where the lessons that stick aren’t taught at you, they’re lived with you.
So before you sign up for another beige buffet of bullet points, here’s a quick gut-check to help you avoid professional development regret:
The WYDM Vetting List: How to Know If a Learning Opportunity Is Worth Your Time
☑️ Will this actually help me think or lead differently this week, not next year?
☑️ Is it connected to real-world challenges I’m facing right now?
☑️ Does it invite conversation and interaction, not just note-taking?
☑️ Do I walk away with clarity, not just a certificate?
☑️ Would I still go if it weren’t required?
If any more than two of these are left unchecked, it's NOT development, it's detention 🫠
Now, let's take a trip to Hogwarts!!🪄
Leadership Lessons from Hogwarts
Remember when Harry sat in Professor Umbridge’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class? All theory, no practice. Just textbook talk and pink cardigans.
That’s your typical “professional development” session.
Compare that to Dumbledore’s Army in the Room of Requirement, where it was hands-on, energetic, and rooted in real experience.
That’s leadership learning done right.
No one wants to sit still and be talked at. We want to engage, to experiment, to see how what we’re learning actually changes something in the real world.
That’s why I’ve worked so hard to design my programs, workshops, and keynotes at What You Do Matters around experience over slides.
While the bar for “professional development” has been set somewhere around Umbridge’s standards, I’m always raising it.
The goal was never to memorize spells, it’s to create a Room of Requirement for real leaders, where growth actually happens. Wands optional. 😉
See you next week,
— Brittany