RESEARCH

Popping the optimism bubble in senior leadership

Professor Vicki Culpin,

with Professor Megan Reitz 

How can organizations design leadership learning for the whole system?

This white paper challenges the optimism in senior leadership outlooks on learning, and sets out practical recommendations to democratize development in the organization.

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Is there an optimism bubble in your organization? 

95% of leaders are motivated to continue learning. This is what we found in the Hult Ashridge Leadership Learning Index (HALLI) – the largest and most geographically diverse study into how leaders learn.

But when we look more closely, a disparity emerges: the more senior the leader, the more optimistic their outlook, be it access to learning, motivation to learn, or views on the development of future talent.

  • 67% of C-suite leaders strongly agree they feel motivated to continue learning compared to 48% of first-line managers 

  • 45% of the C-suite strongly agree they feel optimistic for the next generation of leader, compared to just 31% of first-line managers   

Is this advantage blindness, privilege, or an optimism bubble?  

In this white paper, we dig deeper into the senior leadership optimism bubble, challenging senior leaders to confront these gaps. With expert insight from Professor Vicki Culpin, who led the original HALLI research, and Professor Megan Reitz, author of Speak Out, Listen Up, we share practical recommendations to democratize learning in your organization. 

What you'll discover in the research:

Actionable insights and practical steps to democratize learning in your organization


How access and attitudes to learning change across levels of seniority  


The factors shaping these outlooks, including access, bias, and the extent to which organizations create “speak up” cultures   


The perception gap and reality gap between senior leaders and junior counterparts, and the practical implications when these gaps aren’t bridged

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How can organizations design leadership learning for the whole system?

Download the white paper to discover insights and practical steps to democratize learning in your organization.

Meet the author

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Vicki Culpin

Professor of Organizational Behavior at Hult International Business School

Vicki specializes in how to master leadership and resilience in turbulent times and has spent over 20 years researching the impact of well-being and memory. 

Vicki also researches in the field of adult pedagogy, specifically in relation to learning transfer. Vicki works with a range of clients from across the world, advising on leadership development, along with sharing her research findings.


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Megan Reitz

Associate Faculty at Hult International Business School

Megan researches, consults, speaks and supervises on the intersection of leadership, change, dialogue and mindfulness. Her passion and curiosity centers around the quality of how we meet, see, hear, speak, learn with, and encounter one another in organizational systems. Her research and publications explore the links between mindfulness, leadership capacities for the 21st century, and the capacity to ‘speak truth to power’ by developing psychologically safe cultures. Megan is also an executive coach, accredited by the Hult Ashridge Center for Coaching.

Prior to joining, Megan was a consultant with Deloitte; surfed the dot-com boom with boo.com; and worked in strategy consulting for The Kalchas Group, now the strategic arm of Computer Science Corporation.

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Discover the Hult Ashridge Leadership Learning Index in full

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We help leaders and organizations to change.