Championing the Corporate Champions Program – Continuing to Learn in Work and in Life – Recent Grad Enza Cignarella Talks About Her Experience

At about this time last year, I got a call from Mark Tewksbury asking if I wanted one of the last spots in his leadership company’s Corporate Champions Program, of course I said yes.  Mark, in case you are not aware, is an Olympic champion swimmer.  I met Mark and his technical coach, Debbie Muir, a few years ago when they were hired as keynote speakers for a corporate event I was managing.  That is when I first learned about their company, Great Traits and their signature high-performance leadership training, the Corporate Champions Program.

With COVID hitting, the original date was postponed. But Debbie and Mark pivoted and evolved their program to offer it virtually.  I am so glad they did!

This past September, I began my 12-week virtual journey to master the language and principles of high-performance leadership. 

 I have been fortunate to participate in several leadership development courses in my career.  However, this one was different! This one will live a lot longer in me.

The program became a ritual, something comforting to anchor to weekly in the midst of so much unknown in my own little world and in the real world outside.  The Corporate Champions Program became my community and the kitchen table became my workplace.  Week after week, each high-performance leadership concept added onto the next one.   Looking back, I get it.  This is how we improve, micro-changes.  Through different modalities (webinar, workbook, book, assessments, coaching calls, assignments) the concepts became real without being cumbersome. 

As we progressed, this community moved beyond theory to true practice.  If you are thinking, “the last thing I need right now is another videoconference”, I agree.  However, these were few, pulsed and interspersed with plenty of blended learning activity in between.   At a time when everything is electronic, the course materials were tactile, awakening the senses of touch and sight.  We had to write.  Yes, write.  Do you know how healthy it is for the brain to actually write cursive?

I participated in the course as an individual however can imagine what a valuable journey this would have been if I had participated as part of a corporate team.  Not only is this an opportunity to scale leadership capabilities in your organization, it is one of the best team building processes I wish to have experienced.

In working with people from around the world, Debbie and Mark have discovered that the fundamentals of achievement, leadership and legacy don’t ever really change – they are timeless and universal just like the desire to grow and belong.  

If you are looking to grow and be part of something, I encourage you to sign for the Corporate Champions Program (CCP) in 2021.  You will be changed!

Enza Cignarella is a strategist and coach living in Montreal.