DISCOVER PROJECT
LeaderShip Bootcamp
Anonymous/NDA
Growth Mindset Assessment
A leadership development program had the right ingredients — great mentors, real stories, meaningful coaching — but learners weren't staying. I diagnosed why, redesigned the connective tissue, and turned a paper-based mindset assessment into the anchor the whole experience had been missing.
SERVICES
Needs Analysis & Consultation, Learning Strategy, Interactive Tool Development
Category
Strategy & Development
Duration
6 weeks
Year
2021
The Challenge
The leadership development program had been running for about a year with strong individual components—mentor-led sessions, personal storytelling, coaching conversations, and a paper-based mindset assessment completed at the start. However, despite the program’s intent, learner engagement and completion rates were low, prompting the organization to examine how the experience was structured and delivered.
My goal was to bring clarity and cohesion to the program by defining clear learning and performance outcomes, integrating the various touchpoints into a unified learner experience, and transforming the mindset assessment into a digital anchor that the entire journey could build upon.
The program’s elements were created independently, with no shared learning objectives or cohesive learner journey. The initial mindset assessment wasn’t referenced again in mentor presentations, coaching sessions, or discussions, leaving learners with valuable insights but no way to apply or revisit them. This disconnect contributed to inconsistent experiences, unclear expectations, and a high drop-out rate. The opportunity was to unify the program around clear performance outcomes, integrate touchpoints into a coherent experience, and reposition the mindset assessment as the anchor that guides learners throughout their development journey.
My Approach
Zoom meeting with program owners and existing mentors.
I used a learner-centered design approach grounded in content analysis, stakeholder alignment, and detailed journey mapping to understand where the program was breaking down and identify opportunities to create a more cohesive, meaningful experience.
To understand why learners were disengaging, I started by examining the program through their eyes—reviewing content, speaking with stakeholders, and mapping the journey from first touchpoint to final session. The analysis made a major gap clear: the mindset assessment, a potentially meaningful reflection tool, wasn’t connected to anything else in the program. Reframing this assessment as the experience’s anchor became the guiding principle for the redesign.
What We Built
I redesigned a paper-based growth mindset assessment into an interactive tool and developed guidance to help presenters and coaches integrate it meaningfully throughout the leadership program.
Key features
The core of the solution was transforming a static, paper-based mindset assessment into an interactive digital tool that supports learners throughout their leadership journey. The redesigned assessment gives participants personalized insights into where their mindset may help them, where they may face friction, and how those patterns might show up during the program. Beyond the assessment itself, I created practical guidelines for program owners, mentors, and presenters on how to reference and apply assessment themes in their sessions. These recommendations helped shift experience-sharing from broad, high-level storytelling to discussions that feel more relevant and accessible for learners with limited leadership experience. While I did not redesign session materials directly, the guidance provided a clear structure for linking presentation content, coaching conversations, and learner reflection back to the assessment. This ensured the tool not only became a meaningful entry point into the program, but also a recurring touchpoint learners and mentors could return to over time.
Inside the Experience
Outcomes & Impact
“Mike brought clarity to a program that had heart but lacked structure. He helped us see how all the pieces fit together, turning our intentions into a meaningful learner journey with purpose, direction, and room for growth. The program is stronger, more human, and more repeatable because of his work.”
— Program Owner, Leadership Development
The redesigned assessment and integration guidance helped clarify expectations for learners, align facilitators around a shared experience, and significantly reduce participant drop-off. As a result, learners were better able to assess their readiness and engage with the program more intentionally.
Once the assessment had a clear role in the program — and facilitators knew how to reference it — the experience started working the way it was always intended to. Drop-off declined. Learners came in with more self-awareness and engaged with more intention. Facilitators had a shared thread to pull on across every session. The program didn't just get more structured — it got more human.
"In the end, the mentors didn't just help us redesign the program — they remembered why they signed up to lead in the first place. That doesn't happen when the structure gets in the way of the people."
— M. Jones
