Leadership Development Program (LDP)
Elevating Leaders to Shape Extraordinary Cultures. Because Great Leaders Don’t Just Manage, They Cultivate
The Leadership Development Program (LDP) represents a transformative experience designed for organizations seeking to develop leaders who understand that culture isn’t something you delegate, it’s something you embody. Building on Susan’s unique blend of hospitality principles, academic rigor, and real-world experience, this program equips leaders with the tools to become culture architects within their organizations.
This isn’t generic leadership training or theoretical management concepts. It’s a practical, immersive journey for leaders who recognize that in today’s workplace, the ability to cultivate positive, high-performing cultures is the ultimate competitive advantage.
Design with Intent,
Lead with Empathy,
Cultivate with Care
What Makes Susan’s LDP Program Different
While others focus on leadership competencies in isolation, The Leadership Development Program connects leadership directly to cultural outcomes. Susan’s approach, refined through 15+ years at Union Square Hospitality Group and validated across 20+ industries, demonstrates that exceptional leaders don’t just drive results; they create environments where results become inevitable.
Drawing from her experience scaling Shake Shack’s culture from a hot dog cart to a global phenomenon, Susan understands the nuances of maintaining cultural integrity through growth, change, and challenge. Her methodology transforms leaders from culture consumers to culture creators.
A Partnership for Growth
Perfect for organizations that:
- Recognize that leadership development and culture transformation are inseparable
- Want to move beyond traditional management training to true leadership transformation
- Understand that consistency in leadership approach drives consistency in cultural outcomes
- Are committed to developing leaders who balance genuine care with uncompromising standards
- Need leaders equipped to navigate the complexities of modern workplace dynamics
Ideal for leaders who:
- Want to understand how to positively impact organizational culture
- Seek practical tools for creating positive, accountable work environments
- Are ready to model the behaviors they wish to see throughout their organization
- Value the connection between employee experience and customer experience
- Recognize that “the little things are everything” when it comes to culture
The Process: Three Phases of Leadership Transformation
Leadership Assessment & Cultural Diagnosis
Understanding where your leaders are and where they need to be
Susan begins with individual assessments and group observations to evaluate your current leadership culture. This comprehensive analysis reveals how effectively your leaders are translating organizational values into daily behaviors, identifying gaps between intended and actual cultural impact.
Custom Leadership Development Experience
The heart of the transformation
Based on assessment insights, Susan designs a bespoke leadership development experience tailored to your organization’s unique context. Options include:
- Intensive Leadership Immersion (2-3 days): Deep-dive workshop combining theory, practice, and real-world application
- Leadership Series (Multiple sessions over 3-6 months): Sustained development allowing for practice and refinement between sessions
- Executive + Emerging Leader Track: Differentiated programming that aligns leadership development across organizational levels
Core modules are customized but typically include:
- Culture Fundamentals: What organizational culture really is, beyond the buzzwords
- The Leadership Multiplier Effect: Understanding how your actions ripple through the organization
- Caring Leadership in Action: Mastering the balance between empathy and accountability
- Creating Psychological Safety While Maintaining Standards: The hospitality approach to high performance
- Building Cultural Consistency: Developing shared language and behaviors that transcend individual leaders
- From Intent to Impact: Translating cultural aspirations into measurable outcomes
Strategic Implementation
Making it stick
Following the core workshop experience, Susan provides targeted support to ensure lasting transformation:
- Leadership Coaching Circles: Peer learning groups to reinforce concepts and share challenges
- “Culture in Action” Practicum: Real-time application of concepts with Susan’s guidance
- Team Cascade Workshops: Optional sessions where trained leaders facilitate culture workshops for their teams
- Leadership Playbook Development: Co-creation of practical tools and frameworks specific to your organization
What You Can Expect
Organizations that complete The Leadership Development Program consistently report:
Immediate outcomes:
Shared understanding of what culture is and how leaders influence it
Common language for discussing and addressing cultural challenges
Practical tools for conducting meaningful one-on-ones and team meetings
Enhanced ability to provide feedback that strengthens rather than diminishes
LONG-TERM IMPACT:
Leaders who naturally model organizational values and shape culture
Increased employee engagement, retention, and overall team consistency
More reliable customer experiences across teams, locations, and functions
A leadership bench that scales culture by cultivating potential
The Hospitality Approach to Leadership
What makes this program special is the infusion of hospitality principles into every aspect of leadership development. Drawing from Danny Meyer’s concept that “the customer experience will never exceed the employee experience,” Susan helps leaders understand that taking care of their teams isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.
This program embodies Susan’s core philosophy: Design with Intent, Lead with Empathy, Cultivate with Care. Leaders leave understanding that:
- Culture is cultivated through thousands of small, intentional actions
- Accountability and caring are not opposites; they’re partners
- The employee experience drives the customer experience
- Leadership is not a position; it’s a practice
- When you take care of your team, they take care of everything else
Program Options & Customization
The Leadership Development Program is fully customizable to your organization’s needs:
Format options
- In-person intensive at your location or an off-site venue
- Virtual series for distributed teams
- Hybrid approach combining in-person and virtual elements
Participant Scope:
- Senior leadership team only
- Multi-level leadership cohorts
- Specific functional teams (operations, sales, customer service)
- High-potential emerging leaders
Duration
- Half-day to multi-day workshops
- Concentrated 2-3 day immersion
- Extended series over several months
- Annual leadership development cycle
Go Deeper with The Cultural Alignment
Program (CAP)
“Working with Susan Salgado is a revelation. She guided my team through impactful discovery and helped us to understand the relationship between our actions and the client experience in ways that had been hidden by the routine of our process. Susan adeptly used warmth, humor, and a firm hand making her presentation a fan favorite for the year. From the beginning, organizing her time with us, to the follow up that has taken place since, she has been a treat to work with. That is why this was my second time working with her!”
Jonathan B. Williams
Vice President and Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid
Pomona College
“Susan was an integral part of our Leadership Summit, and her keynote was truly a standout moment. She delivered a powerful blend of ‘a-ha’ moments, thoughtful insights, and genuine inspiration. Her investment into really getting to know Securian and understanding our goals for the Summit was invaluable, so that her content was highly relevant and resonated on a deep level. Our leaders walked away with actionable takeaways—especially around leadership’s impact on culture, accountability, and creating a positive climate. The feedback from our team is unanimous: her keynote was exceptional and exactly what we needed.”
Becca Hagen
Vice President Human Resources
Securian Financial Group
“I was literally overrun with phone calls and office visits from our leaders, excited about what was taught, and more importantly, what was learned in their workshop with you. We have already begun to put many of the concepts into action, and I hear people using the language you taught us. I can’t express how timely this lesson was for us. Thank you for your coaching and guidance.”
Mike Merrill
General Manager
Sewell Family of Companies, Inc.
