Thursday Jan 15, 2026
Why Leadership Training Often Doesn't Stick
Leadership training is rarely short on inspiration, but it’s often short on impact.
In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram is joined by Dr Jenn Yugo, Managing Director of Corvirtus and an industrial–organisational psychologist, to explore why so much leadership training fails to create lasting behaviour change.
Jenn explains that the problem isn’t motivation, effort, or even the quality of the training itself. It’s that organisations treat behaviour change as a one-off learning event rather than a system supported by environment, habits, identity and social reinforcement.
Together, Andy and Jenn unpack what the science of behaviour change actually tells us, from the forgetting curve and feedback loops, to the powerful role of values, authenticity and team involvement. This conversation challenges the idea that leaders need to “do more”, and instead reframes leadership growth as doing things differently, consistently, and together.
If you’ve ever wondered why great leadership intentions fade once people return to the day job, this episode offers a grounded, human, and evidence-based answer.
Key Takeaways
- One-off learning moments aren’t enough. The forgetting curve shows how quickly knowledge fades without reinforcement.
- Leadership training isn’t a motivation problem, it’s a behaviour change problem. Jenn reframes development as sustained behavioural shift, not information intake.
- Environment beats willpower. Feedback loops, systems and social support matter more than personal discipline.
- Lasting change is social, not solo. Leaders who involve their teams in their development see far greater impact over time.
Key Moments
The key moments in this episode are:
01:11 – Why Leadership Training Creates Energy but Rarely Lasts
03:52 – Introducing Jenn Yugo and Her Work in Behavioural Psychology
06:20 – Moving from Academia to Business: Applying Behavioural Science at Work
09:15 – Leadership Development as a Behaviour Change Challenge
13:10 – The Science Behind Why Training Is Quickly Forgotten
16:40 – Why Leaders Blame Themselves When Change Doesn’t Stick
20:05 – The Role of Environment, Feedback Loops and Daily Systems
24:10 – Values, Identity and Authenticity in Leadership Behaviour Change
28:40 – Involving Teams in Leadership Development to Reinforce Change
32:55 – Open Learning, Peer Connection and Cross-Organisational Insight
37:15 – Designing Leadership Development as a Journey, Not an Event
42:10 – Sustaining Behaviour Change Through Habits, Nudges and Measurement
Useful Links
Full Episode Transcript
Get the full transcript of the episode here
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