Exceptional leaders, winning teams, extraordinary results
Most business schools focus on building the technical expertise needed to manage a business—Strategy, Marketing, Finance, Operations. But today’s organizations need more than MBAs or Executive MBAs. They need leaders who can spark innovation and mobilize people and teams to turn bold goals into real results.
In recent years, dozens of organizations have turned to our leadership development solutions to help bosses—from senior executives to rising managers—become more effective leaders.
Exceptional Leaders: The 4 Habits of the Profession is Apprecia’s most in-demand leadership development experience. Trusted by both multinational and national companies, this program is a proven way to equip first and mid-level bosses with the mindset and habits required to deliver superior value through others and build thriving, high-performing workplaces.
Leaders matter—because what they do consistently (their habits) shape culture -and culture shape results. But leaders in the first and middle layers of management matter most. They account for 75-80% of the manager population. Yet, these groups often receive less development investment than senior leaders.
Ready to invest in what truly sets great organizations apart? Start here.
VILT and ILT versions
Intensive experience of 1 or 2 full days (in person, ILT) or 2 half days (virtual, VILT)
Faculty-to-participant ratios:
VILT: 1/12-18
ILT: 1/8-12
As a result of participating in this leadership development experience, participants will be able to:
Distinguish between being a boss and being a true leader
Reflect on their current leadership practice in light of best established body of knowledge
Internalize the four essential habits of highly effective leaders
Build the key competencies required to lead a team with impact (to demonstrate those habits)
Design and commit to a personal change plan to implement within 90 to 180 days following the program.
(for bosses in the middle and first layers of management, in any company, in any market)
This leadership development experience is designed for mid- and first-level leaders in multinational or local companies facing significant growth challenges—such as entering new markets, launching new products, or driving significant technological change.
More specifically, Exceptional Leaders: The 4 Habits of the Profession is intended for individuals with at least six months in leadership roles, including (but not limited to):
Business or operational unit managers
Frontline supervisors
First-time managers
Project managers
POs working in innovation cells
The program may also include high-potential individual contributors preparing to step into leadership roles.
By design, the program is suited for groups of 12 to 18 participants in an in-person setting (ILT version), or groups of 8 to 12 participants in a virtual format (VILT version).
(the topics of the profession)
Exceptional Leaders: The 4 Habits of the Profession engages participants in positive, practical conversations designed to build the essential team leadership competencies. These conversations center around the following key themes:
What Makes a Person a Leader?
It’s not about charisma, eloquence, or personality—it’s about behavior. Leadership is what you do, and effective leadership behaviors can be learned. Through appreciative interviews, participants explore the leader’s role in building and expanding an organization’s human capital.
Habit 1: Build the Team
Today, almost every major achievement—from award-winning films to generative AI breakthroughs and world-class infrastructure—relies on the work of small, interdependent teams. What defines a high-performance team? And how do leaders create one?
Habit 2: Set Direction
A leader’s core responsibility is to deliver results through others. This is the conversation that focuses on how to translate a team’s mission into clear, specific, ambitious, and actionable individual goals.
Habit 3: Develop Others
Great leaders go beyond managing tasks—they grow people. That means assigning meaningful challenges and offering ongoing coaching. If you want commitment, not just compliance, raise expectations and help team members stretch their capabilities.
Habit 4: Recognize Contributions
People want to feel valued. When leaders consistently acknowledge effort and celebrate progress, they boost satisfaction and engagement. But what does meaningful, effective recognition look like in practice?
Preparing to Practice
Want to lead a high-performing team? Start with yourself. Before trying to change others, commit to your own professional growth. Considering your current business challenge, what leadership behavior will you focus on turning into a habit over the next 90 to 180 days?
about the experience
Exceptional Leaders: The 4 Habits of the Profession is a collaborative, intensive, and engaging experience that develops essential team leadership skills. It does so through hands-on practice, guided reflection, and the design and rehearsal of a personal change plan.
To support learning from real experience, the program’s instructional design integrates a rich blend of methods and resources, including:
Appreciative Conversations – intentional inquiry focused on uncovering individual and collective strengths
Guided Reflection – Facilitated by seasoned practitioners who act as coaches or role models, grounded in proven best practices
Self-Assessments – Tools for personal insight and growth
State-of-the-Art Tools– Practical resources to support leadership development
Role-Plays and Real-Plays – Safe environments to explore leadership challenges and experiment with new behaviors
Peer Coaching Conversations – Structured feedback from fellow participants
And only a few carefully curated presentations from corporate facilitators.
typical program agendas
Exceptional Leaders: The 4 Habits of the Profession can be experienced in a physical or virtual room.
To download the typical agenda for the synchronous virtual (VILT) or in-person (ILT) versions, click on the respective image:
VILT version, typically Two 4-hour virtual sessions
The agenda for the 1-day ILT version is shown. A 2-day ILT version is available.
“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”
(this profession is not taught, it is learned)
This program is designed to be facilitated by one of the following facilitators (or any Apprecia-certified corporate facilitator):
Julio Martínez Itté
Sr. Partner & Founder at Apprecia (apprecia.co)
Julio Martínez Itte is a leadership and team development expert and organizational effectiveness consultant with over two decades of experience in Latin America and beyond.
He was also a founding partner of Xn International, Inc.
He is the author of the book "Building Winning Teams: How to Turn Work Groups into High-Performance Teams" ("Construir Equipos Ganadores. Cómo convertir grupos de trabajo en equipos de alto desempeño"), published in 2024 by LID Editorial in Colombia and Spain.
Julio co-directed the "Leadership Practices in Colombia and Uruguay" study, a joint research of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Apprecia, in 2014.
Over the past 18 years, he has designed, co-led, and facilitated leadership and organizational development programs with a wide range of purposes across companies and institutions such as:
Unilever (Mexico, Central and South America), Nestlé (Uruguay, Venezuela), Sabre, HSBC (Uruguay), Bayer Crop Science (Andean and Central America regions), Dow (Southern Cone and Andean regions), Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), Telefónica (Chile, Uruguay, Spain), Roche (Uruguay), Nisssan (Americas) among many other domestic firms in Colombia and Uruguay.
A specialist in leadership development and organizational effectiveness, he previously served as Learning & Organizational Effectiveness Manager for Bank of America (Uruguay and LATAM, 2004–2006).
From 2009-2019, he was a faculty member of the Accenture–Unilever Delivery Faculty, training more than one thousand Unilever middle managers across Latin America in leadership and management (Mexico, Central and South America).
Since 2002, Julio has designed and facilitated change processes based on Appreciative Inquiry (AI). He is the Spanish-language editor of Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Approach to Building Cooperative Capacity” by Frank J. Barrett and Ronald E. Fry. Since 2007, he has trained HR professionals and executives in the use of AI, promoting its practice as a powerful approach to creating positive change and enhancing organizational effectiveness.
Claudia Piereck da Cunha
Claudia is a learning and development consultant, leadership and team development expert, and executive and team coach with extensive experience supporting global corporations across multiple industries.
She has consulted for a wide range of multinational and regional organizations, including Citibank, BankBoston, Itaú, Unibanco, Santander, American Express, Nokia, Telefonica, BASF, Dow Chemical, Unilever, Roche, Diageo, Bayer, Monsanto, General Motors, Volkswagen, Marriott Hotels, Shell, Petrobrás, Vale, and Grupo BIG/Walmart, among many others.
Her work has taken her around the world, delivering workshops, courses, and lectures across the United States, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico —both in-person and virtually. She has also coached and trained executives from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Previously, she led the South American Training Department at Johnson Controls Automotive and the Corporate Training area at Banco Nacional.
She also served as Resident Vice President at Citibank, where she was responsible for managing relationships with large corporations and financial institutions, and where she developed her early career as a manager.
She teaches Human Resources Management and Services Marketing at the graduate and MBA levels.
She holds a Master’s degree in International Business from Tufts/Harvard University (USA).
Proven Impact
This leadership development solution includes built-in impact measurement at the Reaction level, with optional evaluation at the Learning and Effectiveness levels.
Time-tested. Originally developed in 2006 at Xn International—Apprecia’s predecessor—this program has consistently delivered strong results across diverse contexts. Since its launch, we have continuously measured participant reactions, consistently achieving high satisfaction levels, as demonstrated in the case below. The program has evolved over time to remain relevant and effective in today’s changing environments. The need to develop managers into true leaders has not diminished—in fact, it has intensified as organizations navigate increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions.
Case. Open-enrollment workshop for front-line managers and HR professionals from multiple industries. Bogotá, April 2012.
Response Rate: 18 out of 18 (100%)
Result: 100% of participants reported the program as highly relevant to their current leadership roles and professional development goals.
Statement 6. What I learned is relevant to the responsibilities of my current position.
Statement 7. What I learned is relevant to my career and professional development.