Why Leadership Training Must Go Beyond Executives to Reach the Front Lines – Samantha Hurwitz

Send Fan Mail by Text!Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/why-leadership-training-must-go-beyond-executives-to-reach-the-front-lines-samantha-hurwitz/ Many organizations invest heavily in developing executives while overlooking the people closest to the daily work. Samantha Hurwitz challenges that top-down approach by showing why leadership capability must be developed across an entire organization — and how giving front-line employees the skills to influence decisions changes the way teams operate.Samantha Hurwitz is co-author of Leadership is Half the Story and co-founder of FliP University, a training and development company based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Together with her partner Marc Hurwitz, she developed practical programs that help organizations teach leadership skills across roles and levels, and they are also co-founders of the Global Followership Conference, where Samantha and Sharna first connected in 2019.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why leadership development programs often fail when they focus only on senior leadersHow organizations can develop leadership skills among frontline employeesWhy shared responsibility improves inclusion and employee ownershipWhat changes when companies move from a leader-centered model to a partner-centered cultureHow to measure the impact of organization-wide leadership developmentEpisode ResourcesFlip Universityhttp://flip.universityLeadership is Half the Story, Marc Hurwitz and Samantha Hurwitz https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Half-Story-Followership-Collaboration/dp/1487522460Samantha Hurwitz on LinkedInhttp://ww.linkedin.com/in/samanthakerrhurwitz/Global Followership Conferencehttp://ww.followershipconference.comReferenced ArticlesMeindl, J. R., Ehrlich, S. B., Dukerich, J. M. (1985). The romance of leadership. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30(1), 78-102. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392813Hurwitz, M., & Hurwitz, S. (2009). The romance of the follower: Part 1. Industrial and Commercial Training, 41(2), 80-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850910939117Hurwitz, M., & Hurwitz, S. (2009). The romance of the follower: Part 2. Industrial and Commercial Training, 41(4), 199-206. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850910962788Hurwitz, M., & Hurwitz, S. (2009). The romance of the follower: Part 3. Industrial and Commercial Training, 41(6), 326-333. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850910983929 Support the show*Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/Order the book: Lead & Followhttps://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/Support the Show!https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support