May is Global Leadership Month

Organizations navigate constant change, increasing complexity and pressure to perform, and the demand for effective leadership has never been greater. May is recognized as Global Leadership Month, and many businesses are asking a critical question: how do we develop leaders who can keep learning, while consistently performing when it matters most?

Davenport University has the answer in its Institute for Professional Excellence (IPEx), where leadership development goes beyond theory and delivers real-world impact.

IPEx has built a reputation for creating high-impact, industry-aligned programs that help organizations strengthen their leadership pipelines. One example is its partnership with Perrigo, a global leader in consumer self-care products. Perrigo and IPEx developed the award-winning Leadership in Action (LIA) program, an immersive experience focused on building capabilities like change management and strategic execution across global teams. The program engaged leaders in both the United States and Europe and has contributed to measurable improvements in leadership effectiveness, team performance and retention.

“This recognition is a testament to the power of academic-industry collaborations and the shared commitment to developing world-class leaders,” said Dan Rundhaug, Ph.D., executive director of IPEx at Davenport. “We’re honored to partner with organizations to deliver programs that meet their leadership goals while driving measurable business outcomes.”

That same commitment to innovation is reflected in The Executive Edge, another IPEx offering designed for leaders seeking a competitive advantage in today’s demanding environment. Built for senior leaders and grounded in a “corporate athlete” model, the program focuses on energy management, mental toughness, self-awareness and systems-based strategic execution. The idea is to equip participants with a Personal Operating System to perform consistently under pressure.

“The business environment executives are operating in today is different,” said Lesa Bergsma, SHRM-SCP, director of learning and development within IPEx. “Burnout is real. It’s showing up in retention data, decision quality and team performance, and most leaders don’t have a real system for recovery. At the same time, they’re navigating AI transformation, economic and political volatility, and a constant stream of high-stakes decisions. Traditional leadership development doesn’t address that. Executive Edge is designed to give leaders the infrastructure to perform under these conditions.”

The structure and curriculum matter, but IPEx emphasizes that leadership ultimately comes down to what happens after the training ends.

“We often talk about the curriculum, the instructors and the rigor of leadership programs,” Rundhaug said. “But leadership isn’t found in a textbook. Training gives the infrastructure to perform well under all these changing conditions.” 

That philosophy of “lead, apply, repeat” is central to IPEx’s approach and especially relevant during Global Leadership Month. It reflects a shift many organizations are making: moving from viewing leadership as a one-time development opportunity to seeing it as an ongoing, practiced discipline.

Through programs like Leadership in Action and The Executive Edge, Davenport University’s IPEx is helping businesses increase their capacity to navigate uncertainty, manage through change and make decisions under pressure to create leaders for a rapidly evolving world.