The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)® has spent more than 50 years doing one thing extraordinarily well: developing leaders who make the world better. Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Greensboro, NC — with nearly a dozen locations spanning the Americas, EMEA, and APAC — we are a top-ranked, global, nonprofit provider of leadership development and a pioneer in the field of global leadership research. We've conducted programs in over 100 countries, partnered with more than 3,000 client organizations annually, and built one of the largest leadership research databases in the world. Two-thirds of the Fortune 1000 have worked with us, and over 95% of our participants report coming away as stronger leaders. From community nonprofits to global enterprises, from first-time managers to the C-suite, we deliver transformational development that creates a ripple effect of positive change — one leader at a time, and outward into the world.

At CCL, we measure success by lives touched and impact made. We are researchers, coaches, facilitators, and innovators united by a collective drive to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. For nearly six decades, we've been at the forefront of the field — launching groundbreaking methods, pioneering 360 feedback, shaping the 70-20-10 model for learning and development, and being among the first to investigate leader derailment and the glass ceiling effect that women leaders face. Our multidisciplinary team of social scientists, data scientists, statisticians, and product innovators doesn't just study leadership — we live it. Governed as a nonprofit and guided by a Board of Trustees committed to accountability and transparency, we exist not to generate profit but to generate lasting human potential. Our people around the globe share a single passion: making the world a better place through more effective leadership.

We design and deliver research-based leadership development solutions that scale to meet organizations wherever they are. Our portfolio spans leadership programs for every level — from frontline and new manager courses to mid-level manager training to executive leadership programs — delivered in person, live online, or through flexible digital formats. We offer world-class coaching services that build self-awareness and drive transformational change, pioneering 360 assessments backed by the industry's largest assessment research database, and fully customized development journeys co-created with each client to fit their unique culture and context. Through CCL Passport™, organizations unlock unlimited access to our entire library of proven content and solutions. We also license our programs to in-house L&D teams, provide leadership analytics and evaluation services, and extend our reach globally through strategic partnerships. Leadership development isn't a product we hand off — it's a partnership we invest in, and every solution we craft is built to go beyond skill development, expand mindsets, and ignite lasting change.

Our mission has remained unchanged since 1970: to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. We believe a brighter future begins with the people who lead us there — and that leadership potential exists in every person at every level of every organization. By expanding human potential, we invest in a better future for the world. Every program we run, every research study we publish, every scholarship we fund is an expression of that belief. Leadership, in our view, is not about title or authority — it is about growth, purpose, and the ripple effect that starts with self-awareness and moves outward to transform teams, organizations, communities, and ultimately the world. That is the purpose that propels everything we do.

Our values are the moral compass that defines who we are and what we stand for. They shape our day-to-day decisions, guide how we show up for our clients and each other, and reflect the culture we work hard to sustain. We strive every day to be our best — honoring everyone for who they are and treating each other with the utmost respect so we can do our best work. We make a difference by serving with integrity, showing up fully, and keeping our collective drive pointed toward a better future for all. We stay curious, challenging one another and anticipating new and better ways to lead and serve. And we rise together, cultivating partnership, seeking diverse perspectives, and believing that through genuine collaboration our impact on the world grows far beyond what any one of us could achieve alone.

Clients consistently call us the gold standard for executive education and professional development — and we've earned that designation through decades of rigorous research, contextual expertise, and a relentless commitment to tailoring our work to the people in the room. We don't have a canned approach. We know our clients, understand their challenges, and shift with them at speed without sacrificing quality. Our solutions are grounded in one of the largest leadership research databases in the world, informed by 50-plus years of original science, and delivered by a global community of leadership experts who are as passionate about outcomes as our clients are. Whether you're looking for an open-enrollment program, a fully custom enterprise initiative, coaching at scale, or an all-in-one content subscription, we bring the research, the relationships, and the rigor to make development truly transformational. The result is not just stronger leaders — it's a ripple effect of positive change that reaches far beyond the individuals we develop.

As a leadership organization, we believe we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to lead by example — and that includes how we operate as a global institution. In 2025, the Center for Creative Leadership earned a Sustainable Supplier Certificate from the UN Global Compact following our completion of its intensive, multi-month Sustainable Supplier Impact Programme, which covers critical topics in corporate sustainability including human rights, environmental stewardship, governance, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This certification reinforces our commitment to operating as a responsible global organization, aligned with the values we uphold in pursuit of our mission. The expectations from our clients and from the world are evolving rapidly, and we view sustainability not as a destination but as an ongoing journey toward embedding responsible practices into everything we do.

As a nonprofit, we believe leadership is a critical lever in creating meaningful, systemic, and sustainable social change — and that conviction shapes how we invest our resources. Each year, we fund a scholarship program that develops over 6,000 social sector leaders, partnering with foundations, nonprofits, public health organizations, educational institutions, and community-focused organizations to make transformational leadership development accessible to those who need it most. We partner with organizations including American Express, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Teach For America, and Habitat for Humanity to extend our reach into communities worldwide. Long after a program ends, participants report that growth continues to ripple outward — affecting not only themselves but everyone whose life they touch. We measure our success by those lives, and we invite others who share this belief to support our work and help us lift even more leaders who lift the world.

At CCL, rising together is one of our core values — and it begins with a genuine commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in our own organization and in everything we do for clients. We cultivate partnership, seek diverse perspectives, and know that the best ideas emerge when all voices are present. Our work with clients reflects this: we have delivered award-winning EDI-focused programs in partnership with organizations such as Merck, Cognizant, Fiat-Chrysler, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, earning multiple Brandon Hall Excellence Awards for programs designed to elevate equity, diversity, and women's leadership. Internally, our Singapore and India campuses have earned Great Place to Work certifications through an employee-validation process. We are also committed to making leadership development accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, and leader levels — which is why affordability, accessibility, and a supportive environment that promotes respect and continuous learning are built into how we design and deliver our work. We believe a more inclusive world starts with more inclusive leadership, and we are committed to propelling that forward.