Leadership development programs fail for a predictable reason: They treat behavior change as a one-time event rather than a sustained process. Organizations invest heavily in workshops and sessions that generate enthusiasm but fade within weeks. Leaders return to old patterns. The business impact never materializes.
I recently met with Donna Iacopucci and Maureen Funkhouser, co-owners of Entelechy, a leadership development firm that’s spent three decades solving this exact problem. After purchasing the company in March 2025, they’re building on a foundation of award-winning programs (including 11 Brandon Hall Group™ Excellence Awards since 2023) with clients like Qualcomm and Thermo Fisher Scientific. These are relationships that have lasted 11 years in some cases precisely because their approach creates lasting behavioral shifts rather than temporary learning moments.
What distinguishes their methodology is the focus on prescriptive tools that build repeatable behaviors into daily workflows. This isn’t about inspiring leaders during a two-day offsite. It’s about changing how they operate when they’re back at their desks facing real decisions. It’s the kind of practical, outcome-focused approach we see resonating in our research on corporate learning strategies and what drives organizations to seek proven solutions through our solution provider advisory services.
The Leadership Development Landscape
The market offers vastly different approaches depending on organizational needs and scale:
- Korn Ferry brings global reach and integrated talent advisory services with strong succession planning integration, though their enterprise positioning and pricing reflects Fortune 500 focus rather than mid-market flexibility.
- FranklinCovey offers brand recognition and scalable content through their All Access Pass subscription model, delivering consistency across large populations though with less customization for unique organizational contexts
- BTS excels at business simulations and strategy execution programs that link leadership development to business outcomes, but their model requires substantial upfront investment and extended timelines
- GP Strategies provides comprehensive workforce transformation services with strong learning technology integration.
- DDI delivers research-backed assessment and development solutions, particularly strong in selection and succession planning and includes a strong subscription program.
- CCL (Center for Creative Leadership) maintains deep research credibility and thought leadership with strong assessment tools.
Entelechy positions itself differently — as a specialist in creating sustainable behavioral change through highly structured, repeatable frameworks that can be deployed at various customization levels.
Three-Level Architecture for Different Organizational Needs
Entelechy has organized their offerings around three core verticals, each addressing distinct client requirements:
Leadership Development Programs with Flexible Deployment Models
The foundation of their business centers on programs targeting specific leader populations:
- Aspiring leaders preparing for first-time leadership roles and needing foundational skills before they’re needed under pressure.
- Frontline and mid-level leaders managing day-to-day operations, strengthening coaching, delegation, and performance management capabilities.
- Leaders of leaders operating at director and VP levels, developing strategic thinking and organizational influence.
What makes their approach distinctive is the tiered delivery structure:
- Off-the-shelf cohort programs provide award-winning methodology in a standardized format for organizations wanting proven frameworks without customization overhead.
- Lightly customized programs adapt core content to specific organizational language, culture, and business context.
- Fully customized engagements create bespoke solutions deeply integrated with business strategy — the approach used with enterprise clients like Qualcomm and Thermo Fisher
The core methodology remains consistent across all tiers: prescriptive tools designed to create repeatable behaviors and sustainable habits. Leaders don’t just learn concepts; they practice specific techniques that become embedded in how they work.
Wiley Assessment Solutions
As an authorized provider for Wiley’s DiSC and Five Behaviors assessments, Entelechy integrates behavioral assessments directly into development programs rather than treating them as standalone diagnostic tools.
The integration creates coherence between insight and action:
- Assessment results inform which prescriptive tools will resonate most with individual leaders.
- Development programs use assessment language as common vocabulary for ongoing coaching.
- Teams use shared assessment frameworks to improve collaboration and reduce friction.
Organizations can order assessments directly through Entelechy’s website, making them accessible for both program participants and broader populations.
Coaching Services for Program Reinforcement
While coaching has historically been an adjunct to their program work, Entelechy is building it into a standalone vertical for 2026. The focus remains on reinforcing program outcomes rather than traditional executive coaching:
- Program-connected coaching helps leaders apply specific tools from development programs to real workplace challenges.
- Transition coaching supports leaders moving into new roles who’ve completed development programs.
- Team coaching extends individual development into collective leadership team effectiveness.
The coaching model aligns with their broader philosophy: behavior change happens through sustained practice with specific tools, not through open-ended conversations about leadership philosophy.
AI-Enabled Reinforcement: Extending Programs Beyond Workshops
One of Entelechy’s strategic priorities for 2026 involves exploring how AI can serve as a reinforcement mechanism between formal program sessions. The concept addresses a fundamental challenge in leadership development: programs create momentum during delivery, but that momentum dissipates when leaders return to daily pressures.
Their AI exploration focuses on two applications:
Ongoing Practice Reinforcement
- Between cohort sessions, AI could prompt leaders to apply specific tools from the program to actual situations they’re facing.
- Rather than generic leadership tips, reinforcement would be contextual to the specific frameworks taught in their programs.
- The goal is keeping program concepts active in leaders’ minds during the weeks between formal sessions.
Scalable Coaching Support
- For organizations that can’t provide one-on-one coaching to all program participants, AI could offer tool-specific guidance.
- Leaders could describe workplace scenarios and receive suggestions on which program tools apply and how to use them.
- Human coaches would focus on complex situations while AI handles straightforward tool application questions.
The approach reflects their core belief: leadership development works when specific, repeatable behaviors become habitual. AI isn’t replacing human facilitation or coaching—it’s extending the reach of proven methodologies into the daily moments when leaders actually need them.
Who Benefits From This Approach
Global Enterprises Requiring Consistent Methodology Across Regions
Organizations with 15,000+ employees spread across multiple countries need leadership development that scales without losing effectiveness. Entelechy’s structured frameworks provide consistency. Leaders in Singapore and Boston learn the same prescriptive tools while allowing for cultural and business context adaptation.
The value: proven methodology that doesn’t require reinvention for each regional deployment, with track records like their 11-year Thermo Fisher partnership demonstrating sustained impact. These are precisely the kinds of implementation challenges Brandon Hall Group™ helps enterprises navigate through our strategic advisory services.
Mid-Market Organizations Seeking Enterprise-Quality Development
Companies in the 5,000-15,000 employee range often face a frustrating choice: generic training that doesn’t move the needle, or fully customized programs they can’t afford. Entelechy’s tiered model addresses this gap. Off-the-shelf or lightly customized programs deliver the same behavioral change focus that wins awards for Fortune 500 clients, at price points mid-market budgets can support.
Technology and Life Sciences Companies Managing Rapid Change
While Entelechy works across industries, their anchor relationships in technology (Qualcomm) and life sciences (Thermo Fisher) reveal a natural fit. These sectors face constant change that requires leaders who can adapt quickly while maintaining operational excellence.
Their structured tool approach helps: leaders have specific frameworks for navigating ambiguity rather than relying on general leadership principles that feel too abstract during crises.
Organizations Moving Beyond Training Compliance
Companies frustrated with leadership development that checks boxes but doesn’t change behavior find Entelechy’s approach refreshing. The focus on prescriptive tools and habit formation directly addresses the gap between “leaders attended the program” and “leaders actually operate differently.”
Companies Wanting Assessment-Development Integration
Organizations seeking to weave Wiley assessments into development programs rather than using them as standalone diagnostics benefit from Entelechy’s authorized provider status. The integration ensures assessment insights translate into specific behavioral practices rather than sitting in reports that leaders read once and forget.
Strategic Position: Specialist in Sustainable Change
Entelechy occupies a distinctive position in the leadership development market — they’re not competing on brand recognition or global scale, but on a specific capability: creating behavioral change that lasts beyond the program delivery period.
Their multi-year client relationships demonstrate this focus. Organizations don’t typically maintain 11-year partnerships with leadership development providers unless the programs continue delivering measurable value. That sustained impact comes from their structured methodology — prescriptive tools that become embedded in how leaders actually work.
The tiered delivery model they’re building represents thoughtful market positioning. Rather than choosing between boutique customization and scaled standardization, they’re offering both, meeting mid-market organizations where their budgets are while maintaining the program quality that wins awards at the enterprise level. For solution providers navigating similar strategic transitions, our provider-focused consulting services help translate proven capabilities into scalable market positioning.
Their expansion into AI-enabled reinforcement and coaching verticalization shows strategic thinking about how leadership development needs to evolve. Programs can’t remain isolated events. They need to extend into daily work—the moments when leaders face actual decisions, not hypothetical case studies.
For organizations evaluating leadership development partners, Entelechy presents an interesting alternative to both massive global consultancies and generic training vendors. They bring three decades of proven methodology focused specifically on behavioral change, with delivery models flexible enough to serve organizations at different scales and budget levels.
