Corporate leadership programs are a lot like New Year’s resolutions-full of ambition, great on paper, and completely abandoned once real change is required. And if you really want to keep yours as irrelevant as possible, here’s a foolproof strategy: Make sure it’s run by the same people who think diversity is just a check box.

That’s right! No need for actual innovation or real progress. Just follow these tried-and-true methods to ensure your leadership pipeline remains as stagnant as a 1990’s boardroom.

Step 1: Slap a “Diversity & Inclusion” Label on a PowerPoint and Call It a Day

Why Overhaul your leadership pipeline when you can just say you’re inclusive? Just throw some stock photos of diverse smiling professionals into your slide and add words like equity and belonging (but for the love of status quo, don’t actually change policies). Bonus points if the person leading this discussion looks exactly like every other executive on your team.

Step 2: Host a Women’s Leadership Panel- Once a Year

To show your deep commitment to diversity, make sure you occasionally let women talk about leadership. Preferably in March (Women’s History Month), with a panel that consists of mid-level managers discussing “challenges” instead of actual strategies for getting more women into the C-suite. Whatever you do, don’t commit to sponsorship programs, succession planning, or -heaven forbid-promoting women into executive roles.

Step 3: Make Leadership Training Generic and Outdated

Your leadership program should be just inspirational enough to keep people hopeful but never actually disruptive. Teach them about leadership theories from 1985. Emphasize resilience and adaptability. (especially for women, since they’ll need it to survive being passed over). But don’t under any circumstances, challenge the structure that keeps the same people in power.

Step 4: Keep Decision-making in the Same Hands

The best way to maintain irrelevance? Let the same executives who built the broken system be the ones in charge of “fixing” it That way, leadership development stays a game of gatekeeping, where only a select few really get the shot at moving up. If someone dares to suggest that a diverse leadership team leads to stronger business outcomes? Smile, nod, and form a committee that never actually meets.

Step 5: Pretend There Aren’t enough “Qualified” Women

When questioned about why there are so few women at the top, act surprised! Say things like, “We love to promote more women, but they just aren’t ready yet” Ignore the fact that these same women are already leading-just without the title or the pay. And if a qualified woman applies for a leadership role? Move the goal posts.

Or…… You Could Actually Build a Leadership Program That Works

I know because I’ve built them.

Real leadership development doesn’t happen through performative panel or surface-level diversity initiatives. It happens when companies invest in training that prepares everyone-including women-for executive roles. It happens when leadership isn’t just a boys’ club with a new coat of paint, but a system designed to elevate talent based on performance, not proximity.

So, if you’re tire of ineffective leadership programs that keep failing the same way, maybe it’s time to do things differently. And if you’re serious about making real change, call me. I know how to build leadership programs that actually work.