From orienteering exercises to problem-solving workshops, leadership bootcamp may be just the place to get your executive skills in gear.

If anyone noticed a handful of people scurrying along the Las Vegas Strip this past October, on the prowl in broad daylight for an unknown-to-them landmark, they might have assumed this was just another klatch of tourists that had descended upon Sin City. But this was no Regular Joe tour group. These were managers at a leading financial services company participating in an executive training program, one that had been custom-designed at the company’s request.

The goal of the program, like that of many short-term executive training sessions, was to develop leadership skills. (More on that below.) Leadership is a paradoxical skill. We recognize effective leaders when we see them—their styles may vary, but they tend to possess common traits: a can-do sense of command and purpose, an ability to inspire and direct. But do they see what we see? And when we’re asked to lead, do we fully understand what works and what doesn’t, and how we impact those around us? Is anyone the leader he or she could be?

Wherever you are on the executive “boot camp” spectrum—believer, agnostic or naysayer—these camps seem to serve a valuable purpose by exploring such questions. Many participants describe their executive training experiences as life-changing. Offerings range from the innovative, like the aforementioned Las Vegas program, to more traditional classroom experiences, such as the Center for Creative Leadership’s (CCL) Leadership Development Program. The return on investment can be internal, with an increased awareness of leadership style; or external, a list of tangible goals identified during the program. Often it is both.

To get a sense of the range of executive training programs available today, we looked at three of the more intriguing ones.

Traditional classroom

Participants in the Center for Creative Leadership’s five-day Leadership Development Program (LDP) get to work well before the program begins, with a battery of personality assessments. The reason for the psychological approach, explains Gene Klann, senior faculty member at CCL and author of Building Character: Strengthening the Heart of Good Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2006), is that leadership skills are all about relationships.

The battery includes a 360-Degree Personality Assessment, with responses from participants’ supervisors, as well as employees the participant supervises; the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation Behavior, which evaluates interpersonal “needs”—inclusion, control, affection; the Change Style Indicator, or CSI (not to be confused with the television show of the same name), a basic indicator for how participants deal with change; and the California Psychological Inventory, a 260-question survey that evaluates things like lifestyle.

During the program, participants get feedback on their psychological assessments, with pointers on how to apply their new self-knowledge to the workplace. (Classes are limited to 24 attendees, with two facilitators; they’re held at one of CCL’s five campuses around the world: Greensboro, Colorado Springs, San Diego, Brussels and Singapore.) They also test their leadership mettle with tasks, like performing an activity blindfolded, with distractions and outside pressure. Later in the week, participants spend a half-day engaged in a coached vignette, a case study with feedback from the facilitators. After the program ends, there’s a 10-week, Web-based follow-up system.

“The key phrase,” says Klann, who’s been teaching in the program for over 20 years, “is learning how your behavior impacts other people. By the end of the week, participants have a new paradigm to understand their own personal behavior.” Another salient point is the three laws of leadership: communication, communication, communication. If this sounds obvious, consider the program’s alumni: Michael Dell, Gen. Norman Schwartzkopf and Gene Honoré, to name a few.

Customized adventure

The sky’s the limit for companies that turn to Outdoor Wilderness Leadership School (OWLS) Leadership Development Programs—often literally. A popular course uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to cultivate leadership skills. In these orienteering exercises, which were originally designed for the Department of Defense, small groups set out with GPS equipment, a compass and maps. The goal is to get from one point to the next. As a group finds its way, participants flex their leadership muscles by making decisions and occasionally solving problems. One client, Philip Morris USA, sent 13 sales managers on this course; they reached a 13,000 foot summit in Montana.

Not all the programs are so rigorous, notes Erik Henyon, president and founder of OWLS. Nor are they touchy-feely, another misconception. “People expect bunnies and flowers and Kumbaya,” says Henyon. “They get PhD- and MBA-level programs designed by their own companies.” OWLS uses an Action-Reflection Learning Model developed by one of its facilitators. Groups do an activity, then reflect on that activity with their facilitator. “They discuss the ‘ah ha!’ moments, and how to translate them back to the culture of their business environment,” Henyon describes.

OWLS customizes its programs, some within established categories and some from scratch. Case in point: The Las Vegas Urban Leadership Challenge mentioned at the beginning of the story. The program was, at the client’s request, supposed to be a mix of The Amazing Race and The Apprentice. Robin Weeks, an OWLS national sales officer, designed the program specifically for Las Vegas, but with the idea of transporting it to other cities. “I would love to do it in New York,” she says.

In brief: Groups get clues to a mystery landmark. When they find the landmark, they work on a problem-solving activity that might focus on, say, communication or visioning skills. Last fall, groups “found” Caesar’s Palace and Paris, among other Las Vegas landmarks. Weeks says she tried to keep them outdoors, but one group went into a casino and lost all the money they were supposed to use to get back to the Wynn. One valuable component of all OWLS programs, notes Meeks, is hearing feedback from colleagues. “They don’t get it in the workplace. They get it in an inconsequential environment.” In other words, their jobs and their budgets aren’t on the line.

Back to business school

At the other end of the spectrum, some clients prefer an academic setting. Individuals looking to brush up on their leadership skills can go to The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as participants in the distinguished business school’s Executive Programs. Leadership programs, which run from three to five days, are held in a conference center on Penn’s campus. Participants sleep, eat and, most importantly, study there.

One of the most popular programs is Leading and Managing People, a primer in human behavior that aims to free middle to senior executives from the “blind spots” that interfere with optimal leadership in workplace environments. The leadership courses are taught by Wharton faculty, as well as professors from other departments. (The co-directors of Wharton’s Executive Programs, Janet Greco and Charles Dwyer, are from Penn’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Graduate School of Education, respectively.) In addition, there are sometimes guest lecturers from corporations or other universities.

In a promotional video, Dwyer describes Leading and Managing People as “a program about how to get anyone to do anything you want.” He explains, “You influence people by having them perceive that what you want them to do is the best thing they can do to take care of what’s important to them.” The program helps executives package their ideas to maximize that outcome.

Given Wharton’s international reputation, it’s not surprising that participants come from all over the world. While the programs are “open enrollment”—that is, open to individuals—Wharton encourages companies to send small groups, so they can participate in the program and then have customized sessions at the end of the day. Another popular course, and a companion to Leading and Managing People, is Building Relationships. Here, faculty focus on basics, like listening and questioning skills, as well as building old and new relationships.
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Executive training sampler

The Center for Creative Leadership
Headquartered in Greensboro, N.C.
Campuses in Colorado Springs, Colo.; San Diego, Calif.; Brussels; and Singapore
Open enrollment/fees: $6,800 for five-day program
www.ccl.org

Outdoor Wilderness Leadership School (OWLS)
Nationwide; resort-based
Customized for individual companies
Fees: Custom-designed, depending on program
www.owlsadventures.com

The Wharton School Executive Programs
Philadelphia, Penn.
Open enrollment and customized
Fees: Start at $5,950
www.executiveeducation.wharton.upenn.edu

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BARBARA BENHAM covers policy, business and travel trends from
Washington, D.C., and no longer believes leaders are born, not made.