NAIOP Executive Development (NED)
Welcome to the NAIOP Executive Development Program (NED) – a premier six-month experience crafted for mid-career professionals seeking to lead and thrive in the ever-evolving commercial real estate industry. Designed to foster innovation, agility, and leadership excellence, NED equips participants with the skills and mindset to navigate today’s challenges and shape tomorrow’s opportunities.
Why Choose NED?
Transformative Learning
This isn’t just a program – it’s a game-changer. From June to November, you’ll embark on a dynamic journey featuring:
- Three immersive overnight retreats
- Three hands-on workshops
- Small-group virtual check-ins
- Access to one-on-one coaching to personalize your development.
Exclusive Cohort Experience
Join a select group of professionals from diverse roles and backgrounds in commercial real estate. This intimate setting fosters meaningful connections, peer collaboration, and access to experienced mentors who will amplify your professional growth. Real-World Curriculum
Our curriculum isn’t about theory; it’s about action. You’ll sharpen your skills in:
- Strategic thinking and decision-making
- Effective leadership communication
- Building and leading high-performance teams
Gain tools that you can immediately apply to your career.
Personalized Growth
Develop beyond your job title. NED emphasizes self-awareness, resilience, and adaptability—qualities essential for navigating the complexities of the commercial real estate sector.
Industry-Leading Network
Expand your professional network through connections with influential industry leaders, program alumni, and fellow participants. These relationships often lead to new opportunities and lasting collaborations.
Expert Instruction
Learn from top-tier instructors and industry experts who bring firsthand knowledge and cutting-edge insights. The program is designed to be engaging, practical, and immediately applicable to your career.
Who Should Apply?
Are you a driven professional with approximately 7-10 years of experience in commercial real estate or a related field? Do you want to:
- Elevate your career to the next level?
- Build a network of influential peers and mentors?
- Gain a competitive edge in today’s market?
If yes, NED is your springboard to success.
Application Details
When to Apply: Applications open in January and close April 30. Space is limited to ensure a focused and personalized experience, so early applications are encouraged.
Join the Next Generation of Industry Leaders
Take the leap and redefine your career. The NAIOP Executive Development Program is your opportunity to lead, innovate, and excel in commercial real estate. Apply now to join an elite group of professionals shaping the future of the industry.
Learn More & Hear from Alumni
Philosophy behind the NED Curriculum
Leaders today need increasingly sophisticated and agile mindsets characterized by maturity in perspective taking, the ability to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity, comfort with challenging assumptions in self and others and the capacity to learn and integrate new understanding.
To truly develop this capacity, we need to move away from focusing on what leaders know, towards understanding how leaders make sense of the things they know. This requires mindset development - investigating beliefs, biases, habits and autopilot behavior. The majority of leadership development time and money is invested in the realm of skill development - preparing leaders to successfully achieve stated objectives; building mastery in areas with relatively well defined and agreed upon outcomes (e.g. sales, hiring skills). To develop mindsets to match the demands of today, a different approach is needed.
Why? We are wired to avoid change; and brain research suggests our largely unconscious habits of mind drive our behavior. This means 90% of our decisions, motivations and reactions are influenced by automatic, unconscious processes. We naturally default to familiar solutions and processes, even when they no longer match the new or changing environment. Therefore, we need experiences that disrupt habitual ways of doing things to open our minds. We also need exposure to different worldviews and a process of reflection to integrate and make sense of new perspectives.
Neuroscience on “sticky” learning tells us that deeply meaningful learning over time is critical to gain the impact we seek from leadership development programs. Additionally, research has consistently demonstrated that people develop in relationship with others. Sustainable learning and growth happens when people feel they are in a safe community, when they are challenged and when they are engaged in connected and authentic (or deep) dialogue. To accomplish mindset development in NAIOP, it needs to occur in a cohort over time.
Information
Philosophy behind the NED Curriculum
Leaders today need increasingly sophisticated and agile mindsets characterized by maturity in perspective taking, the ability to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity, comfort with challenging assumptions in self and others and the capacity to learn and integrate new understanding.
To truly develop this capacity, we need to move away from focusing on what leaders know, towards understanding how leaders make sense of the things they know. This requires mindset development - investigating beliefs, biases, habits and autopilot behavior. The majority of leadership development time and money is invested in the realm of skill development - preparing leaders to successfully achieve stated objectives; building mastery in areas with relatively well defined and agreed upon outcomes (e.g. sales, hiring skills). To develop mindsets to match the demands of today, a different approach is needed.
Why? We are wired to avoid change; and brain research suggests our largely unconscious habits of mind drive our behavior. This means 90% of our decisions, motivations and reactions are influenced by automatic, unconscious processes. We naturally default to familiar solutions and processes, even when they no longer match the new or changing environment. Therefore, we need experiences that disrupt habitual ways of doing things to open our minds. We also need exposure to different worldviews and a process of reflection to integrate and make sense of new perspectives.
Neuroscience on “sticky” learning tells us that deeply meaningful learning over time is critical to gain the impact we seek from leadership development programs. Additionally, research has consistently demonstrated that people develop in relationship with others. Sustainable learning and growth happens when people feel they are in a safe community, when they are challenged and when they are engaged in connected and authentic (or deep) dialogue. To accomplish mindset development in NAIOP, it needs to occur in a cohort over time.