NAIOP Executive Development (NED)

Welcome to the NAIOP Executive Development Program (NED) – a distinctive six-month journey designed for mid-career professionals in the commercial real estate industry. Our program is tailored to foster a new era of leaders, equipped with an agile mindset and advanced skills necessary to excel in today's dynamic industry landscape.

Program Highlights:

• Duration and Structure: Engage in a transformative experience from June to November. The program includes six intensive sessions comprising three overnight retreats and three skill-building workshops, augmented by small group virtual check-ins and optional coaching.

• Cohort Experience: Be a part of an exclusive cohort of professionals, where diverse backgrounds and perspectives converge to create a rich learning environment. Here, you will build lasting connections and a network of peers and mentors.

• Curriculum Focus: Our curriculum goes beyond traditional learning. It's centered on real-world application and development of a sophisticated leadership mindset. You'll explore topics that range from strategic thinking and decision-making to effective communication and team-building strategies.

• Personal and Professional Growth: Dive deep into personal development, enhancing not only your professional skills but also your personal attributes. Our program facilitates self-reflection, resilience, and a nuanced understanding of the commercial real estate sector.

• Networking Opportunities: Connect with industry leaders, successful alumni, and fellow participants. These connections often lead to valuable professional relationships and opportunities beyond the program.

• Expert Facilitation: Learn from seasoned instructors and industry experts who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience. They ensure that the program content is relevant, engaging, and applicable.

This program is ideal for professionals with approximately a decade of experience in commercial real estate or related fields. If you are looking to elevate your career, expand your network, and gain a competitive edge, the NED program is for you.

Application Process

Applications open in January, with a deadline in April 15.  The program admits a limited number of participants to maintain an intimate and focused learning environment. Prospective candidates are encouraged to apply early.

Join Us on This Exciting Journey:

Embrace the opportunity to transform your career and leadership style with the NAIOP Executive Development Program. Apply now and be part of a unique experience that shapes tomorrow's industry leaders.

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.

Meet the Program Instructors