Reflections from last week’s Mann University in Raleigh

Last week, we held Mann University in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the first time. It also marked 13 years since our first Mann U. The location was new, but the reason we gathered was the same: to help people become more capable, intentional leaders.

Over those 13 years, Mann University has traveled from Asheville and Atlanta to Denver, Los Angeles, Boston, Vancouver, Kona, Jakarta, Queenstown, and many places in between. Each group is different. The leadership challenges are remarkably familiar.

A Room Built for Better Leadership

This group brought together people from bicycle retail, run specialty retail, outdoor retail, and brand sales. Different parts of the industry were represented, yet the conversations kept returning to the same practical questions: How do I communicate clearly? How do I build agreement? How do I address a difficult issue before it damages the team? How do I help someone improve without discouraging them?

We worked on emotional intelligence, communication, agreements and alignment, difficult conversations, motivation, feedback, accountability, adult learning, hiring, interviewing, and the two mindsets we see most often in the workplace. These are not abstract management topics. They show up every day in the conversations leaders have, avoid, or mishandle.

The people who attended did more than collect ideas. They examined their own habits, practiced new approaches, and left with specific ways to improve how they lead. That kind of work can be uncomfortable. It is also where meaningful growth begins.

The Cost of the Urgent

Four people who had registered did not attend. A last-minute priority took precedence for each of them.

I understand how this happens. Retail and sales rarely respect the calendar. A staffing problem, customer issue, deadline, or unexpected fire can make leadership development feel optional. The immediate problem is visible. The cost of postponing growth is harder to see.

But that is exactly the tension leaders must learn to manage. If every urgent issue outranks development, development never happens. The leader remains the person who must solve every problem, the team remains dependent on that leader, and the cycle produces the next urgent issue.

What did those four people miss? They missed the material, of course, but also the chance to step away from daily demands and look honestly at how they lead. They missed conversations with peers who face similar problems. They missed practice, feedback, and the perspective that comes from being in a room where growth is the priority.

Protecting Time to Grow

Strong leaders respond when something truly requires them. They also recognize that urgency can become a habit. Sometimes the most responsible choice is to let the team handle the issue, keep the commitment already made, and invest in becoming better prepared for the next challenge.

Last week reminded me that leadership development starts before the session begins. It starts with deciding that the work matters enough to protect the time.

When a last-minute priority competes with your development, which one usually wins—and what is that choice costing you?

Your Turn

Think about the last time something "urgent" pulled you away from your own development. What was it, and looking back, could your team have handled it without you?

This week's challenge: Before you skip the next leadership-building opportunity for a fire that feels urgent, pause and ask: Am I solving this because only I can, or because I've made myself the person who always does?