Career Lab

Where Career Leadership is Built & Activated

The Challenge

Career satisfaction is a powerful driver of engagement, performance, and retention. But many managers are not equipped with the mindset, structure, and skills needed to lead meaningful career conversations.

The result is a growing gap between employee expectations and manager capability, with real consequences for development, engagement, and retention.

Employees who believe they can achieve their career goals with their employer are 3 times more likely to stay.

Organizations that support employee career growth see a 39 percent increase in the likelihood of high performance.

Only 50 percent of employees say their manager tailors feedback to the role they want next.

The Career Lab Solution

Through tailored interactive labs and learning paths, Career Lab helps managers build the mindset, confidence, and practical skills to lead meaningful career engagement with their teams.

Designed for your company context, the experience equips managers to approach career conversations with greater clarity, stronger tools, and a more confident sense of how to support employee growth in ways that also strengthen engagement, performance, and retention.

Imagine Managers as Career Leaders

  • Engaging their teams in career conversations without hesitation

  • Adept at development action planning that engages each employee

  • Connecting current performance with career aspirations

  • Creating a culture of engagement that supports performance and retention

The Career Lab Pilot Experience

Your Unique Experience

Meet with David and Sarah to discuss your business and career development context, enabling a tailored Career Lab experience.

Lab One: Today’s Career Environment

  • Realities shaping modern careers

  • Drivers of career satisfaction and the theories behind them

  • The connection between career leadership, engagement, performance, and retention

Lab Two: Activating Career Engagement

  • Developing confidence leading career conversations

  • Power questioning to unlock insight and motivation

  • Navigating apathy and unrealistic expectations

  • Helping employees develop their career story and self-advocacy

  • Practical action planning for both team and manager

Consultative Debrief

Meet with David and Sarah to discuss insights and recommendations for enhanced career development at your company.

  • Two interactive labs
    - 90 minutes each

  • 12 to 24 manager participants

  • Consultation with executive sponsors

  • Virtual or SoCal in person

Pilot Snapshot

“Career Lab was fantastic. It was engaging and relevant. The combination of discussion, action, and theory, with personal storytelling, was just the right balance for our managers.”

— Megan Litwin Global Employee Engagement and Development Leader Room to Read, inaugural pilot partner

Our Team

David Gunn

Co-founder and Principal Coach, LAUNCHPADcouncil
President, The David Gunn Group

David brings deep expertise in talent, leadership, and career development, with senior experience at Disney, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and McKinsey. He has led global teams across talent strategy, career development, recruitment, and leadership development.

Sarah Weisinger

Co-founder and Principal Coach, LAUNCHPADcouncil
Strategic Executive Advisor, Alai Studio

Sarah is an experienced people-first leader with senior cross-functional leadership experience at The Walt Disney Company. She brings practical insight into career growth, organizational leadership, and talent development, with more than 20 years of experience mentoring and advancing careers.

Interested in the Career Lab pilot?

Contact David and Sarah to discuss your organization, your managers, and whether Career Lab is the right fit.

Reach Out