Career Lab

Where career leadership is built and activated.

LAUNCHPADcouncil's Career Lab helps managers build the mindset, structure, and skills to lead meaningful career engagement with their teams.

The Challenge

Career satisfaction is one of the most powerful drivers of employee engagement, performance, and retention. Yet managers are rarely equipped with the mindset, structure, and skills that make employee career engagement productive.

The result is a significant gap between employee expectations and manager capability.

3× more likely to stay

Employees who believe they can achieve their career goals with their employer are far more likely to remain.

39% greater likelihood

Organizations that support employee career growth see a stronger likelihood of high performance.

Only 50% report tailored feedback

Only half 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 develops managers to lead meaningful career engagement with their teams in your company context.

Founded by former Disney executives David Gunn and Sarah Weisinger, LAUNCHPADcouncil brings practical experience, strong facilitation, and a people-centered approach to career leadership.

Engaging their team 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 Context

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.

Pilot Snapshot

Two interactive labs
90 minutes each
12 to 24 manager participants
Consultation with sponsors
Virtual or Southern California in person

Highly interactive sessions combining discussion, reflection, peer dialogue, and practical frameworks managers can apply immediately.

“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

Meet the Founders

David Gunn

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

David brings deep experience in talent, leadership, and career development, with prior leadership roles at Disney, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and McKinsey.

Sarah Weisinger

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

Sarah is an experienced people-first leader whose career at Disney spanned multiple business functions, senior leadership roles, and broad cross-functional team leadership.

Interested in the Career Lab pilot?

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

Email LAUNCHPADcouncil