OUR STORY
Leadership development grounded in real life — not just theory.
Leadership Outfitters was founded on a simple belief: leadership development should be practical, human, and immediately useful.
Too often, leaders leave off-sites and conferences inspired — but unsure what to do next.
We exist to change that.
We partner with organizations to design strengths-based learning, strategic thinking, and facilitation experiences that help leaders navigate complexity, align people, and move forward with clarity and confidence.
If people can’t use it on Monday, it doesn’t belong on the agenda.
Leadership That’s Built to Endure
Real leadership isn’t formed in comfort. Like sea glass, it’s shaped over time — refined by pressure, friction, and unpredictable currents.
What begins rough becomes smoother, stronger, and more distinct through years of movement and refinement. Strong leaders are shaped the same way. Not by avoiding challenge, but by allowing responsibility, experience, and adversity to deepen their clarity, resilience, and judgment.
Sea glass carries evidence of the journey without losing its substance. The edges soften, but the integrity remains. The strongest leaders develop the same way — grounded, steady, and shaped by real-world complexity rather than quick wins or surface-level success.
At Leadership Outfitters, we believe leadership is built deliberately. As you cultivate people, steward resources, and lead through uncertainty —-we help you build for lasting impact.
Our work is for teams that lead courageously and build with endurance — leadership refined over time and grounded in purpose.
Leadership has to live in real decisions, real conversations and real constraints.
-Dr. Steve Swafford
OUR TEAM
Leadership Outfitters is a consortium of experienced facilitators and leadership development professionals led by Dr. Steve Swafford and Jill McCrory.
Together, our team brings decades of experience working with nonprofits, volunteer-based organizations, corporations, universities, public agencies, and faith-based communities.
Our facilitators specialize in leadership development, strategic planning, communication, group facilitation, and organizational effectiveness — collaborating nationally to support clients across the country.
How This Began
Leadership Outfitters began on a road trip up the California coast in the spring of 1996.
Between leadership trainings, long stretches of highway, vineyard stops, and a flat of strawberries riding in the back seat, co-founders Jill McCrory and Steve Swafford found themselves talking honestly about their work — and what felt missing.
They had both recently attended leadership programs filled with theory, frameworks, and big ideas. But when they returned to their offices, there was very little they could actually put into practice.
They remember walking away from one workshop in particular thinking: We just spent hours talking about leadership — and no one gave us anything we could use.
Somewhere along that drive, a simple but defining question surfaced:
What if leadership development actually helped people lead better the very next day?
That question carried both frustration and hope. Frustration with abstract training that didn’t translate into action. Hope for a different kind of approach — one that honored the real pressures leaders face and offered tools that worked in real-world environments.
Leadership Outfitters grew from that moment.
From the beginning, the heart of the work was clear: create learning experiences that are practical, interactive, and immediately applicable — where leaders leave not just inspired, but equipped.
More than two decades later, that founding conviction still guides everything we do.
Contact us
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