The Pathwayz Group: Transforming Leadership Development with Innovation & Impact
Business Innovation: Could you provide some insights into the company’s profile and its products or services?
Amber Vanderburg: We believe leadership development is a continuous journey—a pathway. Established in 2019, The Pathwayz Group is a 100% female-owned international leadership development organization that has successfully facilitated learning for over 850,000 professionals in more than 75 countries. The company has earned accolades for its top-rated, award-winning courses on platforms like LinkedIn Learning and PluralSight, as well as for its long-term Fortune 100 clients and exclusive leadership/executive events like HR Leadership Pathwayz. We build strategic learning journeys through facilitation, coaching, online learning, and workbook resources for tech teams around the world. Our goal is to develop leadership habits that transform teams from good to great.
Business Innovation: Could you share the story behind the inception of your business venture?
Amber Vanderburg: My entire professional career has been dedicated to talent development. The Pathwayz Group was born out of my experience working with teams across industries and continents. I kept noticing the same challenge: organizations invested in leadership development, but the training often didn’t translate into real, sustainable change. Too often, programs were disconnected from the day-to-day realities of the workplace.
I wanted to create leadership development experiences that are deeply practical, customized, and designed for lasting results. Our focus is on application in teams—shifting from instructional designers to behavioral designers. I left a dream job at a dream company to start The Pathwayz Group. It was a big risk, but one I believe was completely worthwhile. The impact these leadership tools have had on people, teams, organizations, families, friendships, and communities has been incredibly fulfilling. I appreciate every opportunity to make a difference.
Business Innovation: How is your company staying aligned with the latest technological advancements in the market?
Amber Vanderburg: We’re constantly exploring new tools to enhance our efficiency and effectiveness while maintaining a human-centric focus. We’re utilizing AI-powered tools for adaptive learning design, advanced analytics to measure training effectiveness, and digital collaboration platforms to deliver seamless experiences. We also leverage technology to support follow-ups and reinforcement, making leadership growth accessible and continuous—not just a one-time event.
In short, we stay aligned with the latest technological advancements by remaining open to new opportunities and integrating them into our model. It’s not always perfect—some tech tools have not met our needs or lack the necessary sophistication. Others require additional training and education on our end. However, some have completely transformed the way we operate. The key is to experiment, discover what works, and adapt to what best serves our business.
Business Innovation: In what ways is R&D contributing to elevating your company to the next level?
Amber Vanderburg: There is no such thing as evergreen content—only evergreen topics. A decade ago, we taught feedback best practices using the sandwich model (positive, negative or real feedback, positive) as the ideal way to deliver constructive feedback. Today, we know this approach can be unclear, frustrating, and ineffective for both the feedback giver and receiver. We learn, we adapt.
At The Pathwayz Group, we say, “I have the right to be smarter tomorrow than I am today.” If we are a learning company, we must also commit to learning within our organization. We challenge one another with new ideas, topics, tools, and research to push boundaries and grow. We pilot new methods with select partners, gather feedback, and refine our approach based on measurable results.
Over the past two years, we have expanded through leadership events, a leadership TV show, and an HR leadership certification. We experiment with new engagement techniques in our facilitation, different forms of learning application, and innovative ways to measure success. We are continuously improving and innovating to deliver solutions that are both cutting-edge and proven to work in real-world environments.
Business Innovation: What are your company’s competitive advantages, and how do you ensure they remain unique and difficult to replicate?
Amber Vanderburg: Our competitive advantage lies in three areas:
Innovative Approach to Learning: Our approach to learning is engaging, witty, and fun. In our online learning, we use props, pushpin boards, music, games, and cinema-like storytelling to captivate the audience. The pre-recorded videos are filmed in real-life workplaces around the world, creating a more authentic and relatable experience.
We recently returned from filming a course on communication in a 130-year-old bustling marketplace called Lau Pa Sat in Singapore, where we asked vendors how they conveyed their messages in a noisy environment. It was a memorable experience that reinforced the importance of clear, concise, and impactful communication for leadership.
For our facilitation sessions, our iterative learning method emphasizes faster application with prioritized and measurable learning objectives. While the industry standard includes 2-3 learning activities per hour, we incorporate 4-6 learning applications per hour. Our approach is fast-paced, engaging, and focused on hands-on learning rather than lectures.
Application-Oriented Learning: Our learning design prioritizes habits and sustainable impact. We embrace the 3-to-1 framework, which states: “For every formal learning objective, design and facilitate at least three application exercises.” This enriches the learning experience and fosters more confident application of skills.
Authentic Learning: Whether in design or delivery, complexity often undermines clarity. Leadership ideas, actions, and philosophies are sometimes made unnecessarily complicated, despite being fundamentally simple.
- Do we have research-based, evidence-backed tools? Yes.
- Do we have higher education credentials in leadership development? Yes.
- Do we have years of experience implementing leadership learning journeys with measurable positive impact? Yes.
With that in mind, we believe that “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers.” Beyond best practices, we focus on actual practices—what is happening in a company or team. Our approach fosters honest conversations that lead to practical, customized, and personalized solutions for different industries, organizations, and teams.
Business Innovation: Can you provide a brief overview of the personnel makeup in your company?
Amber Vanderburg: I am incredibly grateful to have built this company with such a talented and dedicated team. I appreciate their skills, but even more so their ideas and enthusiasm for innovation. Their fresh, creative approaches help us grow our business, expand and deepen our impact, and navigate new opportunities.
We take on tough challenges, continuously learn, and embrace every new venture with zeal and determination. Beyond myself, The Pathwayz Group is supported by a diverse, international team of 29 leadership facilitators, executive coaches, and subject matter experts. We intentionally built this team with experienced, certified professionals to empower the communities they live in. Today, our team spans four continents, unified by the mission of developing better leaders.
To ensure consistency and continuous improvement, we provide ongoing development and foster a strong community within our team. This commitment helps us maintain high-quality standards and elevate our services.
Business Innovation: Could you highlight the major achievements and accolades your company has received so far?
Amber Vanderburg: Our greatest achievements are reflected in the success stories of the teams we work with. We’ve had leaders tell us that our communication tools helped them have more effective conversations with their teams and families. Others have shared how our emotional intelligence training improved their leadership in both professional and community projects. Some have applied our innovation techniques to solve organizational and personal challenges.
Our learning journey averages a 4.8/5 learner review score, but the real impact lies in the stories behind that number. Every interaction is an opportunity to build trust and make a meaningful difference.
We recently partnered with four other leadership companies to launch a freshman-year leadership program for an international organization. In the sophomore year, our company was the only one invited back to lead the entire program. Additionally, we facilitated an all-staff communication development series that achieved the highest attendance and completion rates, with 90% participation.
Our online learning has received several LinkedIn Learning accolades, including:
- “Blockbuster Course”
- “Top Author”
- Best-selling HR course on the platform
However, the most meaningful recognition comes from leaders who tell us, “This changed how I lead. This changed how our team works.” That’s what drives us.
Business Innovation: What are the company’s plans and aspirations for the future?
Amber Vanderburg: Looking ahead, we are focused on scaling our impact and enhancing quality. We’re expanding our digital learning offerings to make leadership development programs more accessible and relatable to clients worldwide.
Key upcoming initiatives include:
- HR Leadership Pathwayz Event – A global HR leadership event on May 26-27 in Berlin
- New Book Launch – Releasing later this year, accompanied by a learning journey titled HR Guidelines Every Manager Should Know, designed for those who want to better understand HR fundamentals and collaborate effectively with HR teams
- These efforts align with our core mission of developing leaders. I believe that if you can achieve your dreams alone, you’re not dreaming big enough. We have a determined, passionate, and talented team at The Pathwayz Group, and we’re just getting started.
