"The art of
communication
is the language
of leadership."

James Humes
Who We Are
Partners in Development is a network of talented performance leaders, committed to helping organizations raise their industry position and bottom-line profitability. We want you to go far and we can help.


Lee in training class
Our Mission

We find the untapped potential within organizations, and help you see that potential for yourself. We aim to be a valued business partner to organizational executives by increasing the performance of their team members and heightening bottom-line results. We work with you to align people, processes, and technology so that you will accomplish your goals and grow your business.


Our Vision

At Partners in Development our vision is to raise the performance of leaders and team members. We deliver solutions that enable your team members to surpass current benchmarks.


Our Values

At Partners in Development, we embrace Five Core Values that provide the essential framework of our service to others:

    • Communication – Really listening to what you say, and providing proactive communication to keep you informed of progress and follow-up.

    • Accountability – Defining results and accountabilities—including our accountability to you.  We make decisions and take actions that produce positive change, and we pride ourselves in keeping personal commitments.

    • Planning – Making time to think, plan, and create effective, comprehensive solutions and strategies that target the root cause of performance gaps. We treat real issues, not just the symptoms.

    • Collaboration – Finding the most effective ways to leverage technology, skills, knowledge, and talents of individuals and teams for creative, break-through results.

    • Choice – Recognizing and respecting the choices and decisions of our clients, partners, and team members.
Lee Johnsen

Our Partners

LEE JOHNSEN
Principal, Partners in Development

Lee Johnsen has a 20-year record of successfully guiding organizations toward improved productivity and enriched work relationships resulting in significant growth. His broad practical experience in consulting and strategizing with corporate learning and development managers, as well as his technical knowledge, have served him well in creating winning strategies and achieving optimal results.

Lee has held officer and management positions in Fortune 500 corporations and government agencies. His expertise encompasses executive coaching, strategic planning, leadership and management development training, performance improvement, change management, and sales and service development. Lee's career achievements include:

    • Leading successful Human Resources Development (HRD) departments in three national and international organizations.

    • Co-authoring Real World Teambuilding Strategies That Work, (Insight Publishing 2004.)

    • Designing and developing executive and management development programs for Fortune 500 organizations.

    • Developing and implementing instructor-led, interactive e-learning leadership courses to over 800 leaders across the United States.

    • Being among the first in the U.S. to receive the Certified Professional of Learning and Performance (CPLP) designation from the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD.)

    • Presenting at international conferences of workplace learning and performance professionals.

    • Serving as an adjunct instructor at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and Northwestern University, Roosevelt University and Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in Chicago.

Partners in Development has designed, developed and delivered customized training programs for Fortune 500 clients, including Wells Fargo, C.H. Robinson, and The Principal Financial Group. Program topics have included sales, leadership and management development, and service delivery.


Tom Westbrook

THOMAS S. WESTBROOK, Ph.D.
Senior Partner

Tom Westbrook is CEO of Learn Associates LLC and has served on the faculty and administration of Drake University since 1989, specializing in the areas of Leadership & Adult Development and Adult Learning & Organizational Performance. His success at blending the theoretical aspects of leadership and learning with practical, performance-based applications has won him praise as a master facilitator.

Tom is an active presenter at corporations and organizations across the Midwest and has been a featured speaker at numerous association meetings and annual conferences. He was awarded the Iowa Distance Education Association's Points of Presence Award for exemplary programming in 1999. Tom has published in leading professional journals, including The Human Resource Development Quarterly, American Journal of Distance Education, and The Journal of Continuing Higher Education.



Partners in Development, 889 S. Dwyer Ave., Arlington Heights, IL  60005.  847-255-1031 LeeJohnsen@partnersindevelopment.net