New bookComing Spring 2027

The Lesser-Known Leader

Not a highlight reel. The real stories, and what they taught me about leading people.

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Create a culture people want to be part of.

Coaching, workshops, and strategy built on six domains of everyday leadership.

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You can feel it when a culture is working. People trust one another, know what's expected, and believe their work matters. Decisions are clear, and follow-through is normal, not heroic. That doesn't happen by accident. We help leaders and teams build it, one everyday habit at a time, across the six domains of the BLG Leadership Framework. Start with BLG Leadership Lite, a free 5 to 7 minute self-reflection, and see where you're strong and where to grow next.

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Portrait of Michael Burde, Ph.D., founder of Burde Leadership Group, smiling in a navy suit
Michael Burde, Ph.D.Founder, Burde Leadership Group
Know and Grow Your Team Build a Shared Vision Lead the Learning Navigate the Gray Clarify Decisions and Share Ownership Get Better Together

Free from BLG

Three free ways to start this week

Practical tools for the everyday work of leading people and shaping culture. No sales pitch. Use them with your team on Monday morning.

Every Monday

Insights

A curated set of talks to spark useful conversation and action with your team. Every Monday morning we refresh three featured videos to help you launch the week.

This week's trio
  • Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from
  • John Wooden: The difference between winning and succeeding
  • Chip Conley: Measuring what makes life worthwhile
Watch this week's talks
5 to 7 minutes

BLG Leadership Lite

A short self-reflection on the six domains of the BLG Leadership Framework. You'll receive an email with an instant snapshot of where you're strong and where to focus next.

Your responses stay yours
  • Six domains of how you lead
  • One-page snapshot by email
Take BLG Leadership Lite
Every Friday

BLG Weekly Blog

Each week we gather what's useful into one short post. Clear ideas. Real stories. Something you can try with your team.

Latest post
  • The Scoreboard Before the Scoreboard (November 6, 2026)
Read the latest

Our approach

How we work

Listen first

We start with your people, your context, and the problem you're actually facing. No canned playbook before we understand the room.

Make the path clear

Together we pick a few priorities that matter, then turn them into next steps leaders and teams can use this week.

Actions people can feel

Culture lives in what people see and feel every day. We focus on habits and conditions that show up in the work, not slogans on the wall.

Build and sustain

Turn priorities into repeatable habits, shared ownership, and progress that lasts.

Services

Connected work. One mission.

Helping leaders build cultures people want to be part of.

  1. Step 1

    Start free

    Free Leadership Lite

    A short reflection across the six domains, with a snapshot of your results sent to your inbox.

    Free

    Take the free Lite
  2. Step 2

    Go deeper

    BLG Leadership Profile Report or a Leadership 360

    • $49 BLG Leadership Profile Report: a customized report on your own results.
    • $299 Founding Leader 360 (Individual): feedback from the people you lead and work with, plus a one-on-one debrief with Dr. Burde.
    • $3,000 Founding Leader 360 (Team of up to 10): a 360 for every leader on the team, plus a group session with Dr. Burde.
    See Leadership 360 options
  3. Step 3

    Grow together

    Customized support

    Work shaped around your context, from a single session to a long-term partnership.

    • Workshops
    • Retreats
    • Facilitation
    • Strategic planning
    • Executive support
    Explore support

Every step uses the same six domains of The BLG Leadership Framework, so what you learn in one carries into the next.

Michael Burde, Ph.D.

  • More than 25 years of leadership in K-12 education
  • 16 years in district leadership
  • Statewide association president and national board member
  • City commissioner
  • Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Western Michigan University (2016)

About

About Mike, founder of Burde Leadership Group.

Mike spent more than 25 years chasing the kind of team people give their best to, as a teacher, principal, district leader, and community leader. His peers elected him president of a statewide professional association three times, and today he serves on a national leadership board. He founded Burde Leadership Group to help more leaders build cultures people want to be part of.

Six things we help leaders do every day: know and grow your team, build a shared vision, lead the learning, navigate the gray, clarify decisions and share ownership, and get better together.

Why BLG exists

In their words

What colleagues are saying

I have had the privilege of knowing Mike as both a trusted friend and elected office colleague, and I have seen firsthand his ability to bring out the best in people and teams. He understands that meaningful leadership is not simply about setting direction. It is about developing people, building trust, and creating a culture where individuals feel valued and motivated to contribute. His thoughtful, practical approach helps organizations align their people, culture, and strategy around a shared purpose. I confidently recommend him to any organization seeking a leadership partner who can help create a workplace people genuinely want to be part of.

Gary CareyMayor, City of Walker (Michigan)

I've had the privilege of working alongside Mike and have watched him lead with a clear sense of purpose, a deep belief in learners, and an uncommon ability to connect vision to the systems, structures, and people needed to make that vision real.

Virgel HammondsCo-Chief Executive Officer, FullScale

For over ten years, I've watched Dr. Michael Burde lead with vision and expertise in change management, competency-based learning, and instructional design. A gifted facilitator with outstanding listening skills, he builds genuine collaboration among leaders across the state, making him one of the most effective and trusted voices in education today.

Dave Richards, Ph.D.President, Core2EdgeExecutive Director, Future of Learning Council

Having collaborated with educators across the country in support of student learning, I've found Dr. Michael Burde to be among the very best at guiding teams to build the culture, mindsets, and actions needed for high-level collaborative work that serves students.

Jonathan G. VanderElsPartner and Lead Associate, V&S School SolutionsAuthor and Associate, Solution Tree

Ready to strengthen the conditions where people do their best work?

Whether you're developing leaders, strengthening a team, navigating organizational change, or simply trying to determine what comes next, we'd be glad to start with a conversation.

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Follow the work.

Practical leadership. Real teams. Actions you can use Monday morning.