Relational Intelligence (RQ) Academy 2026

A Human-Centered Approach for Building a High-Performance Culture 

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Overview

The Relational Intelligence (RQ) Academy is a science-based, year-long learning system that helps organizations grow the everyday human skills that power trust, inclusion, collaboration, and high performance.

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At its core are the HERO Skills—Humility, Empathy, Reflection, and Open-mindedness—which form the foundation of Relational Intelligence (RQ): the ability to navigate relationships with awareness, adaptability, and care.

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Designed to be comprehensive yet flexible, the Academy includes six key components. These can be implemented organization-wide or integrated into targeted leadership training, belonging and safety initiatives, and L&D (learning and development) strategies.

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Component 1: Monthly Webinars

Twelve powerful learning experiences—live, interactive, and built for the real world.

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Each month, Dr. Steve leads a 45-minute webinar, designed for all employees, grounded in human behavioral science, storytelling, and practical action. Based on themes from his Be Less Sucky book series, these sessions help your people explore what it means to lead, relate, and grow—without needing to be perfect.

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What’s Included:

• 12 live monthly webinars (45 minutes each)

• Downloadable reflection prompts and replay access

• Information is ideal for all-staff learning days, team meetings, or Business Resource Group (BRG) programming

• Topics cover HERO Skills, enhancing self-awareness, emotional regulation, relational intelligence, and more

 

View the 2026 Webinar Calendar

 

Why It Matters:

It gives your people a steady, engaging learning rhythm—and your culture a consistent pulse of insight, curiosity, and growth.

 

Component 2: Digital Learning Library

A flexible, high-impact library of short videos to drive reflection, learning, and behavior change—anytime, anywhere.

 

The Digital Learning Library is your always-on resource for building relational intelligence across your organization. Whether you’re running a team meeting, launching an onboarding program, or supporting ERG growth, these short-form videos help spark awareness, conversation, and behavior change in real time.

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Each video is built around the principles of cognitive psychology and adult learning. They’re short (most under 5 minutes), story-driven, and science-backed—designed to meet the attention span and pace of modern work.

 

What’s Included:

• 60+ videos organized into thematic series:

  • Be Less Sucky Microlearning Series (24+ videos)

  • HERO Skills Explainer Series

  • Neuro Nuggets (bite-sized brain-based behavior insights)

  • Belonging & Caring Culture Collection

• Downloadable files for LMS or internal platform integration

• Reflection prompts and team discussion guides

• Quarterly updates with new video releases

 

Use Cases:

• Weekly team meetings

• Belonging and caring conversations

• Performance review prep

• Leadership huddles

• Onboarding and role transitions

• Manager and BRG development

 

Why It Works:

People don’t need more content—they need content that’s accessible, engaging, and easy to use. This library gives your organization just that: high-impact tools that help people pause, reflect, and shift how they show up in everyday interactions.

 

Component 3: Relational Intelligence Practice Lab

A multi-client cohort experience designed to help your people grow the relational muscles that strengthen culture, trust, and team dynamics.

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The Relational Intelligence Practice Lab is a shared cohort program where select individuals from participating organizations come together for year-long, small-group learning. Each session is led by Dr. Steve and focuses on one of the four HERO Skills—Humility, Empathy, Reflection, and Open-mindedness. Participants explore how these capacities show up in real workplace challenges and leave each session with tools to practice, reflect, and apply immediately.

 

Because this is a multi-client cohort, participants learn alongside peers from other organizations—creating rich cross-sector insights and relationships.

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What You Get:

• 6 live, virtual cohort sessions (one every other month)

• Year-long, guided exploration of each HERO Skill and its workplace application

• Participation for up to 6 individuals per organization

• Additional seats available at $2,450 per person

• Shared learning environment across diverse industries and roles

• Practice prompts and structured reflection and practice between sessions

 

Why It Works:

Organizations don’t change until people do. And people don’t change just by knowing—they grow by reflecting, trying, and trying again. This cohort experience gives your emerging leaders and organizational influencers space to do exactly that—with expert guidance and peer accountability.

 

Who It’s For:

People managers, team leads, ERG/BRG sponsors, HR/Training and Development professionals, and anyone who shapes the everyday experience of others in your workplace.

 

Component 4: HERO Skills Challenge Program

A live-led, behavior-based growth experience that helps your people build relational habits—not just awareness.

 

The HERO Skills Challenge is a multi-week, skill-building experience designed to move people from knowing to doing. Led live by Dr. Steve and open to all employees from participating organizations, the Challenge introduces one HERO Skill each week—Humility, Empathy, Reflection, and Open-mindedness—and guides participants through small, real-world behavior shifts that accumulate into big cultural change.

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It’s not about sitting through another training. It’s about learning, practice , and showing up differently. With the help of weekly challenges, reflection prompts, and tools like the Predictive Suckiness Scale™, participants explore how they engage with others, reflect on their impact, and practice becoming the kind of humans—and coworkers—they want to be.

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What You Get:

• Three live-led multi-week Challenges offered across the year (spring, fall, winter)

• Open access for all employees in your organization

• Weekly practice challenges focused on one HERO Skill at a time

• Predictive Suckiness Scale™ (self-check tool)

• Optional participation tracker and reflection framework

• Access to live kickoff + weekly email guidance from Dr. Steve

 

Why It Works:

Awareness doesn’t change behavior. Repeated, purposeful practice does. This program is designed to build relational habits through active practice—helping people shift from default reactions to intentional responses.

 

Who It’s For:

Everyone. From new hires to senior leaders, the Challenge offers personal, relevant growth that impacts how people lead, collaborate, and relate.

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Component 5: HERO Skills Challenge Program (Internal License)

Run the Challenge your way, on your schedule—with full support materials and no certification required.

 

The internal license version of the HERO Skills Challenge Program gives your organization everything you need to lead the Challenge yourself. Whether it’s through HR, Learning & Development, inclusion and belonging leaders, people managers, or team facilitators, your internal champions will be equipped to deliver a high-quality experience using our complete toolkit.

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You can run the Challenge with intact teams, BRGs, new hire cohorts, managers, or as a culture-wide push—all at your own pace and rhythm.

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What You Get:

• Full facilitator guide (with delivery timeline, weekly scripts, prompts, and coaching tips)

• Downloadable participant workbook (printable and fillable PDF)

• Weekly email templates for internal communication

• Optional intro video from Dr. Steve

• Permission to run the program across teams, departments, or the entire organization

• Annual license for unlimited use inside your organization (can be renewed)

 

License Terms:

Your license is valid for the full calendar year of 2026. To continue using the Challenge beyond 2026, you may either:

1. Renew your participation in the 2027 Relational Intelligence Academy

2. Purchase a stand-alone annual license for $35,000

 

Why It Works:

The Challenge isn’t just for individual growth—it’s a powerful team-building and culture reinforcement tool. With the internal license, your people can run the Challenge anytime, with anyone, and make relational skill-building a repeatable part of your organization’s DNA.

 

Who It’s For:

Learning and development leaders, HR business partners, BRG sponsors, Inclusion and belonging champions, managers, or anyone who wants to embed relational skill-building across the organization.

 

Component 6: Lessons from Lasso Webinar Series

A feel-good show, real neuroscience, and practical skills to help humans work better together — welcome to Lessons from Lasso.

 

In this 10-week webinar series, we use memorable moments from Ted Lasso to explore the science of belonging, trust, and high-performance human behavior. Each session blends storytelling, psychology, and simple relational practices to help individuals and teams communicate better, support one another, navigate challenges, and build healthier workplaces — with equal parts heart, humor, and evidence-based learning.

 

What You Get:

• Practical relational skills backed by behavioral and brain science

• Weekly take-aways and micro-practices you can apply right away

• Tools to build trust, belonging, and emotionally healthy team culture

• Engaging, story-driven learning that makes growth feel enjoyable and memorable

• The 10-week series is offered twice in 2026 as part of RQ Academy participation

 

Click here to get more info about Lessons from Lasso and the schedule for the first offering running January 20 to March 23, 2026.

 

Why It Works:

Blending powerful storytelling with real neuroscience, each session offers simple, repeatable relational behaviors that create lasting change in how people communicate, collaborate, and show up for one another.

 

Pricing & Packages

The RQ Academy is offered in three simple, scalable options to meet your needs—whether you’re launching culture-wide learning or building leadership capacity from within.

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Package            Ideal For                                                               Includes                               Cost

🟩 Essential        Org-wide engagement and scalable learning             Components 1, 2                    $29,500

🟦 Core              Leadership development and culture impact             Components 1, 2, 3                 $42,500

🟨 Premier          Full-scale transformation with live-led experiences     All 6 Components & keynote    $54,500

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Early Bird Discounts (Premier Package Only)

•    30% off if registered by September 30 → $38,150

•    20% off if registered by October 30 → $43,600

•    10% off if registered by November 30 → $49,050

 

Early Bird Discounts (Essential and Core Packages)

•    20% off if registered by September 30 

•    15% off if registered by October 30 

•    10% off if registered by November 30

 

Bonus: Community Sponsorship

Participation in the RQ26 Academy allows you to sponsor one or more smaller, local nonprofit or K–12 school to participate in the full Academy (Premier Package) for just $15,000/organization.

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Individual Memberships

For individuals not affiliated with a participating organization, we offer a full-access annual membership.

 

What You Get:

• Access to all six components of the Academy

• Participation in the HERO Skills Challenge Program

• Inclusion in the Relational Intelligence Practice Lab cohort

• Access to the Digital Learning Library and monthly webinars

• Ideal for current and emerging leaders, internal consultants and coaches, HR/Learning & Development professionals, and anyone who wants to be a better human

 

Pricing:

• Standard Rate: $5,950 per year

• Early Bird Rate: $3,950 per year (if registered by November 30, 2025)