About Us:
Lead U is a team of former educators, creatives, and ‘experience designers’ who believe the most important lessons we learn aren’t academic - they’re human.
We are dedicated to empowering humans of all ages with confidence, connection, and leadership skills, all utilizing one-of-a-kind, high-energy, playful experiences (our self-created ‘Play and Reflect’ model) to do so.
JD Wilson, our founder, has been utilizing intentional play as a way to foster connection and growth within individuals and communities alike for over 20 years. As an example, while serving in the Air Force overseas, JD would host talent shows amongst the soldiers to bring connectivity to an otherwise heavy environment.
After returning home, JD became an elementary school teacher for 4 years. As a teacher, JD saw that in order to impact the lives of students with the important life lessons they really needed, he’d have to do it in an innovative and creative way, so he left the classroom, started Lead U, and began partnering with schools.
Since 2016, we’ve had the privilege of empowering the lives of 1.5M+ humans and have delivered over 5,500 Lead U live empowerment experiences along the way.
Student Experiences:
Our One-Of-A-Kind Assemblies, Live-Stream Experiences, and Club & Camp Takeovers are all highly interactive and incorporate our ‘Play and Reflect’ model.
We’ve seen time and time again that students don’t internalize ideas like communication, trust, or resilience by simply hearing about them. They understand and obtain these skills by experiencing and practicing them first-hand.
So that’s where we start.
Our experiences begin with fast-paced, highly interactive play that shifts energy, sparks engagement, and pulls everyone into a shared moment. The playful excitement isn't a distraction, but a powerful vessel for connection.
Once wholly engaged, we then guide students through reflective exercises, helping them connect the playfulness to a deeper insight or skill.
Every one of our interactive games (aka stractivities) - whether it’s a movement challenge or a communication exercise - is designed around a specific teaching point. Students truly absorb complex concepts like active listening, resilience, conflict resolution, and much more.
The play captures attention.
The reflection creates meaning.
Together, we turn a fun moment into something students actually remember and use (all creatively disguised as play 🤫.)
Professional Development aka Mandatory Fun!
Lead U started in schools, and the impact of our work naturally expanded.
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Teachers and administrators who watched their students have transformative experiences began asking:
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“Can you do something similar for our staff?”
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From there, organizations and leadership teams began inviting us into their workplaces, which led to the creation of Mandatory Fun — our play-based experiences designed specifically for adults and professional teams.
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We’re always intrigued at the fact that, no matter the ages of the people we work with, everyone connects, learns, and grows more effectively when utilizing the medium of play to do so.
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Our Mandatory Fun experiences help teams reconnect as humans first - because better collaboration, stronger culture, and measurable outcomes grow from there.
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The experience is playful.
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The outcomes are serious.
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Connection fuels trust. Trust fuels communication. Communication fuels performance.