Most leadership programs are designed to be contained. To stay on schedule, we reset the slate after every module. In doing so, we remove the very conditions that shape real judgment—decisions that carry forward, tradeoffs that cut across functions, and consequences that don’t neatly disappear. 

In real work, leaders don’t just make choices—they live with the aftermath. A decision that looks right in the moment often becomes a constraint later. When training removes this carry-forward pressure, leaders learn to be right in isolation rather than effective inside a system. 

In this session, we’ll move beyond the reset. Drawing on decades of experience building real-world simulations for organizations like Lilly and IBM, we’ll show how leadership development can better reflect how decisions actually unfold at work. 
We’ll cover: 
 

• The Reset Diagnostic: How to spot where training design removes pressure—and why behavior change stalls 
• Four Design Patterns for Judgment: Practical ways to create persistent consequences and real tradeoffs without increasing risk 
• Proof in Practice: How leading organizations build strategic judgment at scale using real-world decision environments 

Matthew Shell is the Senior Business Development Manager at Capsim Management Simulations, where he assists corporate clients and authors with simulation-based training solutions. Over the last five years, Matt has worked with organizations worldwide to hire and develop talent by assisting in creating custom inbox simulations. Additionally, Matt has coordinated with Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Cummins, and Eli Lilly, to create both self-directed and facilitator-led simulation learning programs.