Asking your employer to fund this
Most professional development requests get declined because they read as a personal preference with a price tag attached. This one is written as a business case, because that's what your manager needs in order to say yes and then defend it to whoever holds the budget.
Which program is this for?
How to use this
Replace everything highlighted in pink. The rest is written to hold up under scrutiny, so change it only where it's inaccurate for your situation. Send it as an email, not an attachment.
Before you send it
- Name one real business problem. Not "leadership development." Something your manager is already worried about: an AI rollout with no governance behind it, a budget you can't defend, a team you're about to inherit.
- Check the L&D cycle. Ask when the budget resets. A request timed to an open allocation is a different conversation than one timed to a depleted one.
- Pick your program. If you're unsure, start with The AI-Enabled Leadership Primer ($647 CAD). It includes AI Fluent: Foundations for Executive Leaders, and it's the prerequisite for The AI-Enabled Executive ($1,950 CAD).
- Cut the optional sections that don't apply. A shorter memo gets read.
Subject: Development request — strategic leadership and AI capability
Hi [Manager's name],
As we move into [quarter or year] with [specific business priority, e.g. an AI rollout across customer operations, the integration following the acquisition, tighter enterprise risk reporting], I want to make sure I'm bringing the strongest possible capability to that work rather than learning it in real time.
I'm requesting sponsorship for The AI-Enabled Leadership Primer through Her Executive Ascent™.
Most leadership programs at this level are content libraries — watch the module, take the quiz, retain none of it. This one is built around an AI coach that works through my actual situations: the meeting I have to influence, the stakeholder I can't move, the AI initiative I've been asked to sponsor. Self-paced, so it fits around a full workload, and the output is applied to our environment rather than a generic case study.
What [Company name] gets in return:
- Strategic judgement, applied to our priorities.The Primer is about how decisions actually get made here — reading the power grid, building visibility, and shifting from executing work to setting direction. That's the capability gap that slows senior leaders down long before technical skill does.
- A working AI strategy blueprint, not AI awareness.I finish the program with an AI literacy framework and a written AI strategy blueprint for my own function, which I can bring straight into planning.
- The fastest, lowest-risk entry point.At $647 CAD this is the smallest credible investment that produces senior-level capability, and it includes AI Fluent: Foundations for Executive Leaders ($79 CAD value) plus a one-year member community membership ($129 CAD value) at no extra cost.
- It stacks.The Primer is the prerequisite for the next program in the pathway, The AI-Enabled Executive ($1,950 CAD). That makes this a staged investment with a decision point, not an all-at-once commitment.
The cost is $647 CAD, one-time, with no travel or time out of the business. If we later decide to continue to The AI-Enabled Executive, that program is $1,950 CAD. Because the curriculum covers enterprise technology enablement and leadership capability, it typically qualifies under standard Learning & Development allocations.
I'd like to start before [milestone, e.g. the Q3 planning cycle / the vendor selection / the integration kickoff] so the frameworks are in hand while that work is live rather than after it.
Can we take fifteen minutes on [day] to work out where this sits in the L&D budget?
Best regards,
[Your name]
[Your title]
Optional additions
Use these only where they fit. Each one is a different argument, and stacking all three weakens the memo.
If retention is the live concern
One more piece of context for the business case: replacement cost for a senior leader is commonly estimated at 150 to 200 per cent of annual salary, before counting the months of lost momentum. This program costs a fraction of one per cent of that figure, and it invests in someone who is already here and already performing.
If your organization has a women-in-leadership commitment
This also connects to our stated commitment on [gender representation in senior leadership / the leadership pipeline]. Programs like this are the mechanism behind that commitment rather than an alternative to it, and the outcomes are measurable in a way that a mentoring circle isn't.
If more than one leader would benefit
P.S. Her Executive Ascent™ also works directly with organizations on group implementations. If we're planning to build the broader leadership bench this year rather than fund people one at a time, that's likely the more economical route. I'm happy to arrange an introductory briefing.
If the answer is no
| What you hear | What to say next |
|---|---|
| "No budget this cycle." | Ask to be first in the queue when it resets, in writing. Then ask whether a partial contribution is possible against a smaller program. |
| "Can you find something cheaper?" | Name what the cheaper option doesn't cover. Most alternatives teach AI tools; almost none teach AI governance or financial defence of a business case. |
| "How do I know it worked?" | Offer a specific deliverable and a date. A risk assessment on a live initiative, or a defended business case, within sixty days of finishing. |
| Silence. | Follow up once, in a week, with one line and the same ask. Then decide whether to fund it yourself, which is also a legitimate answer. |
One thing to resist
Don't soften the ask at the end. "I would love to" and "if you think it makes sense" invite a no, and this program is partly about learning not to write sentences like that. Make the request, name the timing, and propose the meeting.
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