Press Items

The Army War College coined the acronym VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity – in 1987, drawing on the leadership theories of Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus to describe or reflect the general conditions and situations of the post-cold war world. Covid-19 has certainly reinforced the concept; for almost all of us, it is…

Absent pathology, we all wake up in the morning with the best of intentions to do good things. Sure, we all entertain and even act on the occasional devious thought – a prank on a colleague or spouse, a few choice words lobbed at the TV news – but for the most part, we are…

I just heard it again today: “Sometimes my voice isn’t heard.” I’ve heard this complaint from leaders at all levels–individual contributors, middle managers, and senior-level executives, and it’s a critical issue. When people don’t feel heard, they often believe they’re not being fully utilized for all they have to offer – and often, they’re not….

Conscious leaders are in it for the long haul. Their vision, strategies and actions are aligned with timeless principles. Their vision is wide, deep and long and all of their decisions consider the needs of all stakeholders. This allows their organizations to sustain their performance over time. Unfortunately, the last few years have brought to…

It’s a new year. I believe your leadership this year can and will make a significant difference on the teams you lead, in the organization you serve, in the community you live, and in the world we share. You are smart, motivated, and full of fresh, new ideas: these are all important attributes that will…

The performance consulting, training and executive coaching company, PLS, shared some news with their clients as of the beginning of the new year — they have changed their name to Emergent. The decision to make this change came after a rebranding initiative that took place throughout 2016. “We believe the name, Emergent, better illustrates who…

Emergent, Formerly PLS, announced that Bill Berthel has joined as an associate and as a strategic human-resources consultant. His past experience includes serving as an HR manager at Golden Artist Colors. Berthel holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in HR management, as is a certified professional coach. He will serve Emergent as…

Recently inspired by a client’s successful experiment, I became motivated to commit to a series of experiments around positive changes I intend to make in both my leadership and my life. First, I examined elements of my life I would like to change — obvious things like weight loss, regular exercise, and reading. From there,…

I am often surprised at how I can complicate things, both in business and life. We get so busy planning and doing that we sometimes forget why we are doing it in the first place. There is so much to do, so many places to go, so much to accumulate, that sometimes we are un-able…

I will never forget my first promotion, moving from sales representative to team leader, supporting a team of three inside-sales representatives. It was an exciting time, and I couldn’t wait to dive right in. After the first week in my new role, my excitement was replaced with doubt and my dive-right-in attitude turned into hesitation….