Transitions, Trajectories, and Pathways: My Growth Journey Transformational Leader

Welcome to my journey of transformation, a path that began over 30 years ago in Northeast Indiana and has since led me across various roles and locations, culminating in the co-founding of B Optimal Consulting, LLC. My early professional experiences were driven by a passion for advocating for and empowering others, shaping my approach as an educator, mentor, and leader. From there, I ventured into academia, gaining a PhD and developing innovative teaching strategies which fueled my passion for experiential learning and transformational leadership. Join me as I recount my experiences and insights that have shaped my professional journey and commitment to fostering growth and positive change in others.

The Journey Begins

My own journey as a Transformational Leader began over 30 years ago in Northeast Indiana, working with the YWCA. As a Violence Prevention Advocate and Community Educator, I collaborated to co-create and launch a groundbreaking psychosocial domestic violence prevention program for incarcerated adult women - the first of its kind in the State of Indiana. I also designed and facilitated awareness and intervention training for adults in workplace and community settings, and served as an advocate helping adult victims of violence navigate the complexities of our criminal justice system.

It was around this time I began studying and teaching Sociology as a doctoral student at Western Michigan University (WMU), where I met my partner in love, life, work and play -Tim Bower. My research mainly focused on advancing frameworks and methodologies for understanding and addressing organizational crime and violence in social institutions, like religion and military. My objective was to shed light on these issues and demonstrate how existing theories and models could be instrumental in developing effective interventions within these settings. Concurrently, my role as an educator began to take shape as I commenced teaching Sociology at an extension of Indiana University and Lake Michigan College, in addition to my teaching duties at WMU. I was entrusted with leading the Graduate Student Teaching Circle within the WMU Sociology Department, providing a supportive environment for Teaching Assistants and Instructors to engage in discussions, problem-solving, and knowledge-sharing to enhance their teaching practices.

Leading for Excellence in Teaching & Learning

In 2006, shortly before completing my dissertation and earning my PhD, Tim and I left Kalamazoo, Michigan and headed for the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York. It is here I began my 15-year journey as a Sociology & Criminology Professor at Keuka College. I chose Keuka as the place to launch my career as a full-time professor mostly because of its innovative approach and exceptional programs for experiential learning, and it turned out to be a great fit for me. It was here I cultivated my strong commitment to empowering learners, and enjoyed the creative space and support to experiment with different teaching and learning strategies to develop my own style. During my tenure at the college, I experimented with a wide range of teaching and learning approaches and strategies to make learning participatory and transformative for students and their local community. I led research into student bystander intervention, and directed civic engagement projects to study and design sociological solutions for problems like sexual violence on campuses and in communities. I moved through the tenure and promotion process smoothly and steadily, increasing my rank from Assistant, Associate, to Full Professor.   

As an educator and learning experience designer, a key measure of my own success is the extent to which learners are inspired and empowered to take ownership over their learning and embrace their future on their own terms.I have authentic concern and respect for people’s well-being and compassion for their lived experiences; still, part of my own transformation involved developing a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the emotional and relational aspects of learning. Seeing each learner as having unique interests and goals, strengths and needs helped me forge strong relationships and cooperative goals with students, and help them make connections to the content, their peers, and others in the community. Through the process of trail and error developed my own strategies for balancing support and autonomy to enable learners to explore and discover their strengths.

I have been formally recognized for my excellence in teaching and learning, mentoring and assessment, earning accolades from leaders, colleagues, and learners alike who recognize my dedication and effectiveness in designing and delivering challenging, relevant, and valuable learning experiences and impacting positive change in the campus community. Demonstrations of my creative, learner-centered approaches have been published in peer reviewed journals and featured as examples of teaching excellence in institutional reviews and marketing content.

A learning experience designer and educator, a key measure of my own success is the extent to which learners are inspired and empowered to take ownership over their learning and embrace their future on their own terms.

Leading for Organizational Improvement & Effectiveness

Throughout my career as a college professor, I had many opportunities to experience the challenges and successes of a growing leader outside the classroom, too. I was frequently tapped for leadership development training and other opportunities to experiment and develop my leadership style. Through the process of trial and error, and with the guidance and support of exceptional role models,  mentors, and critical friends, I learned strategies and techniques for collaborating across organizational lines,  recognizing and building on the strengths and intrinsic motivations of people and groups, and shifting my "default" from micromanaging to giving supported autonomy (an ongoing effort!).   

My capacity for transformational leadership grew in my roles as a natural leader and mentor, influencing collaboration and positive change through informal networks I'd developed over time.  I experienced success in formal leadership roles, too, guiding teams to success in a number of important project and program and college-wide initiatives, including a review and realignment of the institution's formal research review process, a comprehensive review and design of student learning curriculum, and the assessment of institutional effectiveness for accreditation renewal - just to name a few.

Transitioning to a Road Less Traveled

I left my tenured position at the college in fall 2021. I had enjoyed many aspects of the career path I had taken: the emphasis on teaching and learning, leadership experiences, and freedom to engage in scholarship and practice meaningful to me. At this point, however, there were other aspects of my career that did not align well with my goals and expectations, a realization that was only exacerbated by the pandemic. Two months into the first fall semester of the pandemic, I began reassessing my career plans to consider opportunities outside of higher education. I started by reading about careers and roles in other industries and poring over job descriptions. I quickly realized that I was uncertain how my talent, experience and interests translated into careers outside academe; I needed a strategy for furthering my own career goals. It was then that I decided to take an Experiential Learning Journey of my own.

As a career explorer and burgeoning entrepreneur, I ventured into the Ed Tech space with CapSource Technologies, a fully remote trailblazing start-up leading the charge to integrate real-world, career relevant learning experiences into the college classroom. As their Partner in Academic Innovation, I collaborated with some of the US's leading companies and universities to design challenging work-learning projects that inspire and empower learners' to be career ready while making a meaningful impact on the success of companies and organizations across the globe. 

Over a three year span, I led the design and improvement of several of their flagship products, working closely with an international group of UX designers, engineers, and experts to create innovative mentoring and work-integrated learning solutions that drive learning and business outcomes. I developed habits for design thinking, and honed my skills at applying systems thinking to design solution-oriented learning experiences to solve a wide range of organizational challenges.

All of these experiences helped me formulate a clearer understanding of my own interests, strengths, and aspirations and direction for professional growth. In September 2021, Tim and I founded our partnership B Optimal Consulting, LLC, setting us both on a new journey as consultants and first-time business owners in the ever-expanding and saturated industry of organizational learning and design. We believed that, as organizational sociologists with decades of experience working, leading, and researching in both industry and education contexts, we bring unique value to this area of consulting, especially for companies and leaders looking for alternatives to individual-focused solutions that are costly and often fail to impact cultural and organizational change.

Forging a New Trajectory

Tim and I have spent years reviewing and poring over scientific and industry research on leadership and teamwork. We've carefully studied the monographs, frameworks, and typologies that have been widely adopted as blueprints for defining and operationalizing leadership in business, management, education, nursing, hospitality, and of course leadership development. We consulted with scholars and experts in leadership and social change, and prepared White Papers for Leadership Development companies based on our research. And, we began partnering with practitioners in Coaching and Leadership Development to design bespoke leadership development workshops and programs; mostly for rising managers, directors, and other program administrators in higher education and the pharmaceutical industry who were responsible for not only leading others, but also leading change. Change to the way people approach their work, change to the way work gets done, and change the very culture of the organization. These are tall orders for leaders, and they are not likely to be successful under traditional, top-down management styles that rely on extrinsic motivators and deny the very people affected the opportunity to meaningfully shape the change. 

Learn about our approach to creating bespoke learning experiences for our clients.

As my own knowledge and experience grew, I was invited as a regular researcher and participant of Westwood International’s Leadership Roundtable, There, I engaged experts and people developers from leading firms around the world - from pharmaceutical and chemical engineering to banking and fashion - to discuss the challenges facing these industries and their executive leadership in a VUCA world, and provide research-driven insights based upon my review of academic and industry sources.  Here, similar themes of leading change emerged, as leaders are increasingly being pressed to be more effective at helping their people and teams grow, reduce employee apathy and turnover, give their people more autonomy and better feedback, impact higher performance, and create a culture of open communication and belonging.

Partnering to a New Pathway

It was around the same time I was engaged in the Leadership Roundtable that I was introduced to Rachel Vandenberg, an experienced hotelier and leadership coach in the travel and hospitality industry. As the Travel Leader Coach, Rachel empowers leaders "who want to reach their greatest potential and do it in a way that is meaningful to them." She raised our awareness to the plight of the many executives, directors, managers, owners, and the like who, despite their best intentions to bring about positive change, are not prepared to lead their people and teams to be at their best and consistently deliver on promised results.

Rachel Vandenberg's passion for helping people transform themselves and their leadership combined with her emphasis on habits of thinking and doing inspired both Tim and I to reflect on and further develop our own approach to leadership development. As sociologists, we tend to focus on interpersonal and group-level causes and interventions. Rachel's perspective led us to explore the research and consider how the concept of habits, and the principles for intentionally developing and changing habits, could also be applied to help people develop the mindsets and behaviors to facilitate positive change not only in themselves, but transform their relationships with others, their people and teams, and their work cultures and systems. What began as a collaboration to design bespoke workshops and presentations for our valued client evolved into a deeply fulfilling, mutually beneficial learning and working partnership. 

Our partnership with Rachel Vandenberg marks an important milestone in my personal journey. It also enhanced our growing consulting firm, by bringing greater clarity to B Optimal's mission and vision and refining our processes for creating bespoke learning experiences for our Coaching and Leadership Development partners. This collaborative and intensive process catalyzed the development of the comprehensive, behavior-based framework, The 7 Habits for Transformational Leadership comprehensive, yet practical framework and collection of resources to clearly define the broad competencies and behaviors that make for effective Transformational Leadership and guide their development and integration in the context of work.

Learn more about the 7 Habits for Transformational Leadership.

Conclusion

As I look back on my journey, from my early days with the YWCA to founding B Optimal Consulting, LLC, I am filled with gratitude for the diverse experiences and invaluable lessons that have shaped my path. The road has been winding, marked by continual learning, collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to empowering others. Through my work with CapSource Technologies and our innovative projects at B Optimal, I have seen firsthand the profound impact of transformational leadership in various settings. I am excited to continue my path of partnering with other professionals to empower people and their organizations to co-create lasting positive change, and leading the design and development of innovative and impactful strategies to grow and leverage the power of Transformational Leadership.

I invite you to explore more about our approach to transformational leadership and join us in creating positive change.

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Interested in learning more about our approach to Transformational Leadership and developing Transformational Leaders? Check out my article, From "Leadership Style to "Essential Capacity": Rethinking the role of Transformational Leadership in work organizations to learn more about our approach to Transformational Leadership.