From Type A to Type T

If you believe that organizations can''t change unless the people leading, managing, and doing the work change too, this is the book for you. Successful organizational leaders must know how to navigate personal change and transformation before they can, in turn, transform the organizations and the people they lead.

From Type A to Type T: How to Become a Transformational Leader in a Bottom Line World is designed to guide you on your personal journey of finding your authentic self, so you can then lead changes that are balanced with integrity, authenticity and well-being in the workplace, in organizations and in communities.

The source for all of it is your personal life.

It's about the journey we are on as continuously evolving individuals and leaders. If you, like me, climbed the ladder, accomplished your goals and still felt like something was missing, I hear you and can tell you it's not your imagination. Trust me when I say you're not alone. And, consider the concept that you may have been living other people's dreams or aspirations. So many times we make choices based on our parents' or spouse's expectations, what's best for children or family or, truth be told, sometimes to keep up with the "Joneses."

It's not too late —it's never too late— to live and lead in an authentic manner, one that emphasizes empowerment and collaborative communication with the people at work and in our lives. It's been proven that healthy, collaborative and empowered business cultures not only fit the new, fast-changing world we live in, but are more productive and profitable.  Have you yearned to work in this kind of environment? Have you wanted to be a part of leading this kind of movement?  Are you ready to transform yourself and your workplace? If so, know that I am ready to help you with the discovery and application of transformational leadership.

Allow me to start by briefly sharing my story because for as long as I can remember, I have transformed and reinvented my life, personally and professionally. However, the shift from corporate management to solo entrepreneur, from playing the "corporate game" to discovering and being in integrity with my true self is the reason and impetus for writing this book. It's the "been there, done that"experience that will best connect us and enable me to successfully help you transition and transform personally and professionally.

The stage of my journey now, as a national speaker, consultant and executive coach is part of a long and winding road that began in corporate management. Yet, despite the particular challenges of each position, there was a common theme: I was required to help each organization change in some way.  

Early on in my career, I was hired to create and implement almost all of the human resource processes for a fast-growing, entrepreneurial company in Green Bay Wisconsin. I designed and implemented everything from compensation and benefit systems to employee relations, performance management, training and development and corporate wellness. During my tenure, the company grew from 250 employees to over 1700 and became a nationwide, billion-dollar company, recognized for their innovative approach to training and development and designated as one of the top 25 corporate wellness programs in the country. There were three buy-outs before I left, and the company is now owned by Humana.

The next corporate stop was Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, Missouri, where I had been hired to basically make the same changes but in a smaller, very traditional company that had lost market share primarily (and ironically( by losing business to my former company in Green Bay. They needed to change attitudes and approaches to meet the changing needs of their customers and the marketplace. This was more about cultural change and getting people aligned with the strategic direction. There were new challenges, and I was still happy and climbing the leadership ladder with increasing responsibilities, impressive titles and perks and more money.

The final stop on my corporate travels, before I became an entrepreneur, was vice president of human resources for AMC Entertainment. Believe me! The movie industry was way more fun than insurance! Once again, I was hired to help an organization with significant change. Their new strategic direction would require hiring over 500 managers and 2000 new staff employees to run megaplexes. Dramatically different skills were required to manage the megaplexes than the smaller units that were the norm at that time. Again, all human resource processes had to be revamped to meet corporate objectives and align to the strategic direction. How we hired, trained, compensated and rewarded people would be very different, based on the new business model. And while I had never met anyone who said "I want to be a theater manager when I grow up, "it was great fun and challenging to create the right structures and processes to fit this new environment.

Let me just say that, based on these experiences, I understand the challenges of creating a vision and implementing the steps to make it happen. I understand the process of change, creating an organizational culture that is aligned with strategic goals and what can happen when it all comes together (or not!).

These experiences exposed me to diverse areas and approaches needed not only for organizational change, but personal transformation as well. I was learning and seeing first-hand that the culture and success of a business depends on the people involved, and this connection and interdependence was getting significantly clearer. No doubt you've experienced this in your own profession; employees are the foundation and the strength of the business depends on them.

At some point, I realized that I had reached the peak of my corporate career in terms of title, status, influence, money. This realization brought good news and bad news. The good news was that I'd had a good run in the corporate world, worked for terrific companies and was able to successfully implement the new processes and structures that empowered employees and contributed to organizational success. The bad news? I was discontented, disillusioned. I had been in positions I thought could make the difference for people at all levels in an organization, and yet I felt stuck. There was only so much I could do. How could this be? I had everything I had wanted and worked for! How could I be unhappy? It's hard to put into words. Somehow, all of these outward successes weren't enough. I wanted more, but not in a material sense. I wanted a bigger purpose, peace of mind, full self-expression in a creative sense and contribution in a broader scope. Living and working in a bottom line, linear world made this very difficult. I felt confined and restricted. And I knew I wanted to reach a broader audience, impact more people and work with diverse organizations. This could only happen if I ventured out on my own.