The Evolving Leader Blog

I once watched a senior leader make a hiring decision in under four minutes.

I was sitting across from her in the debrief where the focus was on three finalists that were all strong candidates. Within minutes of the conversation starting, she had landed on one person and spent the rest of the time ...

As organizations navigate a multigenerational workforce, one theme continues to emerge: what leaders assume is "common sense" is often anything but. Success today requires greater clarity and intentionality, especially during onboarding and role integration. Employees thrive when organizations clear...

There is nothing like hearing your full name announced as you walk across the stage in front of thousands. Earning my PhD from National University has been one of the hardest things I have ever done and as I walked that stage in acknowledgement...the people who love me the most were there to see it....

There is a pattern I see across leaders, teams, and organizations, and it shows up quietly in the middle of everyday moments. A conversation doesn’t land the way it was intended. A decision feels heavier than it should. A team dynamic starts to shift, and no one can quite name why. What’s happening ...

Have you ever heard of “butts in seats” Leadership Theory? Me either. Yet, in the post-pandemic, increasingly distributed world of work, we are constantly navigating the complex, often emotionally charged conversation around where we do work. This focus on physical location—the office, the home, a c...

Over the past few weeks, I have sat in three very different situations with one shared dynamic: tension that everyone could feel but no one felt quite confident enough to speak.

In one organization, a senior leader was carrying frustration about missed deadlines. Instead of addressing it directly, ...

Leadership today looks very different than it did even ten years ago.

Across industries, organizations are experiencing unprecedented turnover. The average employee tenure is now just 2.3 years. That means by the time someone fully understands the culture, the systems, and the strategic direction o...

If you spend any time in the mountains, on a trail, or grinding up a climb on your mountain bike, you already know about the Fun Scale, even if you have never heard of it.

 I've been an avid mountain biker since my teens. Riding, racing, exploring the mountains all over the country has brought m...

One of the most persistent tensions leaders grapple with is time versus purpose. We are accountable for outcomes, yet we only have a finite number of hours and energy. The pressure to do more, faster, louder, and better can feel like what is demanded of us as “normal”…but it’s not strategic. When le...

By Dr. Kristine Medyanik

Everywhere you look lately, there’s a version of the same question:

“Is AI going to replace leaders?”

It’s a fair question. The pace of change is fast, the tools are impressive, and the headlines don’t exactly calm the nerves.

But here’s the truth I want to offer you,...

By Dr. Christine Fonner

January always arrives with pressure. New goals. New plans. New KPIs. Big expectations about momentum, clarity, and productivity. And what I’m seeing in the field right now is this: leaders are moving fast again but many haven’t fully recovered from what last year (and the e...

By Dr. Kristine Medyanik

How to Reset, Recenter, and Rebuild Your Energy as a Leader

Leadership is meaningful, purpose-driven work — but it can also be emotionally demanding. Many leaders carry silent burdens: difficult conversations, team conflict, rapid change, and the pressure to always “show...