Are We in a Leadership Crisis?
(This blog is longer than usual as I’m sharing my heart regarding a huge change for my organization.)
When I asked a group of leaders, “By a show of hands, how many of you have been taught how to be a leader?” only approximately one or two out of every hundred leaders could say they had been taught how to lead.
I’ve asked that question countless times for the past 10 years to senior executives, middle management, and first-time leaders. The reactions are always the same. After considering the question, most individuals admit that they have never been taught how to be a leader; they were simply promoted or hired for that role. This stark reality is impossible to ignore.
We’re not encountering a skills gap—we’re confronting an unparalleled reality. It’s not a matter of if we are in a leadership crisis; it’s a declaration that we are. Most recently, I had the opportunity to interact with recent college and high school graduates and simply asked the following: During your high school years or college courses, have you taken a class/course on leadership? To my dismay (although not surprised), most of the students did not, yet we proclaim as a society, “these are our future leaders!” While that may be true to some extent, if we don’t teach leadership properly, we’ll remain trapped in this cyclical crisis of repeating the same mistakes.
Check out these statistics on the current workplace landscape in the USA:
83% of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress. U.S. businesses lose up to $300 billion yearly as a result of workplace stress. Source: BHHC Safety Center
72% believe a healthy work-life balance is crucial. Source: Hubstaff
90% of participants surveyed reported “at least minor levels of one mental health challenge. Source: Mindshare
I don’t know about you, but when I read statistics like these, I can’t help but proclaim that we are indeed in a crisis. While this is the unfortunate reality that we are living in, we don’t have to remain here. Over the past year, I’ve been combing through data and reading a lot and have two main takeaways:
The approach we have taken to leadership development overall has been unsuccessful because we are not addressing the root cause of the leadership issue.
Leadership development opportunities can be costly, and usually, most of them are reserved for C-suite leaders.
First, our leadership crisis starts with one false premise: technical mastery alone earns you a promotion into authority. It’s compounded by a second misconception: leadership is about “steering” an organization or department. In actuality, one can’t lead a building or department. After all, it’s an inanimate object. True leadership is about inspiring and mobilizing people. Since every individual is complex and unique, effective leadership necessitates a profound understanding of how to cater to diverse needs and motivations. Ironically, this is precisely where most leadership programs fail: we cannot begin by learning how to lead others. First, we must understand ourselves—how our own values, beliefs, and biases shape the way we lead before shifting our focus to others.
Second, leadership coaching and development can be prohibitively expensive. A quick online search shows that executive coaching rates typically range from $200 to $3,000 per hour. As a result, most formal development programs are reserved for C-suite executives—leaving the vast majority of emerging and mid-level leaders without access.
The Solution
Over the past eight months, I’ve been quietly working to address this crisis. In January 2025, I published Reimagining Learning: The Power of Triple Loop Leadership, which quickly became a #1 bestseller. Building on that success, I applied the book’s core concepts directly to my own work, reimagining what leadership coaching and development could look like—programs that are both affordable and rigorously grounded.
The journey began by clarifying my own purpose, passions, and vision for the future. From that foundation, I developed Triple Loop Hackers and the HACKER model. A Triple Loop Hacker infiltrates an organization’s culture to tackle urgent challenges, refine processes, and transform core values, assumptions, and systems for sustainable change. By leveraging the HACKER model, which encompasses six distinctive roles, these leaders bridge personal transformation with team effectiveness, building well-rounded, high-performing teams.
The best part of all this is reimagining how to make leadership development accessible to all leaders at very affordable rates. Every leader—whether C-suite, middle management, or emerging—should have access to:
A library of hundreds of micro-courses to build new skills
Live webinars and Q&A sessions teaching the Triple Loop Leadership concept
A community of fellow leaders to collaborate with
A space for networking, sharing tools, resources, and real-world experiences
With that vision in mind, I shared the idea with my team, and we brainstormed how to turn it into reality. Now, we’re proud to announce a brand-new membership program launching on June 17, 2025. You can join for $47/month (paid monthly) or $42.30/month (paid annually with a 10% discount).
Starting June 17th, if you join our waitlist you will lock-in a lower rate of $37/month on your monthly subscription or $444/year on your annual subscription for the life of your subscription! You will also be the first to gain access to our membership program.
This model ensures that leaders at every level can get exactly what they need to succeed in their roles. We’ve also added:
One-on-one coaching at very affordable rates for those who want a deeper, personalized experience
A 90-day Hackers Bootcamp (hybrid format) for leadership teams looking to learn and grow together
I’m truly passionate about this program and have restructured our entire organization to serve you better. My vision goes even further—more on that soon as this is only step #1 in our transformation.
As we approach the June 17th launch date, please don't hesitate to contact me directly to schedule a time to learn more about the Triple Loop Hackers program and how it can benefit you and your organization.