Linda K. Bidlack, MA, PCC

The world order as we know it is disrupted, and as a leader, you are pressed to move through the fog even as you have lost the ground under your feet. Your colleagues are anxious to return to ‘normal,’ while the only real choice is to figure things out together. They need a leader who can find stillness in mid-air to think, like a hummingbird, to listen, to notice what others miss, to help make sense of it, assess the risks, and decide what to learn next while everyone else is running around with their hair on fire.

You will already have discovered that the way forward is not to add more hours to your workday, and this squeeze is your best laboratory for learning. It’s uncomfortable. All those strategies and habits that worked so well to get you this far have gotten out of sync with the increasing complexity of your role.

Fortunately, by applying recent insights from neuroscience, psychology, physiology, and ancient wisdom, coaching creates a structured path to thoughtfully apply practices for quieting the noise and cultivating your ability to see clearly and act wisely despite the fog. The artistry of real leadership becomes available to you as you let go of earlier tendencies to control and learn to fly.

With a background of over 30 years in corporate anthropology, leadership development, and an M.A. in Counseling with client organizations ranging from Goodwill, Paypal, Capital One, NASA, and the White House, Linda served on the faculty of the Georgetown University Leadership Coaching program and holds a Profession Certified Coach credential from the International Coach Federation. Also a founding partner in ChoicePoints Learning, LLC, a diversity and inclusion firm, Linda lived in Haiti as a child, igniting her lifelong interest in building bridges across differences. In her free time, she volunteers for Braver Angels, a grass-roots movement to bring even numbers of liberals and conservatives together for workshops based on marriage counseling exercises to depolarize America.

Michael worked on Wall Street and in the publishing industry for over two decades, holding executive positions at Shearson Lehman/AMEX, Paine Webber, Simon & Schuster, and the Walt Disney Company. He is the author of Awake at Work, The Mindful Leader, Fearless at Work, and Mindful Leadership Training. He consults with corporations on bringing mindfulness into the workplace. Michael has taught mindfulness-awareness meditation at numerous Fortune 500 companies and Harvard Business School, Wharton Business School, Swarthmore College, American University, Toronto University, University of Sydney, Fundação Dom Cabral, 1440 Multiversity, Zen Mountain Monastery, Omega Institute, Kripalu and many other institutions worldwide.

Gail Funke’s primary focus is on the challenges of executive leadership, including Organization Development, guiding large-scale organizations in planning, navigating and executing change initiatives. Organizations she has stewarded include several 120-person-plus organizations for FDA, including The Office of Food Additive Safety, The Office of applied Research and Safety Assessment, and the Office of Analytics and Outreach.

Dr. Funke also brings expertise in Strategic Thinking and Planning, Leveraging Power and Influence, and Executive Communication Skills, as well as numerous assessments to build insight and growth through coaching and consulting. In addition to serving as American University Adjunct Faculty, Dr. Funke was a full-time fed at the Federal Executive Institute, as both Faculty and Dean.

Carol Hyman has practiced and taught mindfulness and other contemplative disciplines in business, healthcare, and retreat settings for more than four decades, focusing on how to use mindfulness to meet challenges in the workplace, in relationships, and in everyday life. The Executive Director of the educational non-profit Applied Mindfulness Training, Inc., and author of the book Meeting Your Mind: Harnessing the World’s Greatest Resource, Carol is a writer, teacher, and consultant. Previously a partner in a renovations company, director of a non-sectarian meditation program, and editorial project manager for the collection of the writings of Anne Morrow Lindbergh.