In early 2015…
Dan, Steve and Beth, while working together at AlixPartners in Manhattan, began discussing the changes they were seeing across the businesses landscape. Each of them had experiences in past positions that made it clear these changes were causing serious disruption to business.
The rise of digital technology was allowing for an almost instantaneous exchange of information, capital, goods, and even talent, leading to more connectivity. Several issues were becoming apparent. The degree of interconnectedness was making forecasting more difficult, It was harder to determine cause and effect, and it was harder to place bets, because what worked in the past was not guaranteed to work in the future.
When talking with business leaders, the feedback was clear. They were continually disrupted by the next wave of change and exhausted by the prospect of having to react yet again. It was becoming obvious to the group that the staid approaches to leadership were simply not working.
Dan, Steve and Beth saw an undeniable opportunity. Existing consulting firms were not addressing disruption. They started Contemporary Leadership Advisors in 2016 with the goal of developing leaders in new ways. The goal would be to help enterprises transition from the traditional operating model, which is efficient in stable environments, to an adaptive leadership system, which is resilient in disruptive environments. And they would do so by forming an approachable firm that was easy and fun to work with.
Shortly after launching, Tony joined the team. He shared the group’s sensibilities and vision for what CLA could be. Together they staffed the group with fellow behavioral scientists and management professionals from well respected, global consultancies and corporations. The team developed new behavioral based solutions, methodologies and software that have been proven effective in building successful leaders and organizations among constant change.
Since its inception, CLA has successfully partnered with dozens of Fortune-500 companies and leading private equity firms. Today, CLA is one of the only leadership consulting firms taking this approach. Under this model, the future of leadership looks promising.
