HIGHLIGHTS OF MY STORY IN MY OWN WORDS
A life-long learner with a global perspective
I studied at Northwestern University, Miami University, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Toledo. I hold a B.S. in Business, MBA in Marketing, and PhD in Developmental Psychology and Human Resources Development. I have taken extensive training and learning programs from leadership experts around the world. My majors and interests along the way included education, advertising journalism, American culture, adolescent and adult development, group dynamics, the leadership aspects of parenting, processes for facilitation of productive meetings, team development, organizational change leadership, and strategic planning processes.
As Hans Christian Anderson said: To travel is to live, and travel is an outstanding way to learn. I promote a cross-boundary approach to leader development. The more collaboration and understanding we gain across the boundaries of countries, cultures, and industries, the more productive and peaceful we will become as individuals, groups, and nations. To better learn and understand how to develop as a leader, I closely observe organizational leadership across all seven continents. I lead groups of students on global business and leadership immersions in Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. I teach my simple approach to leader development across North America and around the world, including courses in Hungary, Italy, England, and China.
Teeming with experience and wisdom about leadership and personal growth
I have over four decades of learning, practicing, and teaching leadership. With my breakthrough research on The Leader Development Webs of Belief℠, I am enthusiastic and energetic to help develop tomorrow’s leaders. My business and leadership expertise includes executive and consulting roles in market research, operations, personnel policies development, organizational behavior, meeting facilitation, strategic planning, team leadership, team formation, team re-building, and organizational development. After serving in three different corporate vice president roles, I founded my management consulting firms, Pat Schmakel Associates, LeadershipConneXtions, and 2030Leadership. As Professor of Leadership, my scholarly research and publishing focus on leadership development. I am elated to announce the publication of Leadership Development SIMPLIFIED. This guide is the first in a series of adult, adolescent, and children’s books featuring the Leader Webs of Belief℠ and easy approaches to gaining career skills and life skills.
Always on the frontier of innovation in leadership training and development
Beginning with the design of a human resources function and a performance planning process based in leadership and career growth, not rankings and ratings, I have always found inventive yet practical ways to improve management processes. Including and appreciating people makes them happy in their work and productive for their organization. I was among the first corporate executives and consultants to learn and facilitate team-based decision-making and strategic planning, process re-engineering, cross-functional team building, continuous improvement, organizational change, and processes to encourage employee engagement. I created performance planning processes for corporations, universities, and non-profit organizations. To make planning, decision-making and team-building practical and enjoyable, I developed the KaLeadescape© brainstorming and consensus-building process. Decision-making is based in appreciative inquiry and enabling contribution by all, not just the most verbal and extroverted meeting participants.
I have developed hundreds of custom team-building programs, as well as courses in facilitation, group dynamics, and team formation. At the university level, I developed leading-edge graduate programs in organizational leadership and an innovative MBA. Organizations of all types seek my consulting services to transform hierarchical and autocratic environments into team-based systems and adaptive cultures or re-energize dysfunctional teams. In the beginnings of online education, I created new courses, adapting and inventing new pedagogies for effective virtual learning.
My Vision
Everyone can and should learn leadership and life skills
so we will work together to build a better world.
My Mission
My Mission
With my passion for learning and solving problems, I sought to answer the questions: How can we simplify the learning of leadership so more people can become competent in interpersonal skills for their life and career? How can we teach leadership to everyone so we can get more done together and make our world a better place?
In search for a simple formula, I compiled and delineated comprehensive lists of competencies from dozens of contemporary leadership theories. My research process uncovered hundreds of behaviors and mindsets, then categorized them into five clusters with simple labels. This complex methodology created a simple framework, with just five central guiding principles to understand and apply for life-long professional and personal development. The terminology for each web of belief construct is carefully selected to encompass the full range of competencies in each category. The five simple Leader Webs of Belief℠ in this framework are Learning, Reverence, Purpose, Authenticity, and Flaneur.
This meta-analysis of competencies from contemporary leadership and adult development theories has continued for over a decade. New theories, with their prescribed competencies and characteristics are reviewed and incorporated as they appear. Using the five leader development webs of belief, anyone can develop skills and mindsets for all the leadership theories and styles needed to lead in times of vulnerability, uncertainty, chaos, and change. The 21st century leadership styles studied include adaptive, authentic, change, complexity, connective, crisis, distributive, executive, shared, team, transformational, and servant leadership, as well as positive adult development, emotional intelligence, followership, and self-leadership.