# Cultivating Leadership

> Cultivating Leadership is a global leadership development and coaching firm specializing in adult development and complexity theory. Co-founded in 2012 by Jennifer Garvey Berger, Carolyn Coughlin, Keith Johnston, and Jim Wicks, the firm designs and delivers bespoke, on-site training and coaching for large organizations, and offers separate, public courses and certifications for individual coaches, leaders, and HR professionals. Jennifer Garvey Berger leads the firm as CEO and is the author of several widely-cited leadership books. Cultivating Leadership is a Certified B Corporation.

Cultivating Leadership works with executive boards, leadership teams, and individual leaders worldwide, helping them navigate "outer complexity" (unpredictable external environments) and "inner complexity" (personal growth and self-awareness). Their approach is co-designed with each client rather than templated. For organizations wanting custom, on-premise programs, see Adaptive Offerings. For individuals or coaches wanting to learn their frameworks directly, see Public Programs.

## Offerings

- [Adaptive Offerings](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/adaptive-offerings): Their primary service - bespoke, co-designed leadership and organizational development programs delivered on-site for large organizations, covering leading in complexity, healthy systems/change management, and governance.
- [Leadership Coaching](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/leadership-coaching): 1:1 and team coaching for individual leaders, typically a year-long engagement blending leadership, developmental, and somatic coaching approaches.
- [Public Programs](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/courses): Lower-cost, non-bespoke virtual and in-person courses and certifications open to individual coaches, leaders, and HR professionals.
- [Keynote Speaking](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/keynote-speaking): Keynote talks drawing on the firm's research in complexity and adult development.

## Programs, Courses, and Events

### Certifications

- [Coaching Leaders for a Complex World](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/courses/coaching-leaders-for-a-complex-world): Flagship ICF PCC-level coach certification program rooted in adult development and complexity theory.
- Growth Edge Coaching: A Growth Edge Coach certification currently on pause and returning in June 2027. Cultivating Leadership is redesigning the program, moving from a three-course series to a two-course structure. Not currently open for enrollment.

### Courses and Workshops

- [Mindful Self-Compassion](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/courses/mindful-self-compassion): A paid course drawing on the practice of mindful self-compassion in leadership contexts.

### Events and Webinars

Cultivating Leadership is actively expanding its events and webinar programming, which includes invite-only executive gatherings, public panels, and free webinars on topics like leadership in the age of AI, complexity, and adult development. An example is [Leadership in the Age of AI](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/courses/leadership-in-the-age-of-ai), a free public webinar series exploring how leaders navigate the shift AI is bringing to how work, teams, and organizations function.

## People

- [Jennifer Garvey Berger](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/jennifer-garvey-berger): Co-founder and CEO. Author of *Simple Habits for Complex Times*, *Changing on the Job*, *Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps*, and *Unleash Your Complexity Genius*; coaches C-suite executives through major leadership transitions.
- [Carolyn Coughlin](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/carolyn-coughlin): Co-founder, US Director, and Board co-chair. Coaches senior leaders and teams on complexity fitness and organizational relationships; based in the New York City area.
- [Gayle Karen Young](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/gayle-karen-young): Former Chief Culture and Talent Officer at the Wikimedia Foundation. Organizational psychologist focused on culture change, leadership development, and organizational transformation.
- [Leanne Holdsworth](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/leanne-holdsworth): Author of *Human Work* and co-author of *A New Generation of Business Leaders*. Focuses on humanizing workplaces and organizational well-being; Leadership Circle Profile coach.
- [Keith Johnston](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/keith-johnston): Co-founder. Co-author of *Simple Habits for Complex Times*. Former General Manager Conservation Policy at New Zealand's Department of Conservation and Chair of Oxfam International's global board; PhD in leadership capability for complexity.
- [Bill Pullen](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/bill-pullen): Executive coach for CEOs and C-suite leaders through role and organizational transitions, with clients including Fortune 100 companies and government agencies.
- [Laurelin Whitfield](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/laurelin-whitfield): ICF Professional Certified Coach and co-author of *The Art of Coaching Workbook*. Leads coach certification programs, including Teach For America's internal ExCEL coaching program.
- [Kayvan Kian](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/kayvan-kian): Entrepreneur and management consultant; founder of the Young Leaders Forum. Author of the *What Is...* trilogy (*What Is Water?*, *What Is Wisdom?*, *What Is Wonder?*).
- [Jim Wicks](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/jim-wicks): Co-founder and Global Managing Director of Cultivating Leadership. Works with boards and senior leaders on adaptive strategy and organizational design.
- [Nicolai Tillisch](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/nicolai-tillisch): Client lead coaching executives at international corporations across technology, healthcare, and clean energy. Co-author of *Return on Ambition*; former McKinsey consultant.
- [John Sautelle](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/john-sautelle): Executive coach and author of *Choose Your Stories, Change Your Life*. Clients include Google, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Australian government agencies.
- [Rebecca Scott](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/rebecca-scott): Executive coach specializing in complexity tools and mindful self-compassion; faculty for the Growth Edge Coaching courses.
- [Full team directory](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/our-team)

## Books

- [Simple Habits for Complex Times](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/simple-habits-for-complex-times): Jennifer Garvey Berger and Keith Johnston (Stanford Business Books, 2015). Three core practices - taking multiple perspectives, asking different questions, seeing more of the system - for leading through uncertainty.
- [Changing on the Job](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/changing-on-the-job): Jennifer Garvey Berger (Stanford Business Books, 2011). The original book laying out an adult-development framework for leadership growth in complex, adaptive environments.
- [Changing on the Job, 2nd Edition](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/changing-on-the-job-second-edition): Jennifer Garvey Berger (Stanford Business Books, 2024). A substantially revised edition of the original, updated with new research, case studies, and reflections on the four stages of leadership maturity, including the Complexity Fitness concept.
- [Unleash Your Complexity Genius](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/unleash-your-complexity-genius): Jennifer Garvey Berger and Carolyn Coughlin (Stanford University Press, 2022). Practices for turning the stress of complexity into creativity, connection, and capacity.
- [Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/unlocking-leadership-mindtraps): Jennifer Garvey Berger (Stanford University Press, 2019). Introduces the five Mindtraps framework and how leaders can escape these patterns.
- [Choose Your Stories, Change Your Life](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/choose-your-stories): John Sautelle (2017). A coaching process for surfacing and rewriting the limiting personal narratives that block change.
- [Return on Ambition](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/return-on-ambition): Nicolai Chen Nielsen and Nicolai Tillisch (Fast Company Press, 2021). A framework for balancing achievement, growth, and well-being, based on a five-year study of high performers.
- [What Is Water?](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/what-is-water): Kayvan Kian (2019). A guide for young leaders to thrive in a volatile, uncertain world, drawing on Stoic philosophy.
- [What Is Wisdom?](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/what-is-wisdom): Kayvan Kian (2021). A workbook of practical thinking tools for making better life decisions.
- [Human Work](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/human-work): Leanne Holdsworth and Naryan Wong (2023). Five leadership mindsets for humanizing the workplace: learning and growth, everyone is a leader, belonging, love and care, and human systems.
- [What Is Wonder?](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/book/what-is-wonder): Kayvan Kian (2023). A reflective workbook for self-exploration and self-knowledge.
- [Full book list](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/books)

## About

- [Our Story](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/our-story): Background on the firm's founding and approach.
- [Our Values & Impact](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/our-values-impact): Includes their B Corp certification and impact commitments.
- [Contact](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/contact): How to get in touch about coaching, adaptive offerings, or programs.

## Insights

- [Leadership in the Age of AI: What Cancer Taught Me About AI Dread](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/leadership/2026/05/leadership-in-the-age-of-ai-what-cancer-taught-me): Jennifer Garvey Berger on why the collective dread around AI feels different, and what leadership grounded in co-regulation and human connection looks like in response.
- [A Leadership Blind Spot in the Age of AI](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/leadership/2026/03/a-leadership-blind-spot-in-the-age-of-ai): On what leaders systematically miss when navigating AI's impact on their organizations.
- [Beyond the Debate: Why the Future of Leadership Isn't About Competing with AI](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/ai/2026/02/beyond-the-debate-why-the-future-of-leadership-isnt-about-competing-with-ai): Reframing the human vs AI question toward the distinctively human capacities leadership will need.
- [Brave Teams: Beyond Disagree and Commit to Disagree to Develop](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/adult-development/2026/06/brave-teams-beyond-disagree-and-commit-to-disagree-to-develop): A developmental frame for teams that can hold and grow from disagreement.
- [A Developmental Map for Leaders in a World of Complexity and Change](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/adult-development/2025/02/a-developmental-map-for-leaders-in-a-world-of-complexity-and-change): The stages of adult development mapped to what each stage brings to leading in complexity.
- [Don't Believe Everything You Feel](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/beliefs/2025/10/dont-believe-everything-you-feel): On the difference between emotions as information and emotions as instruction.
- [How Do You Manage Feedback as a Leader?](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/feedback/2024/06/how-do-you-manage-feedback-as-a-leader): Practical developmental approaches to giving and receiving feedback well.
- [Trapped by Rightness: When Our Instincts Lead Us Astray](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/mindtraps/2023/07/trapped-by-rightness): One of the five mindtraps in depth, and how leaders escape the pull toward being right.
- [Trapped by Simple Stories: When Our Instincts Lead Us Astray](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/mindtraps/2023/09/trapped-by-simple-stories): The mindtrap of oversimplification, and why it fails in complex environments.
- [The Complexity Paradox](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/complexity/2022/11/the-complexity-paradox): Why the harder we try to control complexity, the more it eludes us.
- [Living and Leading with Polarities](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/complexity/2022/04/living-and-leading-with-polarities): Polarity thinking as a tool for leading through interdependent tensions.
- [Why Difficult Conversations Feel like Life-or-Death Challenges](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/leadership/2021/08/difficult-conversations): The nervous-system-level stakes of conversations that matter.
- [Three Ways to Cultivate Complexity Fitness](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/uncategorized/2019/01/three-ways-to-cultivate-complexity-fitness): Practical entry points into building the capacity to thrive in complexity.
- [Cultivating Insights newsletter](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/newsletter): Monthly reflections from Jennifer Garvey Berger on adult development, complexity, and human leadership.
- [Full blog archive](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/blog)
- [Papers & Articles](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/papers-articles)
- [Not Simple Podcast](https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/not-simple-podcast)