Team

Dr. Michael McElhenie - Principal

Dr. Michael McElhenie has been consulting, coaching and advising global leaders for nearly 30 years. He has an extensive track record of helping his clients design and implement transformational change that delivers breakthroughs in both performance and culture. Michael’s been involved in all stages of transformational change, giving him a unique understanding of the challenges faced when implementing large and small-scale transformations. His collaborative approach serves to increase and sustain organizational change capability and instill an aligned, high-performing, co-creative culture that unleashes human potential.

Michael has deep expertise in emotional intelligence and crucial communications - helping leaders navigate the complex and ever-changing dynamics of executive team, stakeholder and board relationships. He frequently leads executive events, leadership journeys, strategic planning retreats, and organizational change processes. In them, Michael supports executives in developing emotional, social and decision-making intelligences – improving commitment, leadership actions and accountability. Michael is skilled in executive communications and negotiations, and has successfully advised leaders in times of crisis, critical transactions and major change. He is often called upon to prepare leaders for crucial communications – including with media, industry analysts and corporate boards.

Michael frequently leverages his expertise in organizational and individual assessment – into culture, competencies, leadership style, values, conscious change leadership, and other constructs. He has 20 plus years of assessment expertise – working with corporate boards and key stakeholders to evaluate and select executive and leadership talent. Throughout his career, Michael has served a wide variety of global and national clients, including 7-11, American Airlines, Anadarko, Austin Industries, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Bosch, BP, Buckner International, Canadian Bearings, Chevron, Circle K, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Exelon Energy, GameStop, HSBC, IBM, Intel, Loblaw Companies, Merck, MITRE, Motorola, MWH, Nortel Networks, Presbyterian Communities & Services (now Forefront Living), Progressive Insurance, PG&E, PwC, Sabre, Sepracor Pharmaceuticals, Schering-Plough, Shell Oil, Shopper’s Drug Mart, Sunoco, Trinity Industries, Trinity Rail, TXU, Texaco, Texas Instruments, The Nature Conservancy, Unicredito Banca, Unilever, United Nations Development Program, United States Security Agencies (ONI, CIA, FBI & TSA), United States Army, Navy, Space Force and Air Force, Wal-Mart, World Bank, YMCA and many more. In addition, he has led major humanitarian projects, many for the United Nations, in regions around the globe: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.

Michael received his doctorate in Organizational, Clinical and Experimental Psychology from the University of North Texas, and his Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Florida. He is a practicing licensed psychologist, a PCC-level coach, Human Synergistics certified, and a graduate of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland’s Organizational Systems and Development, Being First’s 4-Sight and the Teleos TCDP Coaching programs. Michael lives with his wife and three high-school aged children in Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Sandra Hill - Principal

As an executive coach and organizational development consultant, Dr. Sandra Hill has spent more than 30 years assisting thousands of leaders and their direct reports in enhancing organizational capabilities including facilitating development of heathier cultures. For 11 years, as senior lead organizational development consultant for AT&T Bell Laboratories, a Fortune 50 company, with over sixty consultants and trainers reporting to her, she was responsible for developing and then providing a full range of consulting services including optimizing organizational culture, executive coaching, leadership development, team building, performance management and strategic planning. 

She has developed a proven track record of success and trusted, long-term client relationships.  A master at organizational assessment, including assisting leaders in separating energy-sapping symptoms from root causes, she is a catalyst for her clients developing optimized results-oriented cultures vitalized by collaboration and partnership, incorporating the alignment of clear hierarchy with the engagement and productivity of self-governing teams.

She has a comprehensive background in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and remains committed to assisting organizations to integrate these values. She was director of the Women’s Center at the University of Colorado and a field coordinator for the implementation of Title IX US Civil Rights Law.

She was an executive coach long before it was popular to be a coach, as well as training leaders to implement coaching skills. She is widely known for her pioneering work with leadership and team development and for her innovation and creativity. Underpinnings of her work with her partner - at Clear Impact Consulting Group - include Contextual Thinking (understanding behavior by first looking outside the person, rather than inside), Developmental Models (the different leadership “operating systems” that are increasingly more effective in times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity (VUCA) and rapid change), Complexity Theory, Polarity Management, Leadership Versatility, Practical Neuroscience, Systems Thinking and Mindfulness.  She is a Certified Enneagram Teacher, Myers Briggs Consultant and Lectica Coach. 

Her clients have included Lucent Technologies, AT&T Bell Laboratories, BNY Mellon, the World Bank (project in 8 African countries), IBM, Grainger, RBC Royal Bank, Cisco Systems, Ledcor, City of Edmonton, Alberta Health Services, Province of Alberta, Edmonton Police Service, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, ATB Bank, NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, Wide Open West, Government of Canada, Manpower, Italian Centre Shop, HYL Architects, The Nature Conservancy, Keystone Center and StorageTek. She and her partner, Joel Rothaizer, designed and led the leadership effectiveness training for the top 800 leaders in the City of Edmonton for over five years. This program has some of the strongest outcome data in the world in building true leadership capacity.

Dr. Joel M. Rothaizer, MCC - Principal

Dr. Joel M. Rothaizer, MCC, is an executive coach and organizational consultant with extensive training and over 30 years’ experience in understanding the functioning of both organizations and the people within them. His focus is on leadership development, executive coaching and team/organizational effectiveness. He assists leaders in finding versatile styles that are more successful, authentic, and energizing. He assists teams and organizations in creating results-oriented cultures vitalized by collaboration and partnership, incorporating the alignment of clear hierarchy with the engagement and productivity of self-governing teams.

Joel is an Official Member of the Forbes Coaches Council and the International Coach Federation has designated him a Master Certified Coach, their highest credential. A Licensed Psychologist and Certified Business Coach, he is also on the faculty of the University of Miami Certified Professional Coach Program and Corporate Coach University, as well as a Certified Enneagram Teacher and Lectica Coach. Underpinnings of his work with his partner - at Clear Impact Consulting Group - include Contextual Thinking (understanding behavior by first looking outside the person, rather than inside), Developmental Models (the different leadership “operating systems” that are increasingly more effective in times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity (VUCA) and rapid change), Complexity Theory, Polarity Management, Leadership Versatility, Practical Neuroscience, Mindfulness and Living Systems.

Joel assists his clients in focusing on root causes rather than on energy-sapping symptoms, and in discovering unique and elegant solutions to seemingly complex problems. His clients have included Exxon-Mobil, General Electric, AT&T Bell Laboratories, BNY Mellon, IBM, ADP, Broadridge, Ferrellgas, Grainger, Royal Bank of Canada, PeopleSoft, StorageTek, Wide Open West, Ledcor, HSBC, PCL, Government of Alberta, Dialog, Alberta Health Services, Sanofi-Aventis, Edmonton Police Service, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Italian Centre Shop, ATCO Structures & Logistics, University of Calgary, Rehrig Pacific, New Belgium Brewing, Hagemeyer, HYL Architects, Government of British Columbia and Los Alamos National Labs. He and his partner, Sandra Hill, designed and for more than five years delivered the leadership effectiveness training for the top 800 leaders in the City of Edmonton. This program has some of the strongest outcome data in the world. Joel is based in Edmonton, Alberta.

Danielle Conroy - Principal

Danielle Conroy has over 25 years as an organizational development consultant, working both internally for Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland, and co-founding and managing two successful consulting and training businesses in Australia. As a result, she brings a significant breadth and depth to her consulting, teaching and coaching practice. These experiences have enabled her to develop a deep understanding of the complexity, challenges and rewards of working in medium, large and matrix organizations. In all contexts, she teaches and supports leaders and change agents to unlock and accelerate powerful mental, emotional and relational capacities that support them in navigating the complexity of today’s world, generating greater impact in their organizations and industries. 

Danielle’s past and present clients value her creativity, depth of integral thinking, warmth and emotional intelligence, coupled with a focus on business results and a partnership approach. She balances an intuitive understanding of people and deep listening skills, with her high-level analytical ability and strong support for individual and collective development and learning.

Through Danielle’s passionate commitment to sustainable transformation, she has designed and implemented numerous, successful, tailored, multi-tiered leadership development programs, strategic planning processes, change management initiatives, restructures, and individual & cultural assessments. Many of these have been 2-8 year projects, which have enabled individuals, teams and organizations to realize and measure significant outcomes over time. In addition, she has developed and trained HR professionals and consultants in consulting and advanced facilitation skills, and logged 3000 + hours of coaching for middle and senior executives.

Danielle has a graduate degree in Business and Leadership from Curtin University in Australia. She is certified in several assessment instruments including the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP360), Leadership Development Profile (LDP/LMP/GLP), Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), Integral 360, DiSC, Birkman & MBTI (steps 1 & 2). She is a certified Holacracy practitioner and Lectica Consultant.

Through deliberate daily practices of yoga, meditation and exercise, Danielle maintains her strong personal commitment to transformation. She has lived and worked in USA, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, China, Japan, Malaysia, India and Australia, and recently moved to Vancouver, Canada.

Andrew Johnson - Principal

 Andrew Johnson has been an Executive Coach, Facilitator and Consultant since 1991. His effectiveness is fueled by his articulate insight and passion for evolution and positive change.

He was a Partner and Senior Conscious Change Leader at Being First Inc., transforming organizational cultures, systems and mindsets in the energy, policing and infrastructure sectors for nearly a decade.

For over 20 years Andrew served as the Canadian Military’s premier Partnering facilitator. He is a pioneer in breakthrough approaches to multi-stakeholder collaboration on large-scale infrastructure projects. He brings together industry, government owners and regulators in forging over-arching relational agreements to instill and codify higher-order fairness, effectiveness and peace among the players.

He was a Partner and Senior Conscious Change Leader at Being First Inc., transforming organizational cultures, systems and mindsets in the energy, policing and infrastructure sectors for nearly a decade.

For over 20 years Andrew served as the Canadian Military’s premier Partnering facilitator. He is a pioneer in breakthrough approaches to multi-stakeholder collaboration on large-scale infrastructure projects. He brings together industry, government owners and regulators in forging over-arching relational agreements to instill and codify higher-order fairness, effectiveness and peace among the players.

A Professional Integral CoachTM, he works with individual leaders, teams, and organizations to promote conscious change leadership and breakthrough capability. Clients come from Tech, Healthcare, Engineering, Environment and Government. He has worked with over 1250 organizations on three continents, reaching over 15,000 participants.

Andrew spent 8 years in Canada’s Parliament designing legislation, writing speeches and advising the former Prime Minister and Cabinet members. He served as a Committee Officer and later as an Assistant to the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He participated in key national projects, including the 1987 Constitutional Accord and the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement. In private practice as the VP of a national consulting firm, he put his Honors degree in Economics (Carleton) to use in global counter-trade deals and third world development projects.  

Andrew has extensively studied and practiced human dynamics in business. He has a reputation for creative approaches to understanding people, conscientious attention to detail as well as commitment to co-creative processes and fair outcomes.