Conversations About Calling

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      Valerie L. Myers, Ph.D.
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Valerie is a dynamic scholar practitioner and Organizational Psychologist that has cultivated thousands of emerging and established leaders through her teaching, executive coaching and consulting.  Drawing upon 20+ years of combined academic expertise and corporate experience, she translates the latest research into innovative, evidence-based, and practical solutions that help leaders create value through human performance. She works with corporate executives, governing boards, educational institutions, non-profit and community organizations to facilitate learning and leadership development. 
 
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Academia
Valerie L. Myers earned graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Myers joined the University of Michigan's management faculty in 2003, where she currently serves in the Ross School of Business's MBA program. For a decade, she served as an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health's Department of Health Management & Policy, where she taught highly rated graduate courses in Organizational Behavior, Healthcare Management, Strategic Planning, and Diversity Leadership. Valerie has coached  award winning teams in national strategic planning competitions; led research teams, conducted multi-organization qualitative and quantitative studies;  published findings in nationally renowned journals, books, technical reports; and presented her scholarly work at national and international conferences. Scholarly work in her book, Conversations About Calling: Advancing Management Perspectives, (Routledge Press) contributes to the field of Positive Organizational Scholarship by offering comprehensive research and disruptive ideas that were endorsed by leading management scholars.  However, Valerie's expertise is not merely academic. 

Industry
Valerie's work for a global automotive supplier in Management, Marketing, and Product Development informs her consulting practice. In addition to successfully leading a department turnaround ($400m revenue), she collaborated with Fortune 500 executives and leaders of domestic and international auto companies to develop strategically appropriate and profitable niche market products. These early experiences were invaluable for gaining a systems perspective of organizations, leadership practices, and learning to solve "real" business challenges. During this career phase, Valerie cultivated problem-solving skills that inform her approach to management education, research, and consulting -- an approach that is now popularly referred to as "design thinking." 

​Valerie
acquired design thinking skills while studying Industrial Design at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies then designing transformational products for automotive and furniture industries. Based upon this expertise, Valerie 
helps people apply design thinking  principles to refine their professional practices. 

​Synthesis: Executive Coaching & Consulting
Combining academic rigor, business experience and design thinking to solve "real world" challenges is a hallmark of Valerie's professional career and informs her client work to create Positive Organizations by: cultivating Strategic Curiosity™, equipping Inclusive Leaders, and guiding Specialists with Spirit™ toward fulfillment of their calling. More broadly, Valerie also consults with leaders and governing boards to formulate strategic plans.
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Specialist with Spirit™ & Calling
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​Intrinsic motivation drives performance! Intrinsic motivation is more powerful and sustainable than extrinsic rewards (e.g., money and awards),  and it is also more cost effective. Specialist with Spirit™ and Calling focus on intrinsic motivations because, too often, conversations about calling focus on  "what" (e.g., career and purpose) rather than "how"  (e.g., what animates our behavior). Attention to both is essential to fully live one's calling and to be a Specialist with Spirit™ that makes meaningful contributions through their work. The Specialist with Spirit™ mindset and skills are applicable to every life stage and occupation. Therefore, the related business case and seminars are customized to meet the needs of emerging and established adults (e.g., executives, leaders, working adults, graduate and college students) across professions. Contact Valerie>>>  

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Inclusive Leadership
​How can leaders overcome inertia that has resulted from "typical" diversity and unconscious bias training? By developing inclusive leadership skills. Having designed and delivered executive and graduate courses in diversity leadership, Myers' ongoing interactions with international students prompted her to think more critically about the mechanisms of inclusion and performance.  Her atypical approach integrates all of her professional expertise to provide a challenging, thought provoking, and high impact learning experience that both inspires people and equips them with tools to be more inclusive and effective.Contact Valerie>>>    

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Strategic Curiosity™ Seminars:​ 
​​Strategic Curiosity is a catalyst for human performance. In one elegant solution, Strategic Curiosity™ training conquers "unconscious" and "lazy" thinking that undermine performance. Valerie created this series in response to surprising findings from her team's study of the Work Climate and Diversity Management in Michigan Hospitals, funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. Training cultivates thoughts, behaviors and skills at multiple levels (e.g., social, intrapersonal, and neurological) to improve observation, objectivity and decision-making, and to facilitate social learning that fuels innovation and problem solving. This advanced learning experience integrates ground-breaking developments in cognitive neuroscience and machine learning with Valerie's training in behavioral intervention planning.  Valerie has successfully conducted these highly engaging seminars for leaders at all levels in various industries. Contact Valerie>>>  ​

Strategy Formulation & Planning: Valerie helps leaders align the organization with its operating environment. Going beyond typical SWOT and PEST, Valerie utilizes frameworks from sociology and macro organization theory that provide additional rigor to the analytic process, capturing subtle yet vital elements that are needed for a comprehensive plan. She has conducted situational analyses and facilitated strategic planning for historic and emerging arts, healthcare, and charitable organizations. To accelerate the planning process, she uses Strategic Curiosity™ exercises. Contact Valerie>>>  ​
In sum, Valerie Myers, Ph.D. is a scholar-practitioner that  translates theory into evidence-based solutions that achieve results. Through her work, she help leaders take reflective actions to elevate performance. ​
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Learn more at www.valeriemyers.org
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Visit the Specialist with Spirit
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EDUCATION
Dual Ph.D.  Organizational Psychology; Policy & Program Planning     University of Michigan
M.A.            Organizational Psychology                                               University of Michigan
M.S.W.        Policy & Program Planning                                               University of Michigan
Bachelor's   Psychology                                                                     University of Michigan
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