Reimagining Leadership and the Human Experience at Work in the Age of Ai & Perpetual Disruption

I’m Al Adamsen, and my story, like yours undoubtedly, is one of transformation.  My upbringing imposed limiting beliefs.  Like all too many families in the US, financial insecurity played a big part in this.  Schooling, sports, and employers also imposed limiting beliefs on my self-worth by linking my identity, inextricably, to my performance.  It took years – and a lot of learning, unlearning, and relearning – to realize I am not my performance.  Yes, accomplishments, meeting challenges, making mistakes, etc., all influenced the stories I told myself about myself, and these still influence the stories I tell myself about myself today.  The big difference now is that I know my essence is good.  I know my performance is not my full identity; and, as important as anything, that my worth, worthiness, and goodness is simply a matter of fact. It’s unchallengeable, not only by others, but by my own self-critic (and, yes, it still shows up). 

For nearly three decades now, as I’ve looked around, I’ve seen a lot of other people, both young and more experienced, going through similar struggles.  As part of my life’s mission, I’ve worked to help others address these struggles, meet these challenges, alleviate some of the suffering, and find better, more empowering, sustainable ways forward.  This is true in my professional life, and it’s also true in my personal life.

So who am I?  I am kind, curious, creative, compassionate, courageous, and I celebrate others.  I work to create and hold safe spaces so people can be their true, authentic, bold, creative, awesome selves.  I stay in compassionate curiosity and seek to learn, ideate, make decisions, and get things done.  I work to help people feel seen, heard, and empowered through what I call OQI’s (Observations, Questions, & Ideas).  In this way I work with executives, functional leaders, coaches, HR business partners, and others influencing the day-to-day experiences of people in the workplace.

If you’d like to learn about my experiences, education, and accomplishments – the more mundane stuff – you’re welcome to check out my LinkedIn profile.  Here, though, please know I’m a servant leader who celebrates, amplifies, and empowers individuals, teams, groups, and organizations step into their greatness… and I have a lot of fun doing it!

To makin’ great things happen!