I’m not typically one who celebrates (or even remembers!) anniversaries. If it weren’t for LinkedIn messages from many of my colleagues, I wouldn’t have remembered that Morningstar Ventures is 25 years old! It’s hard to believe that much time has passed, and I am so very grateful for all of our clients, colleagues, and team members who have made that milestone possible.
I launched Morningstar Ventures when I moved to Arizona from Atlanta, where I had owned and led a similar practice for nearly 10 years. In my latest podcast with Dr. Damian Goldvarg, I said that at the time I was embarking on my career, I thought the “shelf life” of transformational leadership development was limited. I naively thought that, with so many of us working to shift organizational culture from old-style command-and-control to a facilitative, participative, and collaborative one, we would arrive at a new (and better) state of existence in organizations. Yet here I am. Just today, a client said this work is “more important now than ever,” and I agree. I’m as busy as ever, helping clients who wish to lead with courage, compassion, and humility for greater team engagement and productivity.
While a highly directive and sometimes even fear-based style of leadership is still prevalent in many company cultures, I have hope, and I see forward progression. Clients hire me and my collaborators when they want and desire connection and engagement with their teams and are motivated to invest in making those positive changes. That brings me true joy and fulfillment, even after all these years.
It also brings me joy to highlight others making a difference in this field. I had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Damiam Goldvarg about his new book, Lead with a Coaching Mindset: How the Best Leaders Unlock Potential. He shared what he is observing as well as helping transform, with leaders and their approach, not just in the U.S., but globally. His book comes on the heels of Gallup’s 2025 “State of the Global Workforce” report and thus is quite timely.
Dr. Golvarg summarizes engagement as the level of commitment, energy, and willingness employees put forth to do their work. Globally, the level of engagement decreased from 23% to 21% in 2025. The level of engagement among managers is also decreasing, so then it’s no surprise that the overall workforce is disengaged. What is the solution?
I hope you’ll listen to my podcast, as Golvarg shares the purpose of his book: helping leaders unlock potential and engagement by becoming effective coaches. He translates his many years of experience as an executive coach and a trainer of coaches and leaders, as well as the International Coaching Federation’s competencies, into practical application for leaders of all levels.
The lesson here, after 25 years: Never stop learning. We must all be continuous learners, and we all lead. We are role models. Learners, leaders, and role models need coaches.
