Leadership Development that feels fresh and relevant no matter what training you've had before.
Every leader has challenges they're dealing with right now. Training is most engaging when it offers unexpected new insight on their own immediate and highest priority needs.
The Unexpected Truth About Leadership Principles
Every leader has principles they've learned to believe in and draw strength from.
Flexibility... Trust... Vulnerability... Accountability... Courage...
What many don't know, is that every principle has an equally necessary counterpart that feels like its opposite.
Flexibility is balanced by grit... Trust is balanced by healthy skepticism...
This is simply a universal reality called "paradox."
When leaders are not getting the results they want, something important is being neglected—something that's usually hard to see with the focus of their current leadership strengths.
A focus on driving results, for example, may neglect fully enlisting the team. A focus on building warm relationships may neglect needed accountability.
To see how leadership strengths can sometimes undermine results, check out the free Leadership Strengths Self Assessment.
Paradox-Awareness is a Leadership Superpower
The recently released book, Tension—Mastering the Superpower of Paradox-Aware Leadership is a short and engaging introduction to leading with new understanding. It explores seven common paradoxes and gives leaders a simple, repeatable process for understanding their own barriers and finding breakthrough solutions.
Get The Book
The Breakthrough Leadership Workshop turns insight into immediate action.
The workshop itself is a live half-day experience with an expertly trained coach. It's optimized to maximize application and minimize work disruption.
As impactful as that core experience is, the workshop pre-work and the full year of follow-on support are essential to achieving the breakthrough solutions our participants expect.
The LPC is confident enough in what we deliver that it even comes with a money back guarantee.
The Power of Both/And Thinking
The secret to finding hidden solutions is learning to frame your goals and conflicting commitments as two sides of a paradox—a situation where two seeming opposites are mutually dependent.
You may have a goal that requires bold action, but have a conflicting commitment to avoid risks. Courage (bold action) and Caution (risk avoidance) seem like opposites, but both are necessary. They're like the two pillars of a suspension bridge. The best solutions are both courageous and cautious.
Paradox-aware leadership is also called "Both/And" thinking or "Integrative" thinking. It's what lets you look for and find hidden possibilities.
Turn Frustration Into Momentum
The Leadership Progress Cycle is a simple, repeatable process for using paradox-awareness to find breakthrough solutions. It has 4 steps:
- Clarify Goals
- Identify Crux Barrier
- Experiment
- Measure Results
The Breakthrough Leadership workshop experience provides instruction, expert coaching, and application activities to help you and your team find your own breakthrough solutions.
About the Founder
Jared Oates is the creator of the Leadership Progress Cycle, a practical framework that helps leaders work with paradox to create lasting impact.
A self-taught engineer with a background in English Rhetoric, he’s spent over a decade designing learning experiences that go beyond surface-level training. As co-founder of Niche Academy, Jared has helped thousands of leaders in public and nonprofit sectors navigate real-world challenges.
Known for blending practical tools, ancient wisdom, and personal insight, he helps leaders see tension not as a threat—but as the energy source for innovation, trust, and growth.
Your Next Breakthrough Starts Here
The place where you're stuck is exactly where the best innovations are waiting.
Learn About The Breakthrough Leadership Workshops