- Location: Austin, TX, USA
- Local Time:–:–:–
Barry Bales
I support leaders who want to become more effective in their work and to do so in more fulfilling ways.
My clients range from executive teams of state-wide non-profits, university administrators and their teams, a regional water-management authority, manufacturing company with global distribution, and health and human service agencies in Texas and Australia. I work with individual coaching clients, intact leadership teams, and cohort-based leadership development programs.
Two current examples: I am working with state directors of a national/international not-for-profit organization in shifting mindsets and practices from what has worked over the last 25 years to discovering and developing alternatives for thriving in an increasingly complex and changed landscape. I am also working with a faculty and administrators in a public university to think strategically about what is needed to remain competitive in the changing environment of higher education.
When working with a client I draw upon my experiences and learning as both a coach and a leadership educator to learn what are the client’s development goals and what are the factors influencing their choice for development. There is no “one size fits all” in this work, so the client and I together identify some initial ways forward, utilizing a variety of methods and practices as becomes appropriate.
Early in my career a mentor invited me into his work in leadership and executive development. That work inspired me to pursue a unique (for that time) PhD program that had a focus on systems thinking, leadership, and adult development, including an introduction to the developmental theories of Kegan, Kohlberg, Loevinger, and others.
After years of running a successful leadership development training center in a public university, mid-career questions I started asking about “what’s next?” started a learning exploration that led me to “rediscover” Bob Kegan and his work with Lisa Lahey in Immunity to Change, which led to work by Nick Petrie, Heifetz and Linsky, Bill Joiner, Adam Kahane, and others. As a colleague and I continued to explore what was “transformational leadership,” we discovered Jennifer Garvey Berger’s Changing on the Job. That relatively short period of discovery changed my career interests, direction, and approach to developing leaders.
STATE DIRECTOR“When I knew the complexity of the areas in which my fellow state-directors and I were dealing, I knew I had to call Barry Bales. Not only can Barry focus the mind, focus the group, focus the situation, he can do so in a thought-provoking yet engaging way, evidenced by what my colleagues were able to take to their own situations across the country. Barry’s influence and methods are quiet, gentle, yet incredibly powerful.”
NATIONAL NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION
I have served on client service teams for one of our firm’s largest clients and for two of our smaller clients. Additionally, I have served as a small-group facilitator for numerous cohorts in our larger programs. I most enjoy working and learning with CL colleagues to co-design and deliver the customized services we offer in Cultivating Leadership.
I earned a PhD in Adult and Human Resource Development Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin, 1993. Additionally, I have certifications in: MBTI (1996), EQ 2.0 (2015), The Leadership Circle (2017), Cynefin (2017), Immunity to Change (2019), Growth Edge Coaching (2019), and Key Polarity Indicator (2023).
When I am not working, I tend to be outdoors as much as possible: walking on the beach or in a nearby park, hiking and camping in the mountains, struggling around a golf course, and occasionally strapping on snow skis. I am a husband, father of two adult children, and grandfather of three, and best of all are those times when those most important to me share in an outdoor adventure like camping or skiing.