New Book Reveals A Purpose-Driven Methodology for Sustainable Leadership Excellence
The Intentional Executive
Transform your leadership. Transform your organization. Transform your legacy.
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Nearly half of all executive transitions fail to meet expectations. Yet purpose-driven leaders consistently defy these odds.
Why?
Because they’ve discovered how to activate their teams’ collective wisdom to create sustainable transformation.
When Smart Leaders Hit Performance Plateaus Despite Having All the Right Pieces
You stare at the past quarter’s dashboard, knowing your organization should be achieving more.
Yet somehow, you sense you’re operating below your true potential. This manifests in two telling ways:
- Board meetings become exercises in explaining why promising initiatives haven’t delivered expected results and
- Team meetings feel repetitive, cycling through the same challenges without generating breakthrough solutions.
Here’s the critical question that changes everything:
What if the problem isn’t your strategy, your team’s capability, or your organization’s potential?
A Research-Based Approach That's Transforming Executive Leadership
The Intentional Executive challenges the persistent myth that leaders must choose between values and results.
Drawing from our ringside view of hundreds of executive journeys, we’ve identified the hidden patterns that separate those who thrive from those who merely survive.
When leaders shift from deficit-focused problem-solving to strengths-based transformation facilitation, sustainable change becomes achievable through an intentional, systematic approach.
As leaders, we often fling ourselves at our work, relying on gut instinct and past experience to carry the day. Sometimes that works, but often we can sense that something is missing. This book offers incredible insights for the leader who wants to be intentional and evidence-driven in their approach.
Patrick and Melissa manage to be both results-driven and human-focused, a rare combination that gives leaders incredible influence when managed carefully. Since reading this book, I’ve put several of their ideas into action with team members and clients. You’ll walk away with actionable insights that change the way you work and lead to stronger results.
Amber A. Johnson, PhD
Business Owner
With just days before our global team offsite in Mexico City and no core team building strategy in place, I was facing a leadership crisis that could derail our entire year.
The Intentional Executive provided exactly the treasure trove of actionable ideas I needed to transform our gathering into an unforgettable experience.
Our team is now performing at peak levels, and it all started with the wisdom found in this remarkable book.
Sam Reeve
Owner, CompTeam
The Purpose-Driven Leadership Methodology
At the heart of The Intentional Executive lies a fundamental shift from traditional command-and-control leadership to what we call “transformation catalysis.” This approach draws from several key methodologies developed through our advisory work:
The Listen, Learn, Lead Framework
Rather than arriving with predetermined solutions, effective executives begin with deep organizational listening. Chapter 2 provides the systematic approach for conducting what we call “strategic listening tours” that reveal hidden opportunities while building stakeholder trust simultaneously.
Appreciative Inquiry Principles
Traditional consulting asks, “What’s broken here?” Our research shows that asking “What’s working exceptionally well?” unlocks far more transformation potential. You’ll discover how to identify and amplify existing organizational strengths rather than exhausting energy on weakness-focused initiatives.
The 5-Lens Strategic Assessment
This proprietary framework (detailed in Appendix 2C) helps executives see their organizations through multiple perspectives simultaneously:
- Purpose Alignment Assessment
- Capability Evaluation
- Impact Measurement
- Implementation Readiness
- Action Planning Architecture
Values-Driven Decision Making
When personal values align with organizational purpose, decision-making becomes both faster and more sustainable. Chapter 1 walks you through the Personal Purpose Discovery process that has helped hundreds of executives find this alignment.
What You’ll Discover in The Intentional Executive
Get Clear on What Matters Most
- Connect with your authentic purpose using the Personal Purpose Discovery framework (page 18)
- Master the 5-Lens Strategic Assessment that reveals hidden opportunities others miss (Page 273)
- Transform vague mandates into specific, measurable transformation strategies using the Transformation Plan Template (page 52)
PART II
Make Investments That Drive Success
- Build championship teams through the Purpose Impact Mapping process (page 72)
- Create psychological safety using proven assessment tools (Page 294)
- Design operational rhythms with the Team Rhythms Framework (page 137)
PART III
Deliver Results
- Architect your executive role using the Time Structuring Framework (page 158)
- Lead with intention through the Leadership Practice Menu (page 170)
- Create sustainable agility with proven flex planning techniques (page 208)
Praise for The Intentional Executive Approach
Breaking Through Plateaus:
How Strategic Executive Transition Support Accelerates Impact
“I was able to enlist them early to assist me with that executive transition so that I could hit the ground running… They have been extremely T-shaped in their practice – able to guide and assist with strategic thinking and planning as well as being able to deep dive on technology and operations.”
— Susan Standiford
Chief Product/Technology Officer, StepStone
Beyond Individual Performance:
Creating Team-Wide Transformation That Sustains
“Most importantly, they got the whole team excited and mobilized for the path ahead. It was transformative.”
— Anna M. Amato, Ph.D.,
Caretaker, Company Culture, edtec central, LLC
From Crisis to Confidence:
From Arrested Development
to Sustainable Growth
“We were able to break out of our arrested development as an organization and take the next steps toward becoming a sustainable nonprofit with a vision for how to serve our community.”
— Missy Schrock
Executive Director, Center for Healing & Hope
The Transformation You’ll Experience
Current Situation
Staring at dashboards hoping for improvement
Meetings recycling familiar challenges
Calendar dominated by crisis management
Carrying organizational anxiety alone
Defensive stakeholder conversations
Directing disengaged team member
Questioning your fit for transformation challenges
Your New Reality
Opening analytics with confidence in systematic progress
Conversations generating collaborative solutions
Protected time for strategic thinking and relationship building
Sharing accountability through aligned team engagement
Partnership-focused discussions about scaling impact
Facilitating proactive problem-solving and innovation
Recognition as a leader who consistently creates sustainable results through collaborative approaches
Why This Book Matters Now
Unlike traditional leadership books that offer generic frameworks, The Intentional Executive provides a research-based methodology specifically designed for today’s most pressing leadership challenges:
Each chapter provides practical frameworks, real case studies, and implementation tools you can apply immediately—transforming research insights into tangible organizational outcomes.
About the Authors
As Co-Founders of Ad Lucem Group, they combine complementary expertise in organizational strategy and cultural transformation, helping purpose-driven leaders achieve exceptional results while honoring their values.˙
Lead with Intention
Melissa Norcross, PhD, MBA
is a strategy executive with extensive global leadership experience in software, technology, and financial services.
She coaches executives and leaders through MITxPro, Emeritus Institute and the Naval Postgraduate School. Her research focuses on organizational change, team performance, and values-driven leadership.
Power. Purpose. Precision.
Patrick Farran, PhD, MBA
brings nearly three decades of leadership experience, operating as CEO of Ad Lucem Group, specializing in executive performance and organizational transformation.
Previously Director of Consulting for SAS Institute and executive coach at University of Notre Dame’s Executive MBA and Executive Masters of Non-Profit Administration programs.
Transform your leadership. Transform your organization. Transform your legacy.
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