LEADERSHIP WORTH FOLLOWING - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Founder
- Member of the Consulting Team
Bianca Cardenas is an A. Dale Thompson Fellow in Executive Assessment & Coaching & Consultant
She has expertise in business psychology, emotional intelligence, and authentic leadership. In addition to her work with clients, Dr. Cardenas serves in the assessment process, where she is responsible for interpreting results for various personality and problem-solving inventories. Prior to working in consulting, Dr. Cardenas has experience in project, field, and client management in for- and non-profit organizations.
Dr. Cardenas holds an MS and PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University and Walden University. She is currently pursuing her Executive MBA from Indiana University. Dr. Cardenas has published research on the effects of authentic leadership and employee well-being and psychological capital. Dr. Cardenas is currently affiliated with the Society of Consulting Psychology, the American Psychological Association, and the Society of Emotional Intelligence.
Job Titles:
- Organizational Psychologist
- Scientist
- Senior Vice President Science & Research and Founder & Managing Director of Workforce Lifecycle Analytics
Brandon is an organizational psychologist and scientist focused on the study of people, attitudes, emotions, and behavior in the workplace. As leader in talent management and organization development functions in practice, he is focused on using practical, applied research and analytics strategies to build data and evidence-based people practices, processes, and tools to strengthen organizations through their workforce.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Advisory Board
- Director, Science Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Corporate Officer
- Executive Vice President
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Consulting Team
Cara Wade serves as Executive Vice President for Leadership Worth Following, LLC. She is experienced in consulting with clients to help address key talent needs including assessment (for both selection and development purposes), succession planning, coaching, and training. Established in January 2004, LWF is a premier provider of services, tools, and processes that help organizations identify, select, develop, and retain exemplary leaders. In her role, Dr. Wade serves as an executive coach and lead assessor for LWF's leadership assessments.
Dr. Wade works with executives across a variety of industries and businesses. These include high-tech, retail, financial services, manufacturing, direct sales, and transportation. Her goal in working with leaders is to help them become the leader they intend to be. She has experience coaching leaders who want to develop skills in the following areas:
High-impact Communication Skills
Developing, Coaching, and Motivating Others
Influence and Impact Skills
Building Collaborative Relationships
Fostering Team Alignment
Increasing Self-Awareness
Prior to joining LWF, she spent time at PepsiCo where she managed core people processes (including the performance management process, organization health survey, 360-survey, and people development systems) for the corporate client group globally. Additionally, she was responsible for managing several existing leadership assessment processes and centers, as well as co-creating the process by which the top 200 leaders globally within the organization would be assessed and coached. As a part of this work, Cara assessed and coached many of the senior most leaders within the organization.
In terms of research interests, she actively contributes to the field in several ways. Her research was presented on the topics of Breaking the Assessment Glass Ceiling (assessment in the C-Suite) and Learnings from Developing a High Potential Assessment Program at SIOP in the Spring of 2014. Cara was a co-author of the landmark article The Search for Worthy Leadership published in December of 2008 by the Consulting Psychology Journal and A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationship between Emotional Dissonance and Emotional Exhaustion in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology (2011). Cara was a co-author of a chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Work and Family (2015) which addresses the issues of work-life balance from the organization's perspective.
Cara earned her BA in Psychology from Baylor University in 2006 and her MS in Industrial Organizational Psychology (2008) and her PhD in Experimental Psychology (2011) from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is currently affiliated with the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Consulting Team
- Vice President
- Vice President, LWF Assessment & Coaching Services
Christa Mason joined LWF in 2016 and currently serves as Vice President, Assessment and Coaching Services. In this role, she focuses on leadership assessment, development, and coaching with the goal of helping people become the leaders they intend to be. She works with leaders across organizational levels, using different tools (e.g., personality, emotional intelligence, multi-rater inventories) to provide impactful, actionable insights that help leaders "do better and be better." She has experience coaching and developing leaders' skills in the following areas: communication and influence, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, building relationships and teams, and transitioning into new roles and assignments.
In addition to her assessment and coaching work, Christa also develops and delivers research-based workshops, customized assessment centers, and competency models. She has experience working with organizations in both the private and public sectors, including transportation, retail, financial services, manufacturing, and technology companies and government institutions.
During her time at LWF, Christa has also served on the firm's Science & Research team, where she assisted with product development. She continues to use her background in research methods and analytics to provide clients with evidence-based solutions, tools, and services.
Christa graduated summa cum laude from Rice University with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and a minor in anthropology. She received her PhD in industrial-organizational psychology at The University of Texas at Arlington. Her research focused on humility, leadership potential, and leadership derailment. She currently lives in Dallas and is affiliated with the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Society of Consulting Psychologists, and DAIOP.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Advisory Board
- Co - Founder & Director Emeritus, Science Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Director Emeritus, Advisory Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Director Emeritus, Advisory Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Business Manager
- Member of the Operations Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Consulting Team
- Senior Vice President
- Business Executive and Consultant, and Co - Founder and Senior Vice President
Jane Hansen is a seasoned business executive and consultant, and co-founder and senior vice president for Leadership Worth Following, LLC, headquartered in Irving, Texas. Established in January 2004, LWF helps organizations identify and develop talented people who have the capacity, commitment, and character to become top-performing leaders worthy of followership. In her role, Jane serves as an executive coach and lead assessor for LWF's leadership assessments.
Jane brings over 30 years of experience applying her knowledge of psychology and business to the talent selection and development needs of organizations. She works with executives across a variety of industries and businesses, including high-tech, computing, retail, transportation, insurance, healthcare, non-profit, and small entrepreneurial companies. Her goal in working with leaders is to help them become the leader they intend to be. She has extensive experience coaching leaders who want to develop skills in the following areas:
Communicating with Impact
Developing, Coaching, and Engaging Others
Influencing
Building Collaborative Relationships
Fostering Team Alignment
Increasing Self-Awareness
Jane has extensive consulting experience, and worked 12 years with a global consulting firm specializing in people and organizational development. During that time, she worked in the assessment and development of management and executive talent, strategic competency modeling, individual coaching, and leadership training and development. She found the work in individual development especially rewarding, so for the last 15 years, she has focused on leadership assessment and coaching. While working for the consulting firm, she also served as general manager for their Austin office, where she built a significant Central Texas presence and introduced many new clients to the services and products of the firm.
Jane also has experience beyond consulting. She started and led the Training and Organizational Development Department for IXC Communications. As Director, Training and Organizational Development, she built a leadership development curriculum from the ground up for all levels of management, designed a selection process for recruiters and hiring managers, provided individual coaching to senior leaders, facilitated executive team meetings, and project-managed a company-wide vision and values initiative.
Jane received both her B.A. and M.A. in psychology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Her Ph.D., also from SMU, is in experimental social psychology. Jane has published articles on the subjects of interpersonal perception and social interaction. She remains active in various community service and non-profit groups, and presently resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two children.
Job Titles:
- Director, Advisory Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Operations Team
Keely Mobley has been with LWF since 2010. She uses her Software Engineering background to create and automate tools in LWF's Client Portals (supporting assessment processes) and LWF Insights (supporting the DRiV).
Madison Keith serves as an Associate Consultant at Leadership Worth Following, LLC. She aids in assessing a variety of clients and writing report deliverables.
Madison graduated from East Central University with a BS in psychology, a minor in business management, and a certificate in global business. In 2021, she received her MA in industrial-organizational psychology from The University of Tulsa. She is currently finishing her dissertation at TU; it focuses on leader identity development and integration. Upon its completion, she will have a PhD in industrial-organizational psychology. She is affiliated with the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Society of Psychologists in Leadership.
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant
- Senior Consultant With
Marilyn Goerz Davis, MS is a Senior Consultant with Leadership Worth Following, LLC. She is recognized for her ability to assess, connect with and develop leaders, and to advise organizations regarding the fulfillment of their talent needs.
Continuing to build on a 20-year consulting career, Marilyn brings a successful track record of understanding businesses' leadership needs, advising on the selection and positioning of leaders, and evaluating individuals' capacity and potential to contribute to the success of the organization. She has worked extensively with managers and executives to help them understand their capabilities and identify ways to increase effectiveness. Her maturity, insight and judgment combined with a talent for delivering sensitive messages in a way people can benefit from them have earned her the respect of business leaders.
Following several years as a probation and parole officer, Marilyn completed her graduate degree in 1986 and began a consulting career with Batrus Hollweg PhDs, Inc., a Dallas-based psychological consulting firm. During her tenure there, she became Director of Consulting Services and played an instrumental role in growing and managing the business, developing a cadre of consultants, and solidifying the firm's reputation as experts in the field of selection and development. She then moved on to consult with businesses independently and with various colleagues.
Over the years, Marilyn has made tangible contributions to people and organizations through: providing assessment, career guidance and developmental coaching for executives and managers; establishing and evaluating selection systems to improve hiring success rates and performance; developing competency models for organizational leadership or specific positions; training and advising other consultants in personality and aptitude test use and interpretation; applying Spanish language knowledge and insight into cultural differences to translate selection and training materials and company surveys. Her experience includes working extensively with the restaurant and hospitality industries, as well as high-tech, financial services, manufacturing, equipment distribution, railroad and healthcare organizations. Still based in the Dallas area, she works with companies across the United States.
Her educational background includes an MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of North Texas (1987), and a BA in Sociology from Central State University in Oklahoma. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Dallas Area Industrial/ Organizational Psychologists.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Corporate Officer
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Consulting Team
Job Titles:
- Director Emeritus, Advisory Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Advisory Board
- Consulting Psychology Research & Consultant
- Lead Director, Science Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Science Advisory Board
- Director, Science Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Lead Director, Advisory Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Operations Team
- Administrative Services Coordinator
Torie is the Administrative Services Coordinator for LWF. In this role, she manages all aspects of assessment services, which is one of LWF's core offerings. Torie, also plays an active role in supporting client management, assisting business development activities, and strengthening the firm's focus on exceptional client service.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & Director, Advisory Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Operations Team
- Director, Client Services & Software Development
Virginia Phillips has been with LWF since 2011. She is the primary contact for LWF's largest clients coordinating all services.