Proteus International

If your organization keeps training the same leadership skills without seeing them show up in practice, this edition is for you. Inside this week’s Proteus newsletter: a new podcast episode and blog with Jeff Mitchell on the design discipline behind development that actually sticks, as well as Marie Holive's conversation with Marie Berthelon Gaviard Berthelon on leading change inside a legacy system.

Many leadership teams say their biggest challenge is execution, but when we look more closely, the real issue is often decision clarity. Two questions matter: • Who has the authority to decide? • Who is responsible for making sure the decision leads to results? When those two things are unclear… …the same issues resurface in every meeting …work slows down waiting for a call that never gets made …teams move forward with different assumptions, and no one realizes it until something breaks We see this often in organizations going through major change. A reorg gets announced. Everyone is busy, but underneath the busy-ness, decisions that should take a day are taking weeks. We built a simple worksheet to help leadership teams break that pattern. It takes about 5 minutes to complete. It shows you exactly where ownership is unclear, and gives you a plan to fix it before your next meeting. Comment “accountability” and we’ll DM you the worksheet. If you want a second set of eyes on what you find, book a free 20-minute call with us at the link below. We'll tell you the biggest bottleneck we see.

International Women’s Day often sparks important conversations. But what happens the week after? At Proteus, we’ve been thinking about this deeper question: What does it actually take for leadership values to stick over time inside an organization? In this week’s newsletter, we explore: • What purposeful leadership looks like in practice • Why transformation starts with your people • How the human side of selling can determine whether change actually creates value If you care about building leadership that lasts — not just leadership that sounds good — this one’s for you.

Welcome to Proteus, Andrea Wasserman! Andrea is joining us as a Senior Consultant, and will be helping leaders strengthen their skills as a facilitator in our Leadership Development practice. She’ll also be guiding organizations through change as a consultant in our Transformation practice. As a former C-level executive with more than 20 years of operating experience, she brings a practitioner’s perspective to strategy, organizational alignment, and change leadership. That includes partnering closely with boards and executive teams to clarify direction, address underperformance, and catalyze great results. Andrea knows what it’s like to be a business leader, and the challenges and pain points they face in both individual professional growth and organizational growth. She’ll bring this deep understanding and experience to her work. We can’t wait to get started!

Many boards are operating in environments that are becoming more complex, more visible, and more demanding of director contribution. When expectations for board members evolve faster than preparation pathways, directors can find themselves working harder without always having the strategic space or clarity needed to be most effective. In our work with leaders preparing for or serving in board roles, we’ve seen that board effectiveness grows from intentional development across listening, collaboration, decision-making, and change leadership. That foundation shapes how directors contribute to strategy, support management, and help organizations navigate what’s ahead. In this month’s newsletter, we explore the skills modern board members are being asked to bring into the boardroom and how leaders can prepare for their first or next board opportunity. If you’re thinking about board service or looking to deepen your impact as a director, this may help you focus where it matters most.

Only when you let go of the old can you embrace the new. Your organization’s change will succeed or fail based on how well those involved can transition to a new reality.
 Unfortunately, too many organizations fail in their change efforts because of a lack of engagement or buy-in, a lack of clear leadership, capabilities gaps, or poor planning. Change isn’t just execution alone. It requires:
 • a shared understanding of the current situation • a clear vision for the future • a plan to get from where you are today to where you want to be
 This is what we help organizations achieve with our Accelerating Change offering. Using our human-centered approach to change, we work with you to: • discover and clarify the key factors driving the change, and any obstacles to transformation  • design the change with you, using our Five-step Change Model and Change Arc, to accelerate your organization’s transformation • deliver support, post-design session, through process improvement, change consulting, and coaching
 If you’re ready to let go of the old so you can embrace the new, reach out today to book a call!

Many organizations launch transformation efforts with momentum but without full clarity on why the change is needed in the first place. When that “why” isn’t well understood, even well-intentioned efforts can lose alignment, stall progress, or create resistance along the way. In our work with leaders navigating change, we’ve found that successful transformation starts with understanding the nature of the change itself, what’s driving it, and what success actually looks like. That clarity becomes the foundation everything else depends on. In this week’s newsletter, we explore the first step in our transformation model and why taking time to define the change upfront can make the difference between movement and meaningful progress. If you’re leading change and feeling stuck at the starting line, this may help you find the right place to begin.

Organizations are eagerly jumping into AI adoption initiatives. Yet they’re often doing so without a map to guide them through this new and exciting, yet still mysterious, world. Because of that, many organizations are losing their way and are unsure which steps to take next. As we work with more organizations on their AI transformation, we’ve uncovered a few common obstacles that can halt forward progress: leadership lacks a coherent AI vision at the top there’s plenty of tactical work using AI , but not much in the way of results teams are finding it hard  to integrate third-party tools there’s no structured strategy beyond the demo phase This is why every engagement of ours begins with Discovery. Different organizations need to use AI in different ways. We start by listening and learning more about what’s unique to your organization, including your opportunities for AI adoption and the hurdles that will hinder AI use. Those insights help us create an AI transformation strategy with you that will focus on where AI is best suited for your organization. Instead of wandering in the dark in this new AI world, we turn on the lights and map the way forward with you. If you’re trying to adopt AI but seem to be stuck, book a call with us today so we can find the way forward together. You can learn more about how Proteus can help you with AI in this blog.

Leadership gets harder as organizations scale. Clarity, trust, and discipline matter more, not less. This week’s Proteus newsletter explores what it takes to lead well at scale, with insights from a conversation with Jason Beesley, CFO of Pattern, reflections on Marie Holive stepping into the CEO role at Proteus International, and a fresh Forbes perspective on balancing global growth with local consistency.

The new year opens an  ambitious new chapter for Proteus International as Marie Holive becomes Proteus’ third CEO in 35 years. Marie first worked with Proteus as a global executive at NBCUniversal, and her experience as a client led her back to Proteus when she transitioned from corporate executive to board member, coach, and consultant. She quickly became a sought-after Proteus coach (and also at London Business School and INSEAD), and ever since has taken on expanded responsibility–from practice director of Proteus’ fastest growing practice to COO, and now CEO. Marie brings extensive executive experience to the role, an innovative mindset, and a gift for accelerating change. Equally important, she is a role model of Proteus’ values–strengthening, illuminating and trustworthy. Making Proteus Stronger for Clients This move expands our overall leadership capacity and deploys more resources to make true transformation easier for clients. Marie will drive execution of firm strategy, while partners Jeff Mitchell and Laird McLean will focus on deepening relationships with clients and increasing our impact on their organizations through the practices they lead. You may already know Marie from her posts or Forbes Business Council articles sharing her insights or client successes, as a host of The Proteus Leader Show, or perhaps you already work with her directly. If you haven’t yet connected, there will be many opportunities in 2026. We’re thrilled about this new chapter!