Janet Williams Hepler, MA, PCC

Are you (or someone you know) facing an ICF PCC credential performance evaluation? My team and I have been assessing ICF performance evaluations since 2012, guiding leaders and coaches toward ACC, PCC, and MCC certification. So we've seen all the biggest mistakes, and worked to find simple ways to help. One of the biggest hurdles is the big leap from ACC to PCC. After more than a decade of listening to recorded coaching sessions, I’ve seen 4 simple shifts that make a real difference in passing PCC and set you up for MCC. If you or someone you know is preparing for PCC evaluations, these quick tips can help deepen your coaching sessions, which is exactly what ICF markers look for. When I worked toward my MCC, I remember how tough it was. Many coaches today feel the same overwhelm. It’s not you, the path really is challenging but also a worthy pursuit. That’s why I’m here: to make the process clearer and more supportive, so you can grow into the kind of coach you want to be. 👏

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Are you waiting for your manager to “do something” about psychological safety? Now leaders do create the climarte for safety to flourish...but, what are you doing to create it? Psychological safety is everyone’s job…not just the leader’s... This one really hit home for me. We often expect leaders to create safety…and yes, they absolutely set the tone. But they’re not the only ones in the room. Team climate is shaped by all of us, every day. Years ago, I worked in a team where someone rolled their eyes every time I spoke up and tried to belittle me at any opportunity. They weren’t my boss. But they had a huge impact on whether I felt safe to share. Psychological safety isn’t just built (or broken) by formal authority, it’s shaped by the culture of the team. The looks. The interruptions. The side comments. The silences. And on the flipside, it’s built in the moments where someone backs you up, shows curiosity, encourages difference, or makes space for an idea that’s still half-formed. You don’t need a title to do that You just need to notice your impact So, if you care about building a better team climate, here’s the uncomfortable truth... You might already be influencing it, for better or worse. Psychological safety is a shared responsibility. What get what we tolerate (we also get what we celebrate!) What we model matters. The space we make for others matters. So, what kind of climate are you creating? #PsychologicalSafety #TeamClimate #EverydayLeadership #InclusiveTeams #HumanLeadership #SpeakUpCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #LearningInAction #TeamDynamics

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Reposting this excellent HBR piece on high-performing teams and psychological safety because it reinforces what I see consistently in my work with leadership teams. When I design and facilitate team retreats, psychological safety isn't just a nice-to-have topic we might touch on—it's foundational to everything we do. Before any retreat, I always assess where the team currently stands on psychological safety, because you can't build high performance without it. Those assessments reveal fascinating patterns: teams that think they're 'fine' often discover significant blind spots, while others are surprised by their existing strengths. Either way, we weave safety-building elements throughout the entire retreat experience—from how we structure discussions and handle conflict to the way we approach goal-setting and accountability. The magic happens when teams realize they can disagree constructively, admit mistakes without fear, and ask the questions everyone's been thinking but no one's been saying. That's when the real work begins. What's your experience? Have you seen the difference psychological safety makes in team dynamics?

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Experienced practitioners recognize it immediately, but it is still widely underestimated: strategy and implementation are driven by four forces, not two. At the top are the explicit drivers. Content is about direction. Where are we going, where are we now, and what must change. Process is about how we translate that direction into steps, decisions, and tools. This is where most strategy conversations start and often where they end. But strategy does not move through organizations on content and process alone. Below the surface sit the tacit drivers. Mindset shapes how people interpret the strategy, what they believe is possible, and whether they see it as meaningful or threatening. Behavior determines whether new priorities actually show up in daily routines, meetings, trade offs, and decisions. Without shifts here, even the best strategy remains theoretical. What makes this difficult is not that mindset and behavior are vague. It is that they require different skills. You cannot manage them with frameworks alone. They demand facilitation, sensemaking, and the ability to work with human dynamics under pressure. This is exactly why we designed the Certified Strategy & Implementation Consultant (CSIC) program the way we did. Starting February 4, the fifth cohort of this 100% skill-based and practice-oriented program, focuses deliberately on all four drivers. Not just content and process, but especially mindset and behavior, the parts most often ignored and most decisive in practice. If you want to strengthen your ability to make strategy work in the real world, you can still join.

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It’s my understanding that the ASCM Board is meeting this weekend, so I want to offer a few thoughts—and hopefully some talking points and action items—on where meaningful change must begin. 🔄 Refocus 📊 Reorganize ⚙️ Execute 🚀 Drive Results ASCM needs a reset. To stay relevant, we must return to our core mission: educating and developing mid-level supply chain professionals. That starts with leadership. My Recommendations 🔹 ASCM Board Reduce the Board from 10 to 5 paid members, focused solely on governance—not daily operations. Realign the bylaws to reinforce ASCM’s identity as an educational nonprofit. Increase accountability to ASCM members and the global profession. 🔹 ASCM Executive Staff Consolidate the officer team from 10 to 6 to reduce costs and eliminate overlap. Ensure the CEO is fully in the CEO role, supported by a focused, high-performing team. Establish a unified Chief Learning & Supply Chain Education Officer to lead all education and certification efforts. If ASCM wants to move forward, then let’s get it started.

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