Deb de Vries, Ph.D.
My purpose is to help leaders embody HARA, with empathy, creativity, and integrity.
With over 20 years of experience in corporate environments—such as Oliver Wyman, Citibank, and JetBlue—as well as consulting with IDEO and working with family businesses like the Walton Family and The Heritage Group, I have witnessed firsthand the price of leadership on one’s personal and professional psyche. I have the battle scars to prove it!
My career path has not been linear or expected, so I understand what it means to switch careers, relocate, receive tough feedback, and hold others accountable. Being a leader today is hard.
My Ph.D. in Industrial & Organizational Psychology has given me credibility in the academic and business world to design new organizational systems, but my training as an executive NeuroLeadership and Somatic coach is what I believe helped me survive, then thrive. I deeply understand how to support leaders during times of uncertainty and complexity.
We are all a work in progress.
My Superpowers
As a former IDEO human-centered designer, I always start with empathy, understanding where you are at, right now. I am a sounding board, cheerleader, and yoda. I hold your struggles with you until we can work them out together. I truly believe “strong opinons, weakly held” is a good mantra to hold. Understaning other points of view is critical to bringing others along.
There are three things I am known for:
Synthesizer.
As a recovering organizational designer, I understand how businesses are structured and the challenges leaders face on a daily basis. I am known for taking complex organizational concepts and simplifying them into easy to understand frameworks and concepts for others to follow. I’m known for saying, “it’s messy before it’s beautiful".
Driver.
In all of my work as a change leader, I know how to get from point A to point B, while navigating complex ecosystems. It’s not only cerebral. You also have to move in that direction, step by baby step using an integrative systems approach. One of my favorite CEOs often says, “progress over perfection.” I embody that - let’s just start and iterate as we go. See my article here: Successful Innovation Labs Have These Four Things in Common | IDEO.
Empathizer.
In my spare time…
I navigate the world using different lenses. At times, this perspective needs to be at 30,000 feet- strategic. At other moments, it may need to be at 100 feet - deeply personal. Sometimes, it means taking a break and trying something new from a completely different angle. One thing it will always be is unique and ever changing. That I know for sure.
I’m constantly inspired by people, places, and experiences. It fuels my creative soul.