Answering the Call to Live My Purpose
For more than three decades, I’ve had a front-row seat to the realities of leadership — the pressure, the complexity, the loneliness at the top, and the profound responsibility of influencing the lives of others. I’ve counseled Fortune 500 executives, tech startup founders, healthcare leaders, and university administrators, giving me a rare vantage point into how organizations thrive…and how they can spiral into dysfunction under unconscious leadership.
When I looked back on the patterns and lessons of my observations, one core truth emerged:
Great leadership always begins within.
Before we can effectively lead others, we must embark on a journey to confront the stories, mental models, and unfinished work that shape how we interpret the world. These internal frameworks — often formed long before we step into leadership — quietly influence how we make decisions, respond to conflict, build relationships, and navigate pressure.
When leaders pause to examine these mental models, they expand their capacity for clarity, empathy, and strategic thinking. The inner landscape of a leader ultimately shapes their outer impact — every decision, every conversation, and every culture they build.
That realization was further deepened in my Master’s program at Gonzaga University. At Gonzaga, I was introduced to the philosophy of servant leadership which turns the traditional command-and-control model on its head. Instead of leading through power over others, servant leadership invites us to lead by sharing power with others. It calls leaders to elevate the people they serve, create environments where individuals can grow, and use their influence in service of the greater good.
This paradigm shift solidified how I understood leadership. It gave language and structure to the values I had already begun to live — authenticity, humility, shared purpose, and the belief that leadership is ultimately about helping others thrive.
Today, that philosophy shapes how I help leaders step into this more expansive, human-centered way of leading. It also guides my methodology of leadership development, which is built on evidence-based research on behavioral change and positive psychology and informed by my real-world experience. This approach allows me to meet leaders where they are, amplify what is already strong, and help them integrate the shadow sides that often limit their potential. And serving as an adjunct professor for 14 years taught me the art and science of facilitation, instructional design, and creating learning experiences that lead to genuine transformation.
At the heart of all of this is a single commitment: to help people and organizations fully actualize their potential.
My own experience in leadership changed me. It revealed who I was, pushed me into growth I didn’t always realize I needed, and showed me what becomes possible when we bring our whole, connected, authentic, present selves to the work of leading others.
That is why I created Turas Leadership Consulting, Inc. — because I want to help leaders harness their ability to shape cultures where people thrive and organizations grow stronger in service to the greater good for everyone involved. I’ve spent 30 years helping leaders shape their message; now, my mission is to guide them in discovering the truth beneath their message.
Because, ultimately, my vision for Turas is to be a force in the movement toward greater leadership consciousness.
Which means it’s no longer a profession — it’s my calling.
If you’re interested in a reflection exercise to explore your own inner landscape as a leader click here.