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Mike Powell, MBA is a leadership consultant, facilitator, and business coach who ignites passion, growth, and energy for positive change in people and organizations in every sector. A dynamic speaker and trainer, Mike draws upon the lessons learned from his unique life experiences to help individuals, teams, and organizations improve their performance and achieve success. With more than 20 years of experience, Mike has delivered keynote speeches, facilitated engaging workshops, and led large-scale consulting initiatives for organizations nationwide. Through his inspiring message, audiences across the globe have been inspired to reach their goals.

Mike has worked with leaders in some of the nation’s leading organizations and federal agencies, including Johnson & Johnson, The Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The National Education Association, NASA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

He is an alumnus of Hampton University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2000, and Southeastern University, where he received his master of business administration. He has also completed post-graduate work in strategic leadership at Regent University and the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. He is a certified executive coach and is certified in Myer’s Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), emotional intelligence, situational leadership, and the human element.

Mike is a past board member of the Training Officers Consortium of Washington, DC, and was recognized as one of the top “40 under 40” leaders in the state of Maryland by the Prince George’s Social Innovation Fund in 2016. Mike believes leadership is about service. He looks forward to continuing to use his gifts, talents, skills, and resources to serve people worldwide.

In addition to his professional work, Mike is passionate about using coaching, training, and leadership development for social impact. He is a founding member of the Lifting As We Climb Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering young men in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Detroit, Michigan since 2003.  

Mike Powell

Earn your coaching certificate from ATD. Learn coaching skills, emotional intelligence, and leadership coaching to elevate your career. Enroll today!

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Elad Levinson contends that using the term “soft skills” perpetuates the assumption, bias, and habit of thinking that soft equals expendable. Instead, let’s communicate with words like “human skills” that connote valuable and intrinsic abilities.

Stop Calling It Soft Skills!

If you’ve been following the news in recent weeks, you’ve most likely seen the upheaval of the global financial markets. Many of our 401ks have become 201ks. Much of the turbulence and volatility is due to uncertainty. Uncertainty wreaks havoc. Uncertainty is the ultimate productivity killer (and mood killer). It’s the number 1 cause of workplace stress and anxiety too. When people don’t know what’s coming next, whether it’s a market downturn, a restructuring, or even just a shift in priorities, they often freeze. Fear and ambiguity lead to distraction, disengagement, and second-guessing. Great leaders know that uncertainty is inevitable, and more importantly, they know how to lead through it. Leadership isn’t about waiting for stability, it’s about creating clarity and momentum even when the path ahead is unclear. This week, let’s look at what leaders can do to keep their teams engaged, focused, and moving forward, no matter the circumstances.Reinforce Clarity and PrioritiesWhen uncertainty rises, leaders must double down on clarity. A lack of direction creates hesitation, and hesitation leads to stagnation. The best leaders make sure that their teams know exactly what to focus on, even when things are shifting.One way to do this is by clearly defining Team Key Results (TKRs), the critical outcomes that matter most. In uncertain times, teams often feel overwhelmed by competing priorities. By simplifying the focus to just a few TKRs, you create a stabilizing force that keeps everyone aligned. If everything feels like a priority, nothing actually is. Your job as a leader is to cut through the noise and define what success looks like right now.Communicate More Uncertainty breeds assumptions, and assumptions are dangerous. Without clear communication, team members fill in the blanks with worst-case scenarios. Leaders who proactively communicate early, often, and transparently reduce anxiety and build trust.Leaders provide context, not just commands. Instead of simply assigning tasks, they explain the why behind decisions. People are far more likely to stay engaged when they understand how their work contributes to the bigger picture. Even if you don’t have all the answers, being honest about what you do know (and what you don’t) creates a sense of psychological safety.Create Stability Through RoutineWhen the external environment feels unpredictable, leaders can create internal stability through structured routines. Regular check-ins, weekly progress updates, and consistent team meetings act as anchors, providing a sense of normalcy. These aren’t just about status updates, they’re opportunities to reinforce priorities, celebrate wins, and address roadblocks.Moreover, predictable cadence beats crisis mode. When teams operate in reactive mode, they burn out quickly. Establishing stable processes, whether it’s a structured weekly meeting rhythm or a standard way of handling shifting priorities, allows teams to focus on execution instead of constantly recalibrating.Keep Momentum With Small WinsIn uncertain times, big, long-term goals can feel overwhelming or even impossible. That’s why effective leaders break work down into manageable pieces, creating opportunities for quick wins that build confidence and momentum. Progress (even small progress) creates a sense of control.Ask your team: What’s the next best action we can take? When people feel powerless, action is the antidote. By focusing on what can be accomplished today, this week, or this month, you keep energy high and prevent paralysis.Guide With Resilience and OptimismYour team takes its cues from you. If you show signs of stress, uncertainty, or doubt, they will mirror it. However, if you project confidence, resilience, and optimism, they will follow your lead. Optimism doesn’t mean ignoring challenges; it means acknowledging reality while keeping people focused on solutions. The best leaders create a sense of possibility, showing their teams that uncertainty isn’t a reason to stop moving but an opportunity to adapt and grow.Leading Through UncertaintyUncertainty is a constant in leadership. The best leaders don’t wait for things to settle before taking action—they create clarity, structure, and focus even in the most challenging times. By reinforcing priorities, communicating transparently, maintaining stability, celebrating small wins, and leading with resilience, you can keep your team engaged and moving forward, no matter what’s happening around them.Now, take a moment to reflect: Where does your team need the most clarity right now? The sooner you provide it, the sooner you can turn uncertainty into momentum.

Leading With Clarity in Uncertain Times

Karen Hough is the founder and CEO of ImprovEdge, which helps companies transform behavior through interactive training. With a presence in five cities, ImprovEdge’s client list includes ESPN, Coach, Nationwide Insurance, Legg Mason, Cardinal Health, Novo Nordisk, and Turner Broadcasting. Hough is also a number 1 Amazon bestselling author, contributor to the Huffington Post, and recipient of the Stevie Silver International Award for Most Innovative Company of the Year 2012, as well as the Athena PowerLink Award for Outstanding Woman-Owned Business. Her second, award-winning book, Be the Best Bad Presenter Ever: Break the Rules, Make Mistakes and Win Them Over, published in 2014 by Berrett-Koehler. Hough’s first life was as a professional improviser and actor. She trained with Chicago’s legendary Second City, performed in more than 100 theatrical productions, and was featured on radio, TV, and film. She lived a second life as a successful executive in network engineering. Finally, she became an entrepreneur. Hough is a Certified Speaking Professional and has presented to audiences of thousands both in the United States and internationally. She is a graduate of Yale University and La Sorbonne, Paris IV.

Karen Hough

Want to make sure your company’s culture is developing in a way that benefits your employees and your business? This TD at Work collection brings together four issues on culture, coaching, and change to provide the guidance you need.

Improving Your Organizational Culture: A TD at Work Collection (PDF)

The Infoline job aid, Positive Performance Checklist, can be used in several ways: to make changes in how you approach your work space and time, as a conversation starter, or as a gauge of how colleagues feel about the work environment.

Positive Performance Checklist

The demographics of the public workforce are undergoing a tectonic shift. With nearly half of the federal workforce nearing retirement, agencies face a potential mass exodus of experienced talent. The stakes are high as leaders face greater and greater workforce challenges, including shrinking budgets, increasing complexity, swelling performance gaps, and declining employee satisfaction.  So how can talent development professionals in government build massive influence, deliver breakthrough results, and increase budget investments in their programs at a time of colossal change and disruption? The Ultimate Question In my two-plus decades of serving in consulting and advisory roles, I discovered one question that puts you on the path to achieving breathtaking results… What problems do you have that are urgent, shared widely, and expensive if they remain unresolved? Managers in government are under enormous daily pressure to deliver results as fast as they can (time) as cheap as they can (cost) at the highest quality they can. The brilliance of the ultimate question is that their answers will reveal their absolute highest priorities. And those get funded because they represent the most painful issues in the agency. Use Question to Deliver Results Start by reviewing your agency’s strategic plans. This will provide the critical insights needed to not only address the pains of today but also the challenges that lie along the path towards the desired future. Next, fine tune your skills as an investigative reporter. Do this by simply using your listening skills to become an expert accumulator of complaints. By listening for common, repeated complaints, you can identify trends. Trends reveal the urgent and widely shared problems and challenges your managers are facing. Finally, determine which problems are extremely expensive because they remain unresolved. Track the results in a spreadsheet, and once a problem meets all three criteria, you now have projects that are likely to win the never ending battle for limited budget dollars and resources.Use the Framework to Win Big Expert trainers and consultants know the three main sources of performance gaps are the result of gaps in infrastructure, policies and procedures, and talent. By focusing on these major themes, trainers can help agency leaders work toward effective solutions to solve the biggest challenges they face. Additional Help Can you list at least three challenges in your organization that are urgent, shared widely, and expensive? Would you like more information to help you deliver career-enhancing performance and results? In a TD at Work issue I co-authored with Timothy Howell titled, “Maintaining Cohesiveness in a Distributed Government Workforce,” we provide the definitive road map for using the Ultimate Question to identify and address the top ten training challenges in government.

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