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When Bob and Lyn Turknett asked me to become CEO of Turknett Leadership Group, my gut said yes before my brain caught up.
I'll tell you why.
But first, let me introduce myself.
My name is Vicki Abelson, and ever since high school, I wanted to work behind the scenes in health care.
I know. Not exactly how you expected me to introduce myself. For nearly 20 years, I worked in the operational side of health care. I saw how much the people behind the scenes shaped patient outcomes, quality of care, and the experience of patients and their families. But I also learned something I didn't expect: leadership was the backbone of the whole operation.
I had leaders who yelled and slammed doors when they were frustrated. And I had leaders who challenged me and had my back when I was at a point of growth. I wanted to be that second kind of leader. The one who saw me and my team clearly. The one who helped us do great work for our patients and made us genuinely like working together.
By the time I met Bob and Lyn, I had left health care to start my own coaching practice. When they shared the Leadership Character Model with me, and I learned about everything they had built over the last 40 years, something clicked. The Leadership Character Model gave me the language and framework for the kind of leadership I had been trying to practice all along.
For the last five years, I've coached leaders on my own and as a TLG Senior Consultant. I've watched structured development programs help leaders understand themselves, hold themselves accountable, and move the needle on the challenges in front of them. And here's the funny part.
Most of my clients haven't been in health care.
Industry matters, but what matters more are the human principles that drive performance, effectiveness, and happiness at work. So why did my gut say yes so fast?
Because I've lived both sides of leadership. I know what it costs a team when leadership goes wrong. And I know what becomes possible when it goes right. Getting to spend my days helping more organizations land on the right side of that was never really a question.
I'm only a short time into this role, and I've already had incredible conversations with our clients, both longtime and brand new. Your commitment to growing your people inspires me. So does your willingness to support leaders when the work gets hard. That belief in people is what makes this work matter. I'm stepping into big shoes, and I don't take that lightly. I'm proud to lead alongside this team. And I'm even prouder to partner with organizations that believe developing people is one of the most important parts of building a strong future.
I can't wait to see what we build together.
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