A Path Through the Wilderness:

Mastering the New Leadership Essentials

Leaders today are overwhelmed by competing priorities, people challenges, and a business landscape that refuses to stand still. Burnout is rising, engagement is slipping, and the old ways of leading no longer work. What once guided us through simpler times is now leaving us lost in the wilderness.

It’s time for a new way forward.

The Collective Compass™ is a revolutionary, team-based approach to leadership that helps organizations thrive amid complexity, uncertainty, and change. Inspired by military survival principles—where unity isn’t a luxury but a lifeline—this powerful framework transforms your entire team into a living, breathing navigation system.

Rather than placing the burden of leadership on a few heroic individuals, The Collective Compass™ equips everyone to lead together. It’s built around four essential elements:

• Navigation
  High performance through collaboration and agility
  
  
• Storytelling
  Narrative leadership that unites and inspires
  
  
• Energy
  Harnessing collective power for sustained excellence
  
  
• Wisdom
  Transcendent leadership that serves something greater

In this keynote experience, Dr. Matt Poepsel, Marine Corps Reconnaissance veteran, seasoned executive, and Graduate Professor of leadership, will help your audience shift from isolated leadership to integrated performance. Through practical insights and energizing stories, Matt shows how to go from scattered priorities to unified direction—and from survival mode to confident, values-driven progress.

Whether your goal is to boost business performance, retain top talent, or deepen your organization's impact, The Collective Compass™ will give your leaders the mindset and tools to perform under pressure and navigate what’s next.

Your audience will leave equipped to lead with purpose, trust, and shared strength—ready to tackle today’s challenges with resilience and conviction.

Are you ready to stop wandering in the wilderness?

Wilderness | Lost in Leadership's Uncharted Territory

Today's leaders are navigating unprecedented complexity leaving them overwhelmed and directionless. The traditional leadership playbook no longer applies to modern challenges, creating a dangerous gap between aspirations and capabilities. This leadership wilderness is causing burnout, disengagement, and organizational drift at the worst possible time.

• Struggling to hold others accountable
• Failing to shift from doer to leader
• Experiencing impostor syndrome
• Burning out by taking on too much
• Unsure how to ask for help

Weather | Embattled by the Storms of Constant Change

The business landscape is experiencing relentless turbulence that demands rapid adaptation and strategic agility. Leaders are being battered by simultaneous disruptions from multiple directions, making it impossible to establish stable footing. These environmental pressures are forcing organizations to evolve faster than their leadership capabilities can deliver.

• AI and technological disruption
• Multigenerational friction
• Remote and Hybrid work skirmishes
• Economic uncertainty and resource constraints
• Escalating customer demands and market pressures

Wolves | Lone Wolf vs. Pack Leader

Internal threats and competitive pressures are stalking organizations while leaders struggle with individualistic approaches that leave them isolated and vulnerable. The most dangerous enemies are often the ones within—complacency, resistance, and ego-driven leadership that prevents collective success. Without a pack mentality, leaders become prey to forces that can only be overcome through unified action.

• Complacency and comfort with status quo
• Resistance to change that stalls progress
• Ego-driven leadership and “me issues”
• Unable to resolve the leadership paradox
• Focused on self-interest vs. team success