Meet Seth

Seth Kahan is a man on a mission… a mission to accelerate visionary leaders success through impact and profitability on a grand scale.

 

Widely recognized as being on the forefront of Visionary Leadership® and a trusted advisor to more than 100 association CEOs and world-class leaders like the president of the World Bank, director of the Peace Corps, and senior managers at Royal Dutch Shell, Seth Kahan is a sought-after business strategy specialist, respected thought leader, and convener on Grand Challenges.

In the association world, he drives catalytic change, helping association leaders to innovate and retool for today’s disruptive and fast-moving environment. His work is highly esteemed.

Seth has helped CEOs conceive and execute grand challenges, bold national goals that address massively overarching issues and bring high repute to the associations that lead them. His work includes initiatives with the American Nurses Association, the CFP Board’s Center for Financial Planning, and the Thriving Earth Exchange powered by the American Geophysical Union.

Seth has served on several boards in public positions including the American Geophysical Union, Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind.

"Kahan informs leaders on how they can strategically and logistically enact change.”
–Bill George, Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School

Drawing on an eclectic background that includes not only high-powered corporate consulting, but also street theater, mindfulness training, human potential development, crisis intervention and personal experience in rites of passage, Seth Kahan is equipped with a unique toolset that fuels his unorthodox yet powerful techniques for exceeding performance goals.

Seth has taught leadership development for the World Bank Institute, NASA, FEMA, U.S. Geological Survey, CIA and other highly respected programs. He is able to bring this experience to boards of directors when working on strategy and innovation, to help them work together and rise to meet market-size challenges. Seth has worked with many highly esteemed associations such as SAE International, Endocrine Society, Project Management Institute, Promotional Products Association International and many others.

• Find out how Seth galvanized groups for change at the World Bank
• See what Seth accomplished at the Peace Corps
• Read about Seth's facilitation expertise with Royal Dutch Shell

Adding further spice to the mix, Seth brings in colleagues who are internationally recognized for their business acumen outside the association world, including best-selling authors such as Lisa McLeod (Selling with Noble Purpose), Robbie Baxter (The Membership Economy), Scott Edinger (The Hidden Leader), and Bill Lee (The Hidden Wealth of Customers).

An author himself of the business bestseller, Getting Change Right, and Getting Innovation Right, Seth’s next books include, Visionary Leadership: Associations in the Age of Disruption, The Core of Association Strategy, The Visionary’s Strategic Foresight Playbook, and Grand Challenge: How Leaders Turn the World’s Biggest Challenges in their Greatest Opportunities.

The Center for Association Leadership designated Seth as a visionary and the Society for Advancement of Consulting® has recognized Seth as a thought leader and exemplar in the field of change leadership. He has written articles for CEO Update, Fast Company, and Associations Now.

"Seth brought us a ‘formula’ for change and helped coach the senior leadership team and key change project teams through the formula. One key change he was instrumental in supporting was our desire to have our staff (in the Americas) become more mobile. Seth supported the design and enterprise-wide implementation of our ‘Mobility Marketplace,’ which caught fire and has gotten enormous traction in eight months.”
–Kathleen Flanagan, President
CEO of Abt Associates

View list of organizations that have benefited from Seth’s strategy, leadership and innovation.
View complete CV.

To find out how Seth can bring his skills to address your organization’s goals, call him at (301) 229-2221 or email seth@visionaryleadership.com.