The Leader Cafe Club
"At Its Core, Leadership is Caring"
Where Enhanced Leadership Capabilities meet human-centered consulting. We help leaders who care enough to stand up, lead with intention, and build cultures where everyone thrives.
Leadership Enhancement, Not Generic Training
At The Leader Cafe Club, we believe leadership isn't about commanding presence or executive gravitas. It's about caring enough to make difficult decisions with integrity, support your people through complexity, and build cultures where everyone can contribute their best work.
This is leadership enhancement — personalized development that amplifies YOUR unique strengths and values. Not another HR-driven framework designed by people who've never led anything.
Leadership is Caring
Every decision, every conversation, every strategy begins with genuine care for the people you lead.
Your Leadership Brand
You already have a leadership identity. We help you discover, articulate, and amplify it.
Enhanced Capabilities, Not Scripts
We build on who you are — not who a textbook says you should be.
The Cafe Experience
Inspired by Parisian cafe culture — intimate, spirited dialogue in a warm environment where real insight emerges.
Two Pathways to Enhanced Leadership Capabilities
Human-Centered Leadership Consulting
Strategic consulting that addresses the intersection of operational excellence, technical performance, and organizational culture — always through the lens of human impact.
- Executive leadership advisory
- Organizational culture assessment and design
- Leadership team alignment
- Change leadership strategy
- Performance and behavioral assessment
- Synergistic culture building
Transformational Learning Experiences
Our signature Leading with Intention series — six immersive experiences using The Cafe Learning Method to help you discover and strengthen Your Leadership Brand.
- Six Leader Learning Experiences over 12 weeks
- Intimate cafe groups of 6-8 leaders
- Individual reflection + peer dialogue
- Bi-weekly live virtual cafe sessions
- Personalized leadership brand development
- Cross-industry peer learning
Six Transformational Experiences
Each two-week experience follows our signature rhythm: individual exploration followed by spirited cafe dialogue with your peer group.
Values and Vision
Clarify the core values that drive your leadership and the vision that pulls you forward.
Your Unique Capabilities
Recognize and name the distinctive strengths you bring to every leadership challenge.
The Leader Others Follow
Understand why others choose to follow you — and how to strengthen that connection.
Your Leadership Brand
Articulate your personal and professional brand — the authentic way you lead.
Breaking Through Barriers
Identify what holds you back and develop strategies to lead through complexity with purpose.
Leading with Intention
Integrate everything into a sustainable practice of intentional, caring leadership.
How Real Growth Happens
Inspired by Parisian cafe culture — where ideas are exchanged, perspectives challenged, and wisdom emerges through authentic dialogue.
Individual Exploration
Work at your own pace through real leadership stories, scenarios, and reflective prompts.
Your Cafe Experience
Join your intimate cafe group for spirited conversation, receive feedback, and discover insights.
Growth in Practice
Apply insights immediately to create a sustainable practice of intentional leadership.
Maximizing Cafe Outcomes
Lets BeginWhat Makes Us Different
| Traditional Programs | The Leader Cafe Club |
|---|---|
| One-size-fits-all frameworks | Personalized to YOUR leadership identity |
| Performance-focused training | Human commitment-centered growth |
| Large, impersonal cohorts | Intimate cafe groups of 6-8 leaders |
| Led by HR generalists | Led by leaders who've actually led |
| Sterile conference rooms | Warm, cafe-inspired environments |
| Generic competency models | Your Leadership Brand |
| Check-the-box completion | Genuine transformation |
Leaders Who Care Enough to Lead
Corporate Leaders
Executives and senior leaders in technology, healthcare, pharma, and financial services seeking authentic leadership enhancement.
Foundations and Nonprofits
Leaders in philanthropic foundations and social impact organizations whose missions demand caring, intentional leadership.
Social Justice and Policy
Leaders in advocacy, policy, and political organizations where leadership and community thrive.
Academic and Religious
Leaders in educational and faith-based institutions where values-driven leadership helps communities flourish.
Entrepreneurs
Founders and business builders developing the leadership capabilities their growing organizations demand.
Emerging Leaders
Early-career professionals building their leadership foundation from day one — with intention, not imitation.
Education: B.A., Huston-Tillotson University - M.Ed., Harvard University (Human Behavior) - M.A., Fielding Graduate University (Media Psychology) - Ph.D., Fielding Graduate University (Psychology)
Professional: Consulting Psychologist - Division 13, American Psychological Association - Founder and CEO, POVC Group
Dr. Tenny Mickey
Tenny's first leadership lesson happened long before she understood organizational psychology or executive consulting.
It happened in the small Trinity Gardens 1st Baptist Church in what remains, still to this day, an impoverished segregated area in Houston, Texas. During her childhood, Trinity Gardens, Houston — then a neighborhood where families worked two to three bus rides away as domestics, where public services were scarce, and where community was everything.
Mr. James Raymond, the Sunday School Superintendent, recognized her hidden talents and appointed her at 13 years old the Secretary of the Sunday School. In this role, she had to stand before the congregation each week to report on current activities and announce the weekly amounts received from the modest offerings members provided. None of us had much to give, but we gave what we could.
At 17, with a small scholarship and the beginning of student loan debt, Tenny left Trinity Gardens. Mr. Raymond, his wife, her mother, and Tenny squeezed into the bench seat of his pickup truck at 2 a.m., headed to Austin, Texas. He had to drop her off early to get back to his house-painting work in Trinity Gardens. Before they parted, he offered to buy everyone breakfast at a small cafe on Chicon Street. Tenny's mother gave her "the eye" — they politely declined, offering gas money instead. They couldn't afford both.
Nearly five years later, Tenny walked across the graduation stage with her nearly one-year-old son in her arms and her mother in the audience. After completing her B.A. from Huston-Tillotson University, she went on to earn the M.Ed. from Harvard University in Human Behavior, a second M.A. from Fielding Graduate University in Media Psychology, and the Ph.D. in Psychology from Fielding Graduate University.
Tenny has spent her career leading, observing, learning, and growing — providing leadership consulting services in global Fortune 50 organizations, regional banks, and as Founder and CEO of the POVC Group. Through it all, her takeaway has remained constant:
Leadership development fails when it treats leadership as a performance skill rather than a human commitment. At The Leader Cafe Club, we start with a simple truth: at its core, leadership is caring. Everything else flows from there.
Ready to Begin?
Whether you're exploring our consulting services or ready to join our next learning cohort, we'd love to start a conversation.
Schedule a Conversation