When leaders feel stuck, blocked or frustrated because choices seem limited, there is almost always a paradox in play. This session shows how recognizing those paradoxes can unlock hidden solutions, turning tension into opportunity. You’ll learn how to apply both/and thinking, innovate within constraints and discover practical tools for lasting leadership impact.

During this talk, Jared Oates, creator of the Leadership Progress Cycle, will show leaders how to spot paradoxes in everyday challenges and use them as a source of creativity, innovation and breakthrough solutions — especially when options feel limited.

This interactive session will provide easy-to-understand insights on:

• How paradox awareness helps leaders see possibilities hidden beneath surface contradictions
• A simple method to identify paradoxes impacting team results
• A practical framework for generating innovative solutions within real constraints
• Tools, including a worksheet and free artificial intelligence (AI) coach, to practice and apply this with your team

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Speaker

Jared Oates, Founder, The Leadership Progress Cycle Jared Oates is the creator of The Leadership Progress Cycle, a practical framework that helps leaders work with paradox to create lasting impact. A self-taught engineer with a background in English rhetoric, he’s spent over a decade designing learning experiences that go beyond surface-level training. As co-founder of Niche Academy, Jared has helped thousands of leaders in public and nonprofit sectors navigate real-world challenges. Known for blending practical tools with personal insight, he helps leaders see tension not as a threat, but as the energy source for innovation, trust and growth.