New York  ·  Leadership Integrity Group

Senior leaders built for behavioral coherence under pressure.

Built on the Leadership Integrity Framework® · Published October 2025

The Cause

The gap is not investment.
It is depth.

$366B

Spent globally on leadership development annually

11%

Of executives believe programs achieve and sustain results

86%

Of companies name leadership development as a top priority

13%

Feel they do it well. Only 10–20% of learning is retained after three months.

“When senior leaders hold values, presence, relationships, and systemic seeing together inside the same decision, decisions hold and people stay.”

In 2025, CEO succession announcements in the S&P 500 reached a 13% annual rate — the highest since 2010 — with external hires nearly doubling to 33%. The bench was not built to the depth boards now need. Only 50% of board directors say their board could appoint an internal successor if they needed one tomorrow.

Research cited in Harvard Business Review finds that organizations with executives rated highly for integrity see a 40% increase in employee retention and a 25% increase in profitability.

What We Think

Integrity, as we use the word, is structural.

It is coherence: the capacity of a senior leader to hold values, presence, relationships, and systemic seeing together inside the same decision, when pressure would normally force the four apart. Not moral posturing. Not a values statement. The observable form is behavioral coherence at high-stakes moments.

01

Purpose

Inner
World

Values, calling, and the inner clarity that anchors decision-making under pressure.

02

Presence

Observable Behavior

Composure, authentic expression, and the capacity to be visible and steady in the moment.

03

Partnership

Relational Dynamics

Trust, relational fluency, and the capacity to hold a shared field with peers and direct reports.

04

Perspective

Systemic Awareness

Systems thinking, decision quality, and the capacity to read the larger pattern.

The Leadership Integrity Framework is a critical resource for senior leaders navigating ambiguity. Its four dimensions — Purpose, Presence, Partnership, Perspective — provide lenses for vertical development, helping leaders move from performing a role to leading from authentic conviction. For any leader committed to maximizing impact, an architectural blueprint for a career defined by integrity and sustained effectiveness.

Maria Wade embodies the leadership integrity she writes about. In this book she offers a framework grounded in Purpose, Presence, Perspective, and Partnership that helps leaders integrate who they are with how they lead. This isn’t theory — it’s wisdom earned through lived experience and refined through years of guiding senior leaders through their own transformations.

Maria Wade has distilled years of coaching wisdom into a framework that actually works in the messy reality of leadership. The four dimensions gave me a practical structure for navigating complexity without losing myself in the process. This isn’t theory; it’s a guide for leaders who need to deliver results while staying human.

In a world where leaders can get self-absorbed in their own style, Maria Wade offers something deeper — a framework for leading with genuine integrity. Her four-dimension approach helped me see that effectiveness isn’t about mastering more techniques but about integrating who I am with what my organization needs. Practical, simple, grounded, and transformative.

Reading Maria Wade’s Leadership Integrity Framework feels like sitting down with a trusted mentor. It doesn’t preach; it invites. Wade shows how real leadership starts with alignment, not perfection, and provides a framework for staying grounded, building trust, and leading with authenticity when it matters most.

Maria Wade’s book is an essential read for leaders looking for a compass. The Leadership Integrity Framework’s four dimensions offer a practical yet profound way to stay grounded while driving transformation. Wade’s approach, rooted in coaching and neuroscience, speaks directly to those tired of performing and ready to lead from authentic wholeness.

Maria Wade is more than an executive coach; she is a master of coherence. She creates portals for people to look into their souls and become better leaders. This book is the crystallization of her brilliant, human-centered work — a practical, proven structure for leading from a place of genuine authenticity. Smart, profound, and soulful, just like Maria.

Maria Wade writes with rare depth and humility, making this book powerful and deeply human. The Leadership Integrity Framework isn’t just a model for how to lead well; it’s an invitation to return to what’s essential — to live and lead with wholeness, courage, and grace. Leaders who take this journey won’t only learn about integrity; they’ll begin to embody it.

Leadership Integrity Framework is a transformative guide for anyone striving to lead with authenticity, courage, and ethical clarity. Maria Wade weaves research, real-world experience, and heartfelt wisdom into a practical framework that challenges leaders to align values with action. This book reminds us why integrity must sit at the core of leadership. A must-read for leaders committed to lasting impact.

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What We Do

Framework-grounded work across three domains.

01

Senior Coaching

Executive Coaching

Framework-grounded coaching for senior leaders across complex enterprise sectors: technology, media, financial services and insurance, healthcare and life sciences, retail and e-commerce, energy, and industrial manufacturing.

Each engagement is anchored in the Leadership Integrity Framework, calibrated to the leader’s role, and designed for measurable behavioral coherence at named high-stakes moments: regulatory decisions, succession conversations, M&A integration calls, stakeholder confrontations, crisis response.

02

Education

Coach Education Program

A Continuing Coach Education program for experienced coaches, built around discernment, critical thinking, and the integrity work the framework names. Graduates become certified to use the Leadership Integrity Framework in their own practice.

A Level 3 ICF program is in design, with curriculum aligned to the methodology as it develops through doctoral research.

Note
Pencil

In Development

03

Research

Doctoral Research

Doctoral inquiry into the mechanism by which the Leadership Integrity Framework produces integration in senior leaders under high-stakes pressure. Application in active preparation for the January 2027 cohort at NYU Steinhardt’s EdD in Leadership and Innovation.

The research will be conducted across consenting senior-leader engagements with corporate research partners, with full anonymization and IRB review.

Note
Flight

In Active Design

Who We Are

Maria Wade

MCC  ·  Master Certified Coach

Founder of Leadership Integrity Group LLC and Maria Wade LLC. Author of the Leadership Integrity Framework® (October 2025). ICF Master Certified Coach — the credential held by approximately the top 5% of professional coaches globally. 3,000+ hours of senior-leader coaching.

  • Certified Coaching Supervisor
  • ICF-qualified mentor coach
  • Certified administrator, Leadership Circle Profile and LCP Pulse
  • ATD Master Instructional Designer® (2026)
  • Former Chief Legal Officer and Chief Financial Officer with M&A operating experience
  • Master’s degrees in Jurisprudence and Business Administration
  • Board member, Columbia Coaching Learning Association (2024–2026)
  • Sponsor, Columbia Coaching Conference 2025
Founding Advisory Board

A small group of senior figures from coaching, executive operations, and academic research.

Amy Mbagwu-Bagolini

Founding Chair

Media & Technology Executive · Founder, Gist Advisory Group

Amy Mbagwu-Bagolini is a senior corporate executive and executive coach. With a career across Amazon, Time Inc., AOL, InterActive Corporation, and Hearst Magazines, she has built and scaled multi-hundred-million-revenue businesses and established industry-first innovations across streaming TV, digital media, and technology. As Founder of Gist Advisory Group, she advises executives in media, technology, and entertainment, taking a holistic view of leadership development that considers the leader as a whole person. Amy holds master’s degrees from Columbia University and Fordham University. She is a graduate of the Columbia Coaching Certification Program (3CP) and a Columbia Credentialed Professional Executive Coach (CCPEC), the highest credential offered by the Columbia Coaching Center of Excellence. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Columbia University Coaching Learning Association.

Christopher Pels

Founding Member

Chief Operating Officer, Lovingly · Adjunct Faculty, Walden University

Dr. Christopher Pels is an executive leader, organizational development practitioner, and leadership educator with more than fifteen years of experience across the nonprofit, technology, and higher education sectors. As Chief Operating Officer at Lovingly, he leads organizational design and cross-functional strategy. He previously served as Vice President of Human Resources, Risk Management, and Organizational Development at Family Services, Inc., where he built the organization’s first leadership development program. As Adjunct Faculty in the Behavioral Health Leadership Program at Walden University, he has taught doctoral-level leadership and organizational courses since 2022. Christopher holds an EdD in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher University, where his doctoral work focused on executive leadership and coaching, and a Master of Arts in Psychology from Medaille University. He is a graduate of the Leadership Coaching Certificate Program at the University of Rochester.

Anna Pinilla

Founding Member

System Vice President of Clinical Engagement, Office of Transformation, Montefiore Einstein

Anna Pinilla is a healthcare executive and transformational leadership advisor with more than twenty years of experience leading complex organizational change, physician engagement, and clinical transformation across healthcare systems. At Montefiore Einstein, she partners with C-suite leaders, department chairs, and physician leaders to align clinical, financial, and strategic priorities. In parallel, she advises executives, physicians, and high-achieving professionals navigating leadership transitions and personal transformation, helping them strengthen presence, decision-making, and resilience. Prior to healthcare, Anna built an international career spanning strategy, legal affairs, finance, procurement, and organizational leadership across multiple countries and industries. Her approach combines practical executive experience with conscious leadership, focused on helping leaders reconnect with purpose, authenticity, and clarity in complex environments.

Robin Schletter

Founding Member

Executive Coach

Robin Schletter is an executive coach with more than thirty years of professional experience. She works with senior executives and high-potential leaders on leadership style, executive presence, conflict resolution, and interpersonal dynamics, with particular attention to developing high-performing teams. Her early career included leading the landmark affiliate training function at Home Box Office that built the first nationwide system for more than 150,000 customer-contact personnel. Robin is a graduate of the Columbia Coaching Certification Program (3CP) and a Master Corporate Executive Coach (MCEC) certified by the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches. She holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology from the New School for Social Research and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology, summa cum laude, from Long Island University.

Celeste Sumoza

Founding Member

Leadership and Organizational Development Executive

Born in Venezuela and based in Houston, Texas, Celeste Sumoza is a bilingual leadership and organizational development executive, organizational psychologist, and executive coach. Her international career spans the energy and pharmaceutical industries across the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Russia, where she has led transformational initiatives in leadership development, talent management, organizational effectiveness, and change management. Known for combining strategic insight with a people-centered approach, Celeste partners with senior leaders to strengthen culture, accelerate talent, and create meaningful leadership experiences. She is recognized for her extensive network across business and academic communities, bringing global perspective and deep expertise to every engagement. Celeste holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology and is a graduate of the Columbia Coaching Certification Program (3CP).

Where We Go

A research-anchored roadmap.

2026

Doctoral Application

Application complete for the January 2027 cohort.

Advisory Board

Founding Advisory Board constituted.

Coaching Practice

Continued senior coaching practice across corporate clients.

2027

Doctoral Program Begins

Year 1 construct-definition work: literature on identity coherence, coherence protocol development, 360 research adaptation and pilot validation.

Coach Education

Continuing Coach Education program design begins. Founding research partner engagement live.

2028+

Measurement & Case Body

Year 2 measurement work and case body development.

Program Launches

Continuing Coach Education program launches. Level 3 ICF program design aligns with doctoral findings.

Bench Coaches

Senior coaches in active corporate engagements.

Engage

Begin a conversation.