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I didn't set out to build a leadership operating system. I set out to survive leadership.

Cheryle Hays — The Human Potentialist℠

I help leaders unlock what's blocking their team from full engagement, turning human dynamics into a powerful leadership advantage.

[Let's Connect]



I learned something as a belly dancer — of all places. During one performance, I reached my hand out toward someone in the audience and slowly drew them in. They leaned so far forward following me that they fell off their chair!
That's the moment I understood what nobody teaches leaders: Your people are already following you. Every day. Whether you know it or not. The question is whether your default — or your design — is leading them.

Here's what makes that harder than it sounds: The same default programming running in you is running in them. It's limiting how well you lead and how well they can follow — simultaneously. Most leaders spend years trying to fix the team without ever seeing that.

Courageous Curiosity℠ changes both. That's what makes it different from everything else you've tried.


Cheryle Hays - At a Glance
Here's what took me years to figure out: 
You can learn all the right leadership skills and still be running the wrong operating system.

I know, because I did exactly that.

Early in my career, I was promoted above my own boss — no training, no roadmap, no mentor. Just a title and a team. So I did what any driven person does. I learned everything I could find. Built the skills. Got the results. And kept running into the same patterns anyway.

What I eventually discovered changed everything: The problem wasn't what I knew. It was what was running underneath it. The default programming every one of us carries — built to keep us safe, not make us successful. Once I saw it in myself, I couldn't unsee it in the leaders around me.
That's what I help leaders see. And change.

Not by adding more training on top of the same old OS. By upgrading the OS itself — through Courageous Curiosity℠, a leadership operating system that addresses what's actually driving results. In the leader. And in the team.

I've spent over 25 years doing this work — from pioneering technology roles at Novell as one of their first female field systems engineers, to consulting work with the U.S. Navy, to keynote stages and executive coaching rooms. I hold an Executive MBA from Texas Christian University — earned without first completing an undergraduate degree, because some of us don't follow the prescribed path.

My first solo book, Courageous Curiosity: For Leaders Brave Enough to Lead Differently, publishes Fall 2026.

The biggest mistake leaders make isn't leading wrong. It's not knowing that their default is running the show.



  • Title: The Human Potentialist™
  • Company: InPower Strategists, LLC
  • Book: Courageous Curiosity: For Leaders Brave Enough to Lead Differently— coming Fall 2026, Maxwell Leadership Publishing
  • Amazon Best-Selling Co-Author, People Fusion (11 categories)
  • One of Novell's first female field systems engineers, a sole-source technical consultant to the U.S. Navy
  • EMBA, Texas Christian University — earned without an undergraduate degree
  • 25+ years in technology and leadership
  • Courageous Curiosity℠, powered by R³ (Reflect, Reframe, Respond)
  • Audiences: Mid-level leaders, C-suite executives, associations, corporate events
  • Industries: Technology, finance, manufacturing, insurance, legal, defense, healthcare
  • Available for: Keynotes, workshops, executive retreats, coaching
  • Based in Fort Worth, Texas — available nationally and internationally

Why Clients Choose Me

Bold. Insightful. Game-Changing. From Less Than to Limitless.

✓ She starts where traction actually begins — inside the leader — before prescribing what to do differently.

✓ She brings both sides of the gap. She's led from the middle, moved into the C-suite, and coached both levels for decades. She knows what each says about the other — and how to close the distance between them.

✓ Her frameworks aren't inspiration. They're tools. Courageous Curiosity™, R³, and 3-2-1 RESPOND™ are things leaders use the next day — not concepts they admire and forget.








My Big Why

My purpose is simple: change the world one leader at a time.

My purpose is to change the world one leader at a time — by giving leaders the operating system to stop being their own worst enemy and start leading the way they're already capable of leading.
I wrote the book I couldn’t find. I built the framework I needed but didn’t have. And I’ve spent decades in the rooms where leadership breaks down — at both levels — watching the same gap destroy the same potential.

Mid-level leaders need to be seen and equipped. CEOs need to understand and unlock them. I bridge that gap. Not by telling people what great leadership looks like, but by giving them the operating system to get there — from wherever they are right now.

Be In-Powered to Be Empowering.™
 
 
Learn More

My Values

InPowerment™:
You can't lead others well until you lead yourself first. Everything starts from within.
Courageous Curiosity™:
Asking the right questions and taking action takes both. Curiosity is the spark. Courage is the Oxygen. Together you get F.I.R.E.
Integrity:
Real talk. No theater, no fluff, no overpromising. What you see is what you get — and what you get is real.
Design, not Default:
Every leader has a choice. Autopilot or intention. She's here for the ones choosing intention.


Frequently Asked Questions about Cheryle
Where is Cheryle Hays based and does she travel to speak?
Cheryle is based in Fort Worth, Texas and speaks nationally and internationally. She is available for in-person keynotes, executive retreats, and events across the US and globally.

What is Cheryle Hays’s speaking fee?
Speaking fees vary based on event format, audience size, customization, and travel. Contact Cheryle directly to discuss availability and investment for your event.

Is Cheryle Hays available for media, podcast, or panel appearances?
Definitely Yes. Cheryle speaks regularly on leadership, Courageous Curiosity™, AI and human leadership, psychological safety, and the future of work. She is available for podcast interviews, panel discussions, media commentary, and thought leadership contributions.

Want to Know the Real Me? 
Please Listen - this is as real as it gets
My convo with Engle Jones
Using who we are to make a difference in this world.  


#12miniconvos
WAKING UP WITH PURPOSE
AT 4AM!   
AND FIRED UP



A Personal Story 
A short,  personal journey of resilience, growth, and unlocking the champion within myself and my children. Through moments of struggle, triumph, and deep transformation, you’ll see how it's possible to foster resilience and unlock  the potential in both yourself and those you lead or love.