The best leaders aren’t the ones who never stumble – they’re the ones who turn every misstep into a learning opportunity and create environments where their teams can do the same.

Anne Turchi, Director of Organizational Effectiveness and Transformation at Columbia Sportswear, shares her leadership journey from managing a tennis camp to leading a team of internal consultants in a large corporation. With over 20 years of experience driving organizational change across for-profit, higher education, and non-profit institutions, Anne brings a wealth of insights about creating cultures where growth and learning thrive.

In this episode, Anne reveals how her biggest leadership lessons came from everyday challenges and failures. She explores the critical importance of having safe spaces to process mistakes and reflects on how her approach to leadership has evolved over time. Throughout our conversation, she shares practical strategies for fostering environments where reflection is valued and setbacks become stepping stones to better leadership.

Whether you’re struggling with creating a team environment where it’s safe to learn from mistakes or looking to evolve your own leadership approach, Anne’s practical insights offer a roadmap for growth.

Key Highlights

• Learning From Failure: Anne’s biggest growth came from her most challenging experiences 
• Creating Safe Spaces to Fail: Using retro boards and regular reflection rituals to normalize learning from mistakes and continuously improve  
• The Growth Journey: Self-awareness and evolution as a leader – moving from giving answers to asking powerful questions 
• WAIT Principle: “Why Am I Talking?” – Anne’s reminder to create space for others to contribute and develop 
• The Value of Processing Mistakes: Having someone to help you reflect on failures can transform them into growth opportunities 
• From Directive to Coach: Shifting from telling (“do this”) to asking (“what solutions have you considered?”) develops stronger teams 
• Getting Out of Your Own Way: Leadership effectiveness improves when you trust your team and let go of control

Links Mentioned

Connect with Anne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneturchi/

Full Bio

Anne has been driving organizational change and growth at for-profit, higher education and non-profit institutions for over 20 years. As Director of Organizational Effectiveness and Transformation at Columbia Sportswear, she has supported both enterprise change initiatives as well as functional initiatives to transform team collaboration through agile ways of working.

Formerly adjunct faculty and then Director of the Marylhurst School of Business, Anne supported a variety of adult-focused undergraduate and graduate degree programs. She has consulted for a diverse set of organizations including YMCA of the USA and served in leadership roles on a variety of nonprofit boards.

Anne holds an MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business, where she journaled about her experiences for Business Week Online. She earned her undergraduate degree from Emory University where she was on an NCAA Division III national championship tennis team. A lifelong runner, Anne is training to run her first marathon in 2025. She is actively planning for spring gardening season.