Leadership Insights | Will Evans

Many years of research conducted by The Gallup Organization suggest that the most effective people are those who understand their strengths and behaviors. These people are best able to develop strategies to meet and exceed the demands of their daily lives, their careers, and their families.

A review of the knowledge and skills Will has acquired can provide a basic sense of his abilities, but an awareness and understanding of his natural talents will provide true insight into the core reasons behind his consistent successes.

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Summary of Will's Top 5 Themes

1Individualization

Will naturally recognizes and appreciates the unique qualities in every person, allowing him to tailor his approach to draw out their best and build highly effective teams.

2Achiever

Will possesses a relentless, internal drive for constant accomplishment, giving him the energy to set high standards, maintain intense productivity, and tackle new challenges daily.

3Ideation

Will is fascinated by ideas, finding energy in making novel connections and discovering elegantly simple underlying concepts beneath complex surfaces.

4Learner

Will is deeply energized by the journey from ignorance to competence, finding more thrill in the continuous process of acquiring new skills than in just the final outcome.

5Connectedness

Will believes everything happens for a reason and that we are all linked to a larger picture, fostering a caring, bridge-building, and purpose-driven approach to life and work.

Will's Top 5 Themes

Individualization

Will's Individualization theme leads him to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. He is impatient with generalizations or “types” because he doesn’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, he focuses on the differences between individuals. He instinctively observes each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. He hears the one-of-a-kind stories in each person’s life. This theme explains why he picks his friends just the right birthday gift, why he knows that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why he tailors his teaching style to accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to “figure it out as I go.” Because he is such a keen observer of other people’s strengths, he can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps him build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team “structure” or “process,” he knows instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.

Application in Action:

Shortly after a major corporate rebrand, I brought together a team of designers and content creators to bridge the gap between our creative workflows and our final brand outputs. Together, we developed tailored brand guidelines that fostered a level of collaboration and brand stewardship the organization had never seen before. Ultimately, this alignment streamlined our processes and saved us 3 hours of extensive creative review time each week.

Achiever

Will's Achiever theme helps explain his drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. He feels as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day he must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about himself. And by “every day” he means every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much he may feel he deserves a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, he will feel dissatisfied. He has an internal fire burning inside him. It pushes him to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing him toward the next accomplishment. His relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with him. As an Achiever, he must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings him the energy he needs to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt he can always count on to get him started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes him to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for his work group. It is the theme that keeps him moving.

Application in Action:

Because of my approachable nature and knack for solving complex problems quickly, colleagues frequently seek my help when they hit roadblocks. On any given day, I act as a sounding board and a troubleshooter—assisting team members with everything from designing practical solutions to identifying new opportunities that help them overcome their daily hurdles.

Ideation

Will is fascinated by ideas. What is an idea? An idea is a concept, the best explanation of the most events. He is delighted when he discovers beneath the complex surface an elegantly simple concept to explain why things are the way they are. An idea is a connection. His is the kind of mind that is always looking for connections, and so he is intrigued when seemingly disparate phenomena can be linked by an obscure connection. An idea is a new perspective on familiar challenges. He revels in taking the world we all know and turning it around so we can view it from a strange but strangely enlightening angle. He loves all these ideas because they are profound, because they are novel, because they are clarifying, because they are contrary, because they are bizarre. For all these reasons he derives a jolt of energy whenever a new idea occurs to him. Others may label him creative or original or conceptual or even smart. Perhaps he is all of these. Who can be sure? What he is sure of is that ideas are thrilling. And on most days this is enough.

Application in Action:

“I love when a ‘Wouldn't it be cool if...’ idea actually makes it out of the brainstorm.”

-Erin Heissel (Associate Director, Marketing and Communications)

I recently directed a publication cover shoot that required both high-level creative vision and tight logistical execution. By strategically renting a photography studio adjacent to an event we were hosting, I orchestrated a high-quality session and delivered production-ready images within hours. This rapid turnaround and premium output deeply resonated with executive leadership, ultimately elevating the prestige of a high-priority funding initiative.

Sacco Scholars

Learner

Will loves to learn. The subject matter that interests him most will be determined by his other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, he will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for him. He is energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what he has learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered—this is the process that entices him. His excitement leads him to engage in adult learning experiences—yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables him to thrive in dynamic work environments where he is asked to take on short project assignments and is expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that he seeks to become the subject matter expert, or that he is striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the “getting there.”

Application in Action:

Recognizing the rapid emergence of generative AI, I took the initiative to build a sandboxed workflow and custom AI Agents for our team. This setup allowed us to strategically test and refine prompts before deploying them in resource-heavy image generators. This proactive approach optimized our output and quickly became an organization-wide case study on how to thoughtfully integrate AI to enhance traditional workflows. To further my commitment to the responsible use of these tools, I am currently pursuing a certification in AI + Design Thinking.

Connectedness

Things happen for a reason. Will is sure of it. He is sure of it because in his soul he knows that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever his word of choice, he gains confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. His awareness of these responsibilities creates his value system. He is considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, he is a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, he can give others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The exact articles of his faith will depend on his upbringing and his culture, but his faith is strong. It sustains him and his close friends in the face of life’s mysteries.

Application in Action:

During the BrainHealth.com rebranding, I acted as the primary bridge between Marketing, Content Strategy, and Web Development. One of my most significant wins was successfully advocating for the modernization of our website framework. The Development team had previously struggled to get this initiative approved, but by translating the technical upgrades into clear business value—specifically, demonstrating a 10% reduction in production time—I was able to secure crucial stakeholder buy-in and push the project forward.

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