Tim Gabel, President and CEO of RTI International, joins Maril to reflect on leading a mission-driven scientific organization through growth, disruption and profound change. Drawing on more than four decades at RTI, Tim shares how purpose, transparency and disciplined decision-making shape his approach to leadership.

Tim explores the responsibility of moving from peer to CEO, the balance between science and art in leadership, and what it takes to guide people through uncertainty while staying grounded in values.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

04:41 A leadership journey shaped by mentorship, curiosity and long-term commitment.

07:21 Why moving from peer to CEO changes everything.

10:41 Blending scientific rigor with the human side of leadership.

13:49 Applying the Stockdale Paradox to lead with realism and hope.

16:58 Leading transparently through major federal funding cuts.

19:24 Turning crisis into an opportunity to redesign the organization.

23:26 Using purpose and a North Star goal to sustain morale and momentum.

26:20 Why leaders must let go of perfection and the past.

Resources Mentioned:

Tim Gabel

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timgabel/

RTI International | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/rti-international/

RTI International | Website

https://www.rti.org/

ABOUT LET GO & LEAD

Let Go & Lead is a leadership community created by Maril MacDonald, founder and CEO of Gagen MacDonald. Maril brings together provocateurs, pioneers, thought leaders and those leading the conversation around culture, transformation and change. Over the course of the past 14 years, Let Go & Lead has existed in many forms, from video interviews to resource guides to its current iteration as a podcast. At its core, it remains a place where people can access a diversity of perspectives on interdisciplinary approaches to leadership. Maril is also working on a book incorporating these insights gathered over the past several years from global leaders and change makers.

Maril has interviewed over 140 leaders — from business to academia and nonprofits to the arts — through the years. In each conversation, from personal anecdotes to ground-breaking scientific analysis, she has probed the lessons learned in leadership. From these conversations, the Let Go & Lead framework has emerged. It is both a personal and organizational resource that aims to serve the individual leader or leadership at scale.

ABOUT GAGEN MACDONALD

At Gagen MacDonald, we are dedicated to helping organizations navigate the human struggle of change. We are a people-focused consulting firm and our passion is improving the employee experience — for everyone. For more than 25 years, we have been working with companies to create clarity from chaos by uniting employees across all levels around a single vision so they can achieve results and realize their future.

We have been a pioneer in bringing humanity to strategy execution, leading in areas such as organizational communication, culture, leadership and employee engagement. Our Vision is to lift all humanity by transforming the companies that transform the world.

Full episodes also available on:

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/let-go-lead-with-maril-macdonald/id1454869525 

Spotify: 

https://open.spotify.com/show/5Gaf7JXOckZMtkpsMtnjAj?si=WZjZkvfLTX2T4eaeB1PO2A 

Gagen MacDonald is a woman-owned, human-focused transformation consulting firm and trusted partner to the C-suite. We specialize in internal communications, employee engagement, culture change and leadership development. Learn more at http://www.gagenmacdonald.com.

#LeadershipDevelopment #OrganizationalChange #CorporateCulture