
Transforming Chaos and Dysfunction into Scalable Systems
Meet Rhonda Lea, LSSBB
Certified LeanSix Sigma Black Belt
Rhonda Lea is a sought-after strategist, fractional leader, and keynote speaker with over 15 years of experience driving results across Manufacturing, Healthcare, Automotive, Real Estate, and high-growth startups.
Her superpower? Systematizing the chaos.
Rhonda turns complex, messy operations and team misalignment into clear, actionable frameworks that scale. Whether she’s in the boardroom, on the stage, or embedded inside your business for a 30-day sprint, she helps leaders turn overwhelm into execution—and expertise into systems that stick.
A Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and former VP of Operations, Rhonda is known for creating high-performance cultures, operational clarity, and leadership development programs that don’t just inspire—they get implemented.
Offering fractional consulting and project-based support, Rhonda partners with organizations ready to fix what’s slowing them down—and build what helps them scale.
Click HERE to view and download Rhonda Lea’s full resume.
Rhonda’s Story
I haven’t always been a force to be reckoned with.
For years, my life wasn’t just chaotic, it was a full-scale survival mission. I was a single mom of four, the sole breadwinner, building my career while juggling carpool, classroom parties, and client calls.
People used to ask me how I did it. I’d just point to the license plate on my red mini-van: “Powered By Diet Coke”.
There was the night my daughter’s senior awards ceremony overlapped with my son’s 6th grade graduation. Or the time one daughter had a choir concert while the other had freshman orientation. Thank goodness, both were in the same building. I ran back and forth in heels, with a toddle on my hips. Two events. One mom, built in cardio. A true triple threat.
Some days I aerated the soccer fields with my heels. Other days I sat at my daughter’s bedside in ICU.
Honestly? Going to the office was the break.
I was the glue at home so it made perfect sense I became the glue at the office, too.
“I don’t wait to be told. I move. I solve. I lead.”
But here’s the thing you need to know about me:
I go and do. Not recklessly, but relentlessly.
When something needs to be fixed, built, or led, I don’t wait to be told. I move. I solve. I lead.
Because survival sharpened my edge. And now, I don’t just know how to lead through complexity, I’ve lived it.
What came out of my struggles?
Frameworks that work.
Strategies that scale.
Systems that stick.
The Problem with Most Goal Setting? No One’s Actually Aligned.
I once worked with a company that had big ideas but zero traction. They’d been setting the same vague goals for years, wondering why nothing ever changed.
I knew we needed a goal setting framework that forced alignment from corporate objectives all the way down to the daily tasks.
So, I created one where every goal was tied to the mission. Every team understood exactly how their work mattered. Every decision was guided by measurable progress.
Finally, momentum, clarity, and actual progress.
Now, that same framework - The Aim Alignment Framework™ - helps organizations stop spinning their wheels and actually move forward.
Communication Isn't About Emojis. It's About Adaptability.
I have always known communication was important, but it was during a performance review where I realized most people don’t actually understand communication, they just react to whatever feels good to them.
During that performance review, the only feedback I received was “You should use more emojis.”
That was it. No mention of my leadership, my results, my efficiency. Just a request for more winky faces and thumb-up icons.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am open to feedback, but I refuse to believe the secret to effective communication is a well-placed GIF.
I realized that different people interpret the same communication differently and upon deeper inspection, I found this was often due to personality differences. So, I began looking into personality types, but this is where most personality type programs fall flat. They teach you about YOUR personality type, but what good is that if you don’t know how to communicate with others?
I realized that real communication skills aren’t just about self-awareness, they’re about adaptability.
So, I created a system called The Bird Mapping Framework™ that teaches people how to quickly read and adapt to different communication styles in real time. Not after taking a quiz. Not after months of training. But instantly.
Because what’s the point of knowing yourself if you can’t connect with anyone else?
You Can’t Build High Performance on Low Expectations.
At one transition in my career, I inherited a team that, to put it bluntly, had no idea what they were doing. I’m not talking about a little confusion or a few skill gaps. I mean absolute chaos. No job expectations – other than to show up and be nice. No metrics – they knew they were behind but had no idea how far behind they were. And no motivation – because why bother when there was no accountability.
The training process was a three-day job shadow, but not even within their own department. Just random exposure to things they would never use. It was the corporate equivalent of throwing someone into a kitchen and saying, “If you watch the chef long enough, maybe you’ll figure out how to be a doctor.”
The worst part was the other managers wanted to keep it that way. They fought change at every turn because the dysfunction kept the expectations low.
So, I built something better - a high-performance employee development program with clear metrics, structured growth plans, and a system that made people want to excel.
To the shock (and horror) of the other team managers, a team that had been floundering became a powerhouse. In less than 4 months, our processing time dropped from 48 weeks to less than 30 days. Suddenly, we weren’t just functional, we were outperforming every other department.
Since then, my Empowered Employee Growth Framework™ has helped numerous organizations turn disengaged employees into high-performing assets.
Emotional Intelligence Isn’t Optional…It’s the Operating System.
I have worked with organizations where I have watched highly skilled teams crumble under poor leadership. I saw talented people walk out the door because no one knew how to manage conflict. Their bosses couldn’t handle conflict, leaders micromanaged their way into irrelevance, companies stalled because of ego-driven decision-making, and executives thought mentorship meant controlling and belittling.
I know this because I lived it. I was accused of lacking emotional intelligence by someone who had none, though I didn’t realize it at the time.
That’s when I began researching what true emotional intelligence looked like, not to defend myself, but because I had been told I didn’t have any and I knew I needed it.
What I discovered was shocking.
Many leaders think emotional intelligence is stifling emotions and avoiding conflict at all costs, when it’s actually the opposite.
Leaders who lack emotional intelligence actually believe they have high emotional intelligence, because they lack self-awareness, which is a key trait of emotional intelligence. Ironically, they believe those who have emotional intelligence are the ones lacking it.
It’s a vicious cycle. Low-EI leaders create low-trust environments. Low-trust environments cause talented people to leave. And when those talented people leave, those same leaders say, ‘They just weren’t the right fit,’ instead of asking themselves why the best people keep walking out the door.
The worst part is that most of these leaders never realize they’re the problem. Their teams suffer. Their companies bleed money. And they keep wondering why people quit.
That’s why I created Intellevate™ to help leaders and teams regulate reactions, build awareness, and model cultures so they can lead with intention instead of ego, avoidance, and control. Stop being the reason your best people quit.
I haven’t just read about these problems; I have lived them.
I’ve rebuild broken teams from scratch.
I’ve cleaned up communication wreckage.
I’ve undone the damage of bad leadership.
I’ve outperformed every department they said couldn’t be fixed.
I have had to step in where systems didn’t exist and create solutions that actually work.
I’ve turned theory into action, again and again.
In addition to these frameworks, I now offer fractional consulting and short-term strategic support for companies ready to fix what’s slowing them down.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Chances are, that’s what your organization has been doing.
Let’s Fix the Real Problem.
Stop the insanity. If you’re stuck in miscommunication, bad leadership, disengaged teams or goals that never turn into action, I’ve seen it. I’ve solved it. Let’s fix it. Right now.
Book a call with me today and let’s build a system that actually works.