The Chaos Whisperer a Conversation with Tina Yerkes

Tina Yerkes, PhD, Founder of Transformative Leadership Consulting LLC

When I spoke with Tina Yerkes, the conversation didn't start with organizational chaos or broken systems.

It started with kids.

Tina has three boys, twins turning 21 and an older son, 23. All of them are about to be living in San Diego, which she moved to during COVID after selling her house in Michigan so one of her sons could join a higher-caliber soccer program.

When I told her she had guts for doing that, she laughed.

"I've been told that a few times."

That's Tina. Direct, no filter, and completely unbothered by what other people think. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what makes her great at what she does.

So What Does a Chaos Whisperer Actually Do?

Tina has a pattern. She gets hired into organizations that are broken. Clients are angry, teams have stopped talking, and leadership has been absent long enough that nobody's sure what good looks like anymore.

Then she fixes it.

At one organization, she walked in to find a technical team and an account team that weren't communicating, with major clients, ready to walk. Her VP handed her a simple directive: "Fix it."

And she did! Tina started with listening tours and actually listened. She mapped every broken system. Leveraging tools like DISC, Tina depersonalize hard conversations and got people talking to each other again.

As she described it, "I identified all the pieces and put all the change in place. It took eight or nine months. I had to bring everybody along. They had to learn to talk to each other."

Within twelve months, efficiencies were in place, clients were happy, and the organization hit 10% year-over-year net growth.

At another organization, nobody mentioned that there was barely enough money in the bank to cover payroll and zero plan in place.

"They forgot to tell me," Tina said, with a laugh that hinted this wasn't the first time she'd been handed a mess without warning.

A year later, COVID hit. Because Tina had already built the structure, transparency, and a culture willing to adapt, they came out of it in better financial shape.

That's what chaos whisperers do.

It's Rarely the People. It's the Design.

When I asked Tina what she sees walking into a broken organization that others miss, she didn't hesitate.

"It's rarely the people. It's the design."

The systems most organizations operate on were built for a world that no longer exists. As Tina explained:

"There was a time when women stayed home and raised children and men were in the workplace. So all the systems that were built for that time were built around men. They weren't built around flexibility required to raise kids. They weren't built around our current economic situation where you've got to have a two-income family."

When something breaks, the instinct is to blame the people. But Tina's argument, and the backbone of her upcoming book, is that people are usually doing their best inside a system that was never designed for them to succeed.

She gave me a perfect example. A VP once pulled her out of a meeting she was leading to criticize her outfit. Business casual. A dress and tights. She looked at him, said "whatever," and walked right back in.

"That dynamic is allowed because the system has supported it. He should have been called to HR. It never should have happened again. Unfortunately, that was not the case."

Eventually he was let go, for other reasons. But the damage was done. And the system that allowed it? Still standing.

That's exactly how a culture of fear is built, one unchallenged moment at a time. Fear kills creativity. And without that it’s hard to grow and develop, individually and as a company.

Psychological Safety Isn't a Buzzword

As our conversation turned to what kills innovation, Tina said something every leader should write down:

"Creating psychological safety is super important. If someone messes up, so what? Great. How do we fix it? Let's move forward."

The blame game, asking, “WHO DID THIS?” doesn’t fix the issue.

Tina commented, "You're not doing stupid stuff. You thought it through, it's a calculated risk. And you make it clear: we're going to try this, and if it doesn't work, it's okay."

The organizations that grow are the ones where people feel safe enough to try.

Leaders who can't admit something might not work are the same leaders who never find out what does. Breakthroughs don't happen when everyone plays it safe. They happen when someone feels safe enough to say, "I have a crazy idea."

What Boards Get Wrong

Tina walked into one organization and asked the board about their philanthropy. They looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Without saying anything she could hear, “Wait we need to raise money?”

Her board included executives from common corporations and major global companies. None of them thought fundraising was part of their role.

She told them directly, "This is a nonprofit. You are in service to the organization. You need to help me raise money. Either you do it by connecting people, or even better, go back to your company executives and ask them to give us some money."

They were, in her words, aghast.

"I'm like — this is a nonprofit. What are you doing on the board? You have two roles: governance and money. That's it. If we need help with strategy or operations, I’ll let you know."

Some never came around. But the ones who did? They loved it. Because it turns out connecting people to a mission you believe in feels really good.

I see this dynamic constantly. People join nonprofit boards without fully understanding that the whole model depends on everyone rowing. Not just the CEO. Not just the development staff. Everyone has a role in telling the story and moving the mission forward.

She Wrote a Book. In a Month.

Tina has spent her entire career in male-dominated industries. For years, when things went sideways, when she was talked over, pulled aside, dismissed, or held to a different standard, she assumed it was something about her.

"I initially thought my negative experiences were very unique to me, because I am a D on the DISC scale. I don't have a good filter. I'm very quick with decisions. Early in my career, I felt there was something wrong with me."

Over time, she started recognizing patterns. Not just her own experiences, but stories from other women navigating the same dynamics in different industries, different cities, different organizations.

The tribe, as she calls it, started forming.

At an executive leadership conference, she stood up and started sharing some of those stories. Tina watched the audience as she spoke. They were locked in. Leaning forward. Mouths open.

When she finished, the room went silent.

Then it erupted.

"They started yelling at me. You have to write a book. I left there thinking, you know what? I do have to write a book”

She submitted the concept to Greenleaf Book Group, one of the most respected hybrid publishers out there, accepting only 10% of submissions.  Before she had written a single word.

They said yes.

"I hadn't even written the book yet. I'm like ok; I’ll do it. Somehow, I did it in a month. Sent them the manuscript. They're like, what do you mean you wrote it already?”

The book comes out November 2026. It's not the "lean in" version of this conversation.

"It's not a woman's problem. It is the system. Everywhere you go, there are inherent systems that continue to perpetuate and even bolster this type of behavior in the workplace. Stop telling women to be something they're not."

It names the systems and calls them out. And asks organizations what they're going to do about it.

If you lead people, manage a team, or sit on a board, it belongs on your shelf. I'll be sharing more details as we get closer to the launch.

Final Thought

Fix the system, not the people. It sounds simple, but so are most great ideas.

Organizations that live by that idea, while creating psychological safety, engaging their boards, and allowing people to feel seen and heard, are the ones that grow.

It’s hard to fit in all the amazing work Tina does, but I had to mention her focus on addressing equity issues at work. Through her trademarked leadership program, Equity by Design, she helps women build the skills and strategies needed to succeed and lead in environments that weren't built with them in mind.

To learn more about Tina, check out her LinkedIn profile.

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I help nonprofits raise more money through education, coaching, and strategic planning. I also lead high-impact professional development, coaching programs, and retreats for companies of all sizes. If you're ready to strengthen your fundraising strategy, turn board members into advocates, or build a comprehensive legacy giving program, let's talk.