Travis A. Berger, Ph.D.

Travis

Berger

Ph.D. in Leadership

Inaugural Applied Leadership Fellow

Master of Arts in Leadership

Associate Professor of Business & Leadership

Header School of Business

College of Innovation, Discovery and Enterprise

John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne

141A

484-254-2107

travis.berger@alvernia.edu

Biography

Dr. Travis A. Berger is the Inaugural Applied Leadership Fellow and is an associate professor of business and leadership. His research lies at the intersection of leadership, management, and strategy. Dr. Berger’s work focuses on designing a common language around leadership, capturing value from strategic talent management programs, and driving organizational transformation through high performance.

An award-winning educator, Professor Berger offers courses that challenge students to think differently about leadership, management, power, and strategy. His interdisciplinary academic background has provided him with the necessary theoretical foundations to understand the complexity of leadership, strategy, and organizational transformation. He has designed and delivered popular executive and workforce development programs on leadership, organizational strategy, high performance, power, persuasion, and influence tactics.

In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dr. Berger is the Founder and Managing Partner of Vide Consulting Group, a leadership and management consulting firm that works with executive teams across business, government, and nonprofit sectors to pursue excellence by driving direction, alignment, and accountability, the conditions that unlock high performance. He is a sought-after advisor, executive coach, and speaker who has worked with government agencies, publicly traded and privately held businesses, and non-profit organizations.

Dr. Berger is a member of the Academy of Management, International Leadership Association, and the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance. He lives in Sinking Spring, PA, with his wife and four sons and enjoys sports and the outdoors.

Education

• Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Ph.D. Administration & Leadership Studies (23rd IUP Foundation Doctoral Fellow)

• �鶹��Ƶ: M.Ed. Urban Education (Master’s in Education Award of Excellence Honoree)

• Pennsylvania State University, University Park: B.A. Administration of Justice / Sociology Minor (with Distinction; Phi Beta Kappa)

Courses Taught

Research Interests

Honors & Awards

• Distinguished Alumni/Academic Hall of Fame, Wilson School District
(Recognized for significant academic and professional accomplishment)

• �鶹��Ƶ Teaching Excellence Award
(University-wide award for excellence in teaching; nominated by students)

• 23rd Annual IUP Foundation Doctoral Fellowship
(demonstrated merit and potential for academic excellence in doctoral studies)

• Delta Mu Delta, Lambda Zeta Chapter, �鶹��Ƶ
(International Honor Society in Business)

• M.Ed. Award of Excellence Honoree, �鶹��Ƶ
(Top graduate student in the M.Ed. program)

• Phi Beta Kappa, The Pennsylvania State University
(Nation’s oldest & most prestigious honor society for undergraduates in the liberal arts and sciences)

• Skull & Bones Senior Honor Society, The Pennsylvania State University
(Regarded as the highest honor seniors can achieve; tapped for humble service and unselfish leadership)

• Academic All-American, The Pennsylvania State University
(Superior academic and athletic achievement, PSU Men’s Soccer)

Publications

‘Leadership Insights’ Column, Reading Eagle’s Business Weekly Section

• “Trump’s leadership: What’s the verdict? (5-18-21)

• “Business’s role in the 21st Century” (5-04-21)

• “Management 101: Time to reinvest in helping managers manage” (4-21-21)

• “Transforming last thinkers into critical thinkers” (4-06-21)

• “Strategy: The need to rethink our approach to competitive advantage” (3-23-21)

• “Political skill: The unspoken truth of effective leaders” (3-09-21)

• “High performer: Let’s rethink our self-image” (2-23-21)

‘On Leadership’ Column, Reading Eagle’s Business Weekly Section

• “Thankful and hopeful for Berks County’s continued leadership” (11-26-19)

• “Bad leadership: Removing the rose-colored glasses” (9-10-19)

• “Pursuing excellence: It’s all about the focus” (7-22-19)

• “Lessons from Quantico: Add the right value at the right level” (7-08-19)

• “How do we find the courage to be vulnerable, to be brave, to dare greatly?” (6-10-19)

• “Alvernia’s Dr. Thomas Flynn answers the ‘so what?’ of leadership” (4-29-19)

• “Politics with dinner? Yes, and for dessert” (3-25-19)

• “Busy does not equal success” (2-25-19)

• “Creating a common language for leadership” (1-28-19)

• “State soccer issue provided valuable lessons in leadership” (12-31-18)

• “Authentic leadership has been hijacked” (11-13-18)

• “Leaders and managers: Both are valuable” (10-02-18)

• “Move past the ‘rah-rah’ initiatives” (9-11-18)

• “Consistency is the key to high-performers” (8-14-18)

• “What leaders can learn from the World Cup” (7-10-18)

• “The ‘natural’ or the ‘striver’: who do you hire?” (5-29-18)

• “What’s your excuse for lack of strategy?” (5-15-18)

• “What does a ‘foot wedge’ have to do with business” (4-24-18)

• “Dedicate time for planning” (4-10-18)

• “What headphone mode is and how to make it happen” (3-27-18)

• “How to add value as a high-performing follower” (3-13-18)

• “The Olympic case for moving past work-life balance” (2-27-18)

• “Why are we still writing about millennials” (2-13-18)

• “How servant leaders are powerful” (1-23-18)

• “Lonnie Walker IV: A case study in the power of credibility” (1-09-18)

• “What keeps leaders from blossoming” (12-19-18)

• “Leadership: The what, why and how of leadership in turbulent times” (11-21-17)

• “Leadership: What about the lemmings – er, followers” (11-14-17)

• “Leadership: Business leaders must learn to react quickly in turbulent times” (11-07-17)

• Berger, T.A. (2014). Servant Leadership 2.0: A Call for Strong Theory. Sociological Viewpoints, 30(1), 146-167.

• Berger, T.A. (2009). Sport as a Socializing Agent and Unifier of People: How to Foster and Reinforce Franciscan Values Through Sport. The AFCU Journal: A Franciscan Perspective on Higher Education, 6(1), 114.

Presentations

PEER-REVIEWED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (select)

International Leadership Association Global Conference

2020: Virtual (COVID-19 mandate)

• “Servant Leadership: A Leadership Theory or an Approach to Power?”

2019: Ottawa, Canada

• “Sustainable Competitive Advantage: What’s Your Organization’s Potential?”

2018: West Palm Beach, Florida

• “Behaviors of Excellence: Capturing Core Values in Action”

• “Executives Want Clarity: Creating a Common Language Around Leadership”

• “Logic Models: An Unexpected Hit with Executives”

2017: Brussels, Belgium

• “Meaningfully embedding core values in organizations: A pragmatic guide for practitioners”

2015: Barcelona, Spain

• “Strategy’s contribution to the Leadership/Strategy conceptual framework: Focus, context, and criteria”

• “Presenting a taxonomy of leadership: The foundation of the Leadership/Strategy conceptual framework”

2014: San Diego, CA

• Co-presented “Making an impact: Leadership development and the branch campus model worldwide” with Bakken, R. and Stephenson, A.L.

INVITED KEYNOTES AND SEMINARS (select)

• “Implementing Strategy in the 21st Century” PA Department of Labor & Industry (April 2022)

• “Leadership for Positive Impact: Let’s Get This Right” Reading Public Library (November 2021)

• “State Champions & Leadership” Wilson HS Boys Soccer Banquet (November 2018)

• “Four Takeaways for Winning in Life” Schuylkill Valley High School Athletics Program (April 2018)

• Society of Human Resource Management (Pottstown Chapter):

• “Strategic Performance Management: Become the CEO’s #1 Executive Partner” HRCI Approved (January 2017)

• “Employee Engagement: Why it Matters” HRCI Approved (February 2014)

• “Reframing Time: Change Your Perspective, Change your Life” South Mountain YMCA (September 2017)

• “The Power of Servant Leadership” Legatus, Lehigh Valley Chapter (April 2017)

• “The American Dream: An Exploration” Communities in Schools, Reading High School (February 2017)

• “Understanding Leadership” The Berks County Medical Society’s 7th Annual Memorial Lecture (April 2016)

• “High Performers and Leadership: Understanding Your Value” Wheeling Jesuit University Women’s Soccer Team Awards Banquet (February 2016)

• “Leadership and Ethics” Center for Excellence in Local Government’s Accounting and Finance Conference, Albright College (April 2015)

• “First Impressions are Lasting Impressions: Mastering the Art of Networking” Temple University, Enhancing Community Learning Series (June 2015)

• “Leadership: What Does It Mean?” Regional Young Professionals Leadership Summit, Greater Reading Young Professionals (May 2014)

Dissertation Committees

• Cara M. Tolan, Alvernia Leadership, “Leadership readiness & curriculum analysis of healthcare graduate programs” Committee Member (2021)

• David C. Delozier, Alvernia Leadership, “The relationship between student involvement in philanthropic organizations and socially responsible leadership capacity” Reader (2021)

• April B. Halligan-Rostek, Alvernia Leadership, “The impact of elementary leaders on school performance in urban Pennsylvania school districts” Reader (2020)

• Thomas G. Wyatt, Alvernia Leadership, “Leadership in athletics: A pilot study of collegiate leadership institutes and athletic director perceptions of effectiveness” Reader (2019)

• Michael L. Saylor, Alvernia Leadership, “The impact of The Leader In Me school leadership model on perceived shared leadership” Reader (2019)

• Bernard Sean Martin, Alvernia Leadership, “ A typology of police departments in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” Reader (2018)

• Andrew Kochanowski, Alvernia Leadership, “The role of technology in the leadership context” Reader (2017)

Professional Experience

Vide Consulting Group, LLC (2012 to present) Founder & Managing Partner

Vide Consulting Group is a leadership and management consulting firm that works with executive teams across business, government, and nonprofit sectors. They help organizations pursue excellence by driving direction, alignment, and accountability, the conditions that unlock high performance.

Their consultants combine deep expertise in leadership, strategy, and people to transform complexity into clarity and strategy into action. Grounded in research and proven in practice, they cut through complexity, focus strategy, and add discipline to execution—helping organizations achieve the right results the right way.

Vide Consulting Group believes clarity unlocks performance, and that when people rise, organizations win. High-performing cultures make both possible.

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