Interview: Jennifer Mayo — Building Leaders Through Behavioral Intelligence
For Jennifer Mayo, leadership isn’t just about strategy or operations, it’s about human behavior. With a career that bridges law, organizational development, and behavioral psychology, she has spent decades guiding teams through transformation and uncertainty. Today, as a certified leadership coach, organizational development strategist, and CEO of More Than 16, a behavioral-intelligence company, she applies evidence-based frameworks to help leaders grow with clarity, composure, and purpose.
From Experience to Purpose
Jennifer’s path to coaching was shaped by years spent leading complex teams through change and crisis. Over time, she noticed that many capable professionals struggled under systems that valued endurance more than awareness. That realization became the seed for her career in coaching, a way to guide people toward new patterns of thinking and leading themselves with intentionality.
Her philosophy blends structure with science. She draws on the International Coaching Federation’s Core Competencies and other research-backed methods to translate self-insight into consistent behavioral change. Coaching, in her view, is not about fixing people but helping them understand how they function so they can perform at their best.
A Career Shaped by Transformation
Jennifer’s professional life has always revolved around transformation, of people, organizations, and the systems that connect them. She began in public relations and law, later expanding into leadership roles in policy, human resources, and organizational development. Along the way, she earned her ICF coaching credential and a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology.
Each stage deepened her belief that meaningful, sustainable change depends on human behavior, not just on process or policy. That conviction inspired her to launch her own company focused on behavioral intelligence, integrating coaching science, I/O psychology, and artificial intelligence tools for leadership growth and self-development. The goal is to make evidence-based coaching not only more effective but also more accessible and measurable.
The Core of Her Coaching Practice
Jennifer’s approach is grounded in ethics and structure, following the standards set by the ICF. Her work centers on three essential dimensions: discovery, awareness, and behavior. Discovery helps clients surface underlying patterns and performance drivers. Awareness turns those insights into understanding, while behavior transforms understanding into action through reflection, experimentation, and feedback.
This process blends the human and the analytical. It combines reflective dialogue with behavioral data and psychological science, helping leaders show up with steadier energy and sharper judgment. The ultimate goal is lasting transformation, the kind of internal alignment that endures in real-world pressure.
The Role of Continuous Learning
Jennifer believes the coaching profession must evolve as fast as the world around it. The way people experience autonomy, competence, and connection is shifting, influenced by remote work, technology, and cultural change. Continuous education, for coaches, is a proof of integrity. It keeps the profession rooted in ethical practice and scientific grounding.
She views lifelong learning not as a requirement but as professional discipline. In an age where AI and automation reshape work and relationships, she sees a shared responsibility among coaches to reaffirm their values and preserve the human element that makes the field meaningful.
A Reflection on the Future of Leadership
For Jennifer, effective leadership blends precision and humanity. She believes that self-awareness is a strategic advantage — one of the few constants in an ever-changing environment. True progress, she notes, lies in understanding how behavior shapes success, and in using that understanding to adapt thoughtfully.
She also sees a turning point ahead, where behavioral science, coaching, and technology converge. The next era of leadership development, she predicts, will rely on systems where data informs growth, and human judgment remains the ultimate guide. Innovation should enhance the human element, not replace it.
Jennifer Mayo is the Founder and CEO of a behavioral‑intelligence company integrating coaching science, I/O psychology, and AI tools for leadership development. Connect on LinkedIn to learn more about her work and thought leadership on the future of human-centered performance.
