Biography

John Michael works with clients to help them create and unlock customized leadership development opportunities for their organizations, communities, and causes. His work draws from his experiences as an entrepreneur, artist, producer, and educator.

For four years, Schert served as the inaugural Visiting Artist and Social Entrepreneur at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he studied and lectured on the utility of the creative process, how the skills and behaviors of creatives can be of relevance and value to other sectors. He is the founding principal of the creative leadership consultancy JMS & Company, an executive producer of Boise’s B Corp-certified Treefort Music Fest, and founder of the American Ballet Theatre Leadership Lab.

He began his career as a dancer with American Ballet Theatre and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. In 2004, he co-founded Trey McIntyre Project (TMP), serving as the company’s Executive Director and a dancer for nine years. During that time, Schert gained a unique insight into the process and product of art-making, which has led him to become a sought-after national arts leader and speaker focusing on the evolving role of artists in American society.

Schert is a recipient of the USA Eisenhower Fellowship 2019. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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Videos

What can leaders learn from artists? | John Michael Schert

Moving Through Uncertainty Teaser

Ada Lovelace Festival 2022: Moving through Uncertainty

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Moving Through Uncertainty

In times of unrest, reshuffling, and (re)alignment, on an individual, collective, and systemic level, we look for navigation, reasoning, and a new moral compass. Instead of staying in existing patterns for the sake of comfort and safety, how can we step into—and become—the unknown, balancing the edge and the precarious, tapping into our intuition, improvisation, somatic intelligence, and “making artful” choices to progress forward?

JMS & Company (JMSCo) offers an in-person embodied experience, utilizing the adaptive leadership framework, combined with the creative choice-making skill of dance artists.

Through this experience, JMSCo aids clients in diagnosing the adaptive challenges they currently face, internally and externally,
and helps them build novel patterns and norms to exercise leadership.

Blog Posts

Events Under Pressure: How One Planner Won an Emmy with Six Days Notice

Discover how Emmy-winning event planner Gabriella Robuccio conquered live events with just six days' notice using boundaries and vulnerability.

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Why Relatable Leaders Build Stronger Teams (And How You Can Become One)

Discover engagement strategies fom expert Rachel DeAlto on how leaders can become more relatable and transform their workforce for the better.

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Why Top Event Planners Are Booking Storytellers (You Should Too)

Discover why storytellers create lasting impact at events through wonder, not just applause—transform your audience experience today.

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AI Networking Strategies That Actually Work in 2025 with Marketing Legend Seth Godin

Learn AI networking secrets from marketing expert Seth Godin on building peer circles that outperform traditional expert models.

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Negotiation Questions Every Event Professional Should Ask Before Walking Into Any Deal

Master negotiation questions with keynote speaker Alexandra Carter that transform anxiety into confidence whenever you're seeking better deals.

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Limits Become Leverage When You Change Your Story with Torsten Gross

Transform your limits into leverage with insights from quadriplegic race car driver Torsten Gross on resilience and redefining possible.

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