We are pleased to announce the individuals and organizations named as Finalists for the 2026 Kolbe Conative Excellence Awards. Congratulations to this incredible group, all of whom have displayed exceptional creativity and leadership when it comes to the use of conation and Kolbe Wisdom™. Thank you to all who were nominated and applied for consideration. Winners will be announced at Kolbe Fall Fest on October 22nd, 2026.
This award honors a Kolbe Certified™ Consultant who has developed a high level of expertise in Kolbe Theory and has used Kolbe products and methodologies to impact organizations and/or individuals.
Rod Cruce
Founder & CEO
Rod Cruce is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Trifecta Growth Institute, which is focused on Growing Businesses by Growing People. As an entrepreneur, business leader, published author, and coach, he is dedicated to empowering business owners, leadership teams, and project teams to cultivate growth in their business, people, and culture.
He spent 21 years in the United States Army, 18 as a Special Forces Green Beret and Ranger, where he conducted missions throughout the world in numerous countries including, El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Following an illustrious career with the Special Operations Community, Rod transitioned into a role as a successful business owner throughout various industries such as, defense, construction, home restoration, leadership and training, and industrial maintenance.
He has demonstrated a keen ability to initiate, acquire, and successfully divest numerous businesses over the past decade and half. He correlates his success to being able to leverage a unique skill set acquired as a Green Beret composed of leadership, recruiting and developing high-performing teams, strategy, and problem solving, which influences others to embrace change and achieve successful outcomes.
One of Rod’s previous accomplishments is purchasing a troubled restoration company where he made it profitable in less than 4 months, soared to a Top Performer within 15 months, and led the company to be in the Top 25 companies in a 6,000-organization network focused on working with carrier claims.
Rod’s passion lies in equipping business leaders and their teams with the necessary training, leadership, guidance, and resources at all levels to increase their revenue, maximize profitability, and optimize operations. He achieves this by speaking engagements, developing leaders and leadership team by influencing them to “Lead Like a Green Beret” in business.
Rod lives in the greater Denver area where he enjoys hiking, shooting, working out, engaging in competitive Skydiving, Skiing, and spending time with his family.
Susan Spritz Myers
Leadership Coach/Consultant
Susan Spritz Myers specializes in leadership development and supports clients in building individual and team strategies for improving collaboration and productivity.
Susan’s clients, including CEOs, heads of business units, lawyers, and senior executives, experience a transformative journey under her guidance. Her clients report a profound increase in how they work, contribute, lead, and communicate with greater impact and ease.
Susan is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF). The MCC certification is the highest credential granted by the ICF. Susan is also a Kolbe Certified™ Team Specialist working with individuals and teams to leverage their innate problem-solving talents. Results produce significantly increased mental energy, reduced exhaustion, strain, and tension, and empowered working relationships and collaboration.
Susan artfully uses many other assessments to serve clients. She has the “right” tools to support each client’s needs. Susan is certified in The Leadership Circle, Korn Ferry’s Emotional and Social Competency Inventory, EQi, Bates Executive Presence Assessment, and the Strengths Profile (recently renamed Skills Discovery). Each assessment helps clients strengthen their self-awareness and leadership agility.
Susan has been a coach for over 28 years. She earned her coach certification from the Coaches Training Institute and keeps her practice fresh through a lifelong commitment to continuing education. She is intrigued by the story of each of her client organizations, the people behind them, and the relationship dynamics at play.
Susan’s extensive work experience, natural curiosity, keen emotional intelligence skills, and years as a seasoned coach greatly benefit her clients. Before becoming a coach, Susan worked in hotel sales, ran a national travel club, and led a Midwest account management and sales team for a direct marketing company. Her diverse experiences give her a first-hand perspective on the complexity of leadership and team development. Susan’s clients report remarkable results and have great fun in the process!
Tricia Senzel
Leadership Coach/Consultant/CPA
Tricia Senzel, CPA is the founder of Senzel Coaching & Consulting in South Burlington, Vermont, and a Kolbe Certified™ Performance, Team, and Youth Specialist who brings the full Kolbe System into every part of her practice. She works with high-capacity leaders who have built impressive careers but, along the way, have abandoned parts of themselves for their achievements. Her approach combines whole-system inquiry with a strengths-based lens, helping leaders see the patterns they’re running so they can lead themselves and others with intention instead of by default.
Tricia’s practice has two tracks: Captain’s Way Coaching, a 90-day executive leadership program, and TrueCrew, a hiring strategy system built on Kolbe RightFit. Clients use her to build teams that fit, and to help those teams work well together through Kolbe-based team synergy sessions. Her guiding philosophy is “Fit over Force.”
A CPA with a background in accounting and law-firm operations, Tricia is also a certified Human Design practitioner. She is exploring how the two systems complement and amplify each other in leadership development. When she’s not with clients, she’s at the helm on Lake Champlain as a USCG-licensed 50-Ton Master captain, which is fitting for someone whose tagline is “Steady at the Helm.”
This award honors a company for using Kolbe solutions to make a difference in an organization or organizations at an enterprise level with demonstrable results.
FINALISTS:
Organizations grow and thrive when their team members do. At humanworks8, we’re committed to helping organizations reach their next level of success through more sustainable and effective people practices.
We build solutions that recognize eight universal truths about people: Everyone… Is Unique, Believes, Connects, Contributes, Rises, Learns, Thrives and Matters. These truths translate to eight organizational disciplines that, when continually nurtured and strengthened, result in lasting, authentic cultures and ultimately, excellent places to work.
Our team works alongside you, becoming an extension of your team and developing disciplines and tools that are aligned to your organization’s culture and Way of working.
Our Core Values: Champion People, Be Authentic, Elevate, Breathe, Wonder
humanworks8 Nominees:
Rooted in Saskatchewan, The Rack is a family-owned agricultural retailer that has expanded into Alberta, continuing to support local producers with trusted service and expertise. We’re dedicated to providing farmers with everything they need to maximize their productivity and profitability. Our comprehensive services include agronomy, crop protection, custom application, seed treatment, fertilizer and fuel, as well as research programs and knowledge transfer initiatives that empower growers to make informed decisions.
At The Rack, knowledge drives everything we do. We don’t just sell inputs; we offer expert guidance backed by Ultimate Yield Research and Ultimate Yield Agronomy, a proprietary 6-factor agronomy program designed to optimize input costs and deliver the most profitable return on investment. Our ability to anticipate challenges and react quickly allows us to provide fast, effective solutions tailored to each farm’s unique needs.
Our team goes above and beyond to support farmers, with a focus on proactive decision-making and long-term sustainability. We do what we do because we care. We are passionate about supporting farmers, which means we are available where and when they need us.
We are committed to helping Canadian agriculture thrive—today and tomorrow—through innovation, integrity, science-backed agronomy and a genuine dedication to our customers’ success.
Rack Petroleum Nominee:
The Entrepreneur’s Source Team
For more than 40 years, The Entrepreneur’s Source® (TES) has empowered people and organizations to realize possibilities they may not have seen on their own. Through our patented coaching methodology, we help individuals reimagine their future, gain greater clarity and confidence, and explore pathways toward their Income, Lifestyle, Wealth and Equity™ goals.
At the same time, we partner with more than 250 business concepts across North America to help grow their brands by connecting them with prospective business owners who may not otherwise have recognized franchising as a pathway to greater self-sufficiency. At the heart of TES is a belief in unlocking human potential, and Kolbe has become an important part of that mission.
We use Kolbe to strengthen relationships with our franchisees, coach them more effectively, and help individuals and teams understand and leverage their natural strengths. We are also working to bring this approach to the broader franchise community through our relationships with franchisor members and the International Franchise Association, furthering our mission to help people and organizations accomplish more, more naturally.
The Entrepreneur’s Source Team Nominees:
