Travis A.
Berger
Ph.D.
Ph.D. in Leadership
Inaugural Applied Leadership Fellow
Master of Arts in Leadership
Associate Professor of Business & Leadership
- John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne #141A
- 484-254-2107
Biography
Travis A. Berger, Ph.D., is the Inaugural Applied Leadership Fellow and Associate Professor of Business and Leadership at Alvernia University and Founder and Managing Partner of Vide Consulting Group, a leadership and management advisory firm serving business, government, and nonprofit organizations. His work spans leadership, strategy, and operational excellence, with a particular focus on what enables people, teams, and organizations to achieve sustained high performance.
Dr. Berger’s research and applied work examine leadership within the broader organizational context in which performance occurs. His work focuses on developing high performers, connecting leadership and talent practices to organizational strategy, and strengthening the direction, alignment, and accountability required for sustained performance.
His ongoing work in these areas led Dr. Berger to develop a common language for leadership through HPLX™ and an organizational alignment system through Performance Blueprint™. Together, these interrelated approaches are designed to strengthen the conditions required for high performance across people, teams, and organizations.
HPLX™ gives organizations a shared way to understand, discuss, develop, coach, evaluate, and apply leadership while developing high performers who add the right value at the right level. Performance Blueprint™ helps leaders understand and align strategy, leadership and people, and operational excellence so that organizations deliver the right results the right way.
As Founder and Managing Partner of Vide Consulting Group, Dr. Berger advises owners, CEOs, executive teams, boards, government officials, and nonprofit leaders facing consequential questions involving strategy, leadership, people, organizational alignment, accountability, and execution. His work has supported publicly traded and privately held companies, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations navigating growth, transformation, leadership transitions, culture change, strategic realignment, talent and succession challenges, organizational development, and the demands of execution.
An award-winning educator, Berger teaches and develops courses related to leadership, strategy, and organizational transformation. He has designed and delivered executive and workforce development programs for leaders across business, government, and nonprofit sectors and is a national and international presenter on leadership, strategy, and organizational performance.
Dr. Berger’s academic leadership has included serving as Founding Dean, Department Chair, and President of Faculty Council at Alvernia. As Founding Dean, he helped secure the largest alumni gift in the university’s history, established the Header School of Business, launched the Community News Lab, expanded academic offerings, and strengthened connections among the university, industry, and community.
A former Division I soccer player, All-American, Big Ten champion, state champion, captain, and Hall of Fame inductee, Berger’s competitive experience helped shape his enduring interest in leadership, teamwork, accountability, and high performance. Across his athletic, academic, organizational leadership, and advisory experiences, his work has continued to examine a central question: What allows people, teams, and organizations to perform at their best, particularly when conditions are complex and the answers are not obvious?
That work reflects the consistent performance standard of shaping direction, creating alignment, and embedding accountability to achieve sustained high performance.
Berger is a member of the Academy of Management, International Leadership Association, and Greater Reading Chamber Alliance.
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Ph.D. Administration & Leadership Studies (23rd IUP Foundation Doctoral Fellow)
• Alvernia University: 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)
• PHD 710: Qualitative Research
• MBA 680: Executive Leadership
• MBA 675: Strategic Management
• LDR 540: Leadership Theory
• LDR 520: Leadership Development
• BUS 450: Organizational Leadership, High Performer Development Series
• Leadership's Common Language
• Leadership Applications and Development
• Organizational Strategy and Strategic Leadership
• Strategic Talent Management
• Servant Leadership and Power
• High Performers
• Evaluation and Assessment
• Distinguished Alumni/Academic Hall of Fame, Wilson School District
(Recognized for significant academic and professional accomplishment)
• Alvernia University 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, Alvernia University
(International Honor Society in Business)
• M.Ed. Award of Excellence Honoree, Alvernia University
(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)
‘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.
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)
• 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)
Vide Consulting Group, LLC (2012–Present) Founder & Managing Partner
Vide Consulting Group is a leadership and management advisory firm serving business, government, and nonprofit organizations. The firm helps leaders shape direction, create alignment, embed accountability, and strengthen the organizational conditions required for sustained high performance.
As Founder and Managing Partner, Dr. Berger advises owners, CEOs, executive teams, boards, government officials, and nonprofit leaders facing consequential organizational challenges and decisions. He helps leaders make sense of complex conditions, determine what matters most, and develop practical solutions that strengthen organizational performance and execution.
Grounded in research and proven in practice, Vide helps organizations develop high-performing people, teams, and organizations that deliver the right results the right way.
• International Leadership Association (ILA)
• Academy of Management
• Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP)
• Greater Reading Chamber Alliance