Institute for Adaptive Mastery
The People Behind
Adaptive Effectiveness™
Bringing behavioral science, executive coaching and organization development to a central leadership challenge: recognizing what a situation requires and adapting under pressure.
Theory & Method
Charles M. Jones
Behavioral Scientist
Developer of the Self-Effectiveness Theory of Emotion
Creator of Adaptive Effectiveness™
Charles M. Jones studies how emotion and thinking work together to shape human effectiveness. His work focuses on the gap between what capable leaders know how to do and what they actually do under pressure. The Self-Effectiveness Theory of Emotion proposes that emotions are subconscious evaluations of whether we are on track to meet important effectiveness needs.
An executive and leadership coach since 2002, Charles brings a background in software engineering, product management and organization development to his work with senior executives, emerging leaders, corporate teams and coaches. He helps people read emotional signals, test their assumptions and adapt their strategies to the demands of real leadership situations.
Charles is a co-author of Emotional Intelligence for Stress-Free Leadership and a contributor to Fielding University’s Innovations in Leadership Coaching. His 40+ year inquiry into conscious and subconscious processing has developed into Adaptive Effectiveness: a framework and practical method for strengthening judgment, collaboration and ownership under pressure.
Leadership & Organization Development
Terry H. HildebrandtPhD, MCC, MCEC
Master Corporate Executive Coach
Organization Development Consultant
Certified Coaching Supervisor
Terry H. Hildebrandt brings the perspectives of executive coaching, organization development and coaching supervision to the work of developing leaders. His professional credentials include Master Certified Coach (MCC) and Master Corporate Executive Coach (MCEC).
Terry collaborates with Charles to bring Adaptive Effectiveness to leaders, teams and coaches. Together, they connect the framework’s central ideas with the practical work of leadership development: making sound decisions under pressure, working through conflict and helping others take ownership.
An inquiry that began in 1982
How Adaptive Effectiveness Developed
40+ years exploring how conscious and subconscious processing interact under pressure.
In 1982, Charles and his family narrowly avoided a serious car accident. During those moments of intense pressure, he experienced his conscious and subconscious processing working seamlessly together to respond to the danger.
The experience raised a question that would shape decades of inquiry:
What enables us to respond effectively under pressure—and what gets in the way?
Charles’s investigation moved from the experience of flow to the relationship between emotion, interpretation and action. His work in behavioral science and leadership coaching led him to examine why capable people sometimes misread what a situation requires, even when they have the skills and knowledge to respond effectively.
The Self-Effectiveness Theory of Emotion emerged from that inquiry. It proposes that emotions carry information about effectiveness needs. When people misinterpret those signals—or mute them before understanding them—they can apply their intelligence to an inaccurate definition of the problem.
Adaptive Effectiveness turns that premise into a practical discipline: name emotions, decode needs, test beliefs and upgrade strategies. Its focus is helping leaders make better use of both emotion and reason when the demands are greatest.
From insight to practice
Developing effectiveness
where it matters.
We work with executives, leadership teams and coaches to build Adaptive Range, Adaptive Thinking, Adaptive Collaboration and Adaptive Empowerment through practice, coaching and feedback.
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