Leadership development firm celebrates growth with new brand positioning and award-winning framework
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Piercing Strategies, a leadership development firm serving Fortune 500 companies and industry associations, today marks its five-year anniversary with the relaunch of its website and the formal introduction of its H.U.M.A.N. First™ Method —a proprietary framework that teaches leaders to build trust, foster belonging, and drive performance through authentic human connection.
The milestone follows an exceptional year of recognition, with Piercing Strategies earning back-to-back Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards—Gold in 2024 for Learning and Development and Silver in 2025 for Leadership Development.
“Five years ago, I started Piercing Strategies with a belief that leadership development needed to be fundamentally different,” said Arika Pierce Williams, Founder & CEO. “Working alongside our growing team of leadership facilitators and coaches, we’ve learned that in this new era of AI, the real challenge isn’t skills gaps—it’s connection gaps. The H.U.M.A.N. First™ Method addresses that by developing the uniquely human capabilities—communication, collaboration, and connection—that drive retention, innovation, and breakthrough results.”
Introducing H.U.M.A.N. First™ Leadership
The H.U.M.A.N. First™ Method is Piercing Strategies’ answer to a critical question facing organizations in the AI era: How do we develop leaders for a world where human connection is the only sustainable competitive advantage?
The framework teaches five core capabilities that technology cannot replicate:
- H earing others deeply
- U nderstanding different perspectives
- M otivating through connection
- A mplifying others’ potential
- N avigating change together
These capabilities form the foundation of all Piercing Strategies programs and create the psychological safety, collaboration, and trust that drive performance.
“As AI transforms how work gets done, these human capabilities become more valuable, not less,” added Pierce Williams. “Organizations that invest in developing H.U.M.A.N. First™ leaders are the ones that will thrive.”
Award-Winning Programs, Proven Results
Piercing Strategies has partnered with leading organizations, including Land O’Lakes, Fidelity, Assurant, HUB International, Splunk (a Cisco company), and the American Bankers Association.
The firm’s signature programs include:
- Focus Forward: A high-performing team alignment program that transforms disconnected teams into collaborative units
- PowerUp : Award-winning leadership development cohort program that builds H.U.M.A.N. First™ leadership capabilities at all levels
- ASCEND/PROXIMITY : Award-winning systematic mentorship and sponsorship programs that create clear advancement pathways for high-potential leaders
“What sets our programs apart is their measurability,” said Pierce Williams. “We focus on outcomes like psychological safety, manager effectiveness, team collaboration, and retention—the metrics that actually move the business.”
What’s Next
The new website ( www.piercingstrategies.com ) features expanded resources for organizations exploring leadership transformation, including client success stories, program details, and insights on the H.U.M.A.N. First™ Method.
To celebrate the five-year milestone and new website launch, Piercing Strategies will host a Virtual Open House on November 12, 2025, from 1:00-1:45 PM EST. The event is open to current clients, prospective partners, and anyone interested in learning more about H.U.M.A.N. First™ leadership development. Attendees will hear directly from the team about the framework, see program highlights, and learn how organizations are building connection-driven leadership cultures. Registration details are available at www.piercingstrategies.com/openhouse.
Looking ahead, Piercing Strategies is focused on expanding its impact while continuing to refine and evolve the H.U.M.A.N. First™ Method based on emerging research and client outcomes.
“Five years in, we’re just getting started,” said Pierce Williams. “The need for H.U.M.A.N. First™leadership has never been greater, and we’re honored to be part of the solution.”
About Piercing Strategies
Piercing Strategies is a leadership development firm that helps organizations build cultures where leaders and teams thrive through trust, collaboration, and authentic human connection. The firm’s award-winning programs are grounded in the proprietary H.U.M.A.N. First™ Method and designed for measurable impact. Piercing Strategies is a two-time Brandon Hall Group Excellence Award winner.
Learn more:
www.piercingstrategies.com
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