Wipfli Partner Marcie Bomberg-Montoya shares practical, human-centered strategies for navigating disruption, building resilience and leading with confidence — even when the future is unclear.
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Strategic planning is no longer a five-year blueprint. In today’s fast-paced, volatile business climate, leaders must embrace agility, vulnerability and resilience to keep their organizations moving forward. In this insightful Q&A, Monitor & ABF Journal Editor in Chief Rita E. Garwood sits down with Marcie Bomberg-Montoya, Partner at Wipfli, to discuss how middle-market leaders can steer their teams through disruption — from economic shifts to AI adoption — while staying grounded in empathy and forward-thinking leadership. Drawing on her broad experience in banking, consulting and strategic planning, Bomberg-Montoya shares real-world lessons and actionable advice for staying future-ready.
RITA GARWOOD: Marcie, can you start by introducing yourself and explaining what you do at Wipfli?
MARCIE BOMBERG-MONTOYA: Sure. Thank you so much for having me today, Rita. My background took a curvy journey to Wipfli. I was actually a Wipfli client for many years. Before joining the firm about seven and a half years ago, I held a variety of roles — I was part of an executive team at a community development financial institution, worked in traditional banking and M&A, ran my own consulting group focused on startups and go-to-market strategies, and did capital raise activities. I also worked in the tech space. You could say I was a serial entrepreneur. Wipfli tapped me to start our strategic advisory services team. Today, we have a growing team that spans industries. We learn from each other and from our clients. We help them envision what’s possible, then roll up our sleeves and work on implementation — people, process, and technology. And what’s exciting is that our team is not siloed — we draw insights from healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and nonprofit sectors. There’s a cross-pollination of ideas that keeps our strategies innovative and grounded in practical execution.
GARWOOD: In today’s environment, with so much uncertainty, what are leaders facing now that’s different from five or ten years ago?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: I think we can all agree that we’re all looking forward to a more predictable cycle again. There are so many changes happening globally, in our communities, and in our businesses. Add to that the multiple generations in the workforce, and leaders are facing challenges many have never experienced before. I was a leader in banking during the last financial crisis, and that experience left me with a few battle scars. It taught me valuable lessons about how to lead through turbulence. From those lessons, I’ve noticed that leaders who’ve weathered past crises tend to have a stronger resilience muscle. But there are many new leaders today who haven’t been tested in the same way. One of my favorite futurists, Jack Uldrich, once said that today is the slowest pace of change we’re ever going to feel. Let that sink in — this is the slowest it will ever be. That realization reminds us we’re not going back to “the before times.” Take the pandemic, for example. It was a milestone moment for all of us — something few had planned for, and certainly not for its duration or impact. It transformed workplace culture and how we think about planning. We were used to operating in a linear predictable way — looking three, five, even 10 years ahead. But with today’s rapid changes in technology, global politics, and workforce dynamics, every aspect of our world is evolving faster than ever. We’re seeing many leaders ask, “How do I keep up?” The shift now is from being reactive to being proactive — or at least striving for a sense of certainty in uncertain times. As a result, leadership styles are diverging. Some leaders are leaning into emotional intelligence and vulnerability — acknowledging that we’ve never faced these exact circumstances but choosing to face them together. Others react quickly, sometimes over-correcting. There’s a wide spectrum of approaches, and there’s no one-size-fits-all model. It really depends on your industry, your culture, and your people.
Garwood: You’ve said the five year strategic plan is a relic. Why doesn’t that model work anymore, and what should leaders be doing instead?
Bomberg-Montoya: When I first joined Wipfli and we launched our future-planning practice, we followed the traditional model — three- to five-year strategic plans, three-year action plans and annual budgets. That worked for a lot of organizations at the time. But things started to evolve. Technology advanced rapidly. Attitudes about what a workplace should be — and how it should function — began to shift. Political changes added new variables. The market’s mindset started to change. Think about what happened to companies like Blockbuster and Netflix — people have studied that example endlessly. Or look at big box retailers moving online — change happened fast. I sometimes compare traditional planning to some of the dynamics you’d see in cartoons: I’m Gen-X and grew up watching Looney Tunes on Saturday mornings. Remember Wile E. Coyote running off a cliff with a sign that says, “Bridge Out”? That’s what traditional planning feels like now. It becomes static, not dynamic. You’re running forward based on outdated assumptions, even as the ground disappears beneath you. What we’re seeing now is a rise in mid-market companies adopting a more agile mindset — borrowing from software development and agile frameworks. These leaders still have a vision for five or even 10 years out, but instead of locking into rigid plans, they build in flexibility through rolling planning. That means conducting regular situational assessments — say, quarterly — to ask: What’s changing around us? Are there trends we need to respond to? If we stay proactive instead of reactive, can we position ourselves to win? This doesn’t mean abandoning structure altogether. It’s about building agility into your planning DNA. It’s okay for your plan not to be carved in stone. Get comfortable pulling out the eraser and tweaking as you go. That can be difficult for leaders who are wired for process and precision, but for those more comfortable with change, it becomes second nature. We’re seeing a growing recognition among leadership teams that success isn’t just about having the right skill sets — it’s about having the right mindsets. It’s okay to approach the future with both fear and optimism. That tension can open the door to curiosity and productive dialogue.
GARWOOD: That sounds much more dynamic. How do you help leaders avoid feeling overwhelmed when facing infinite possible scenarios?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: That’s a fantastic question, because as leaders, we’re often expected to have all the answers — or at least we think we are. That’s how many of us were trained. But there’s real power in a leader being vulnerable enough to say, “I don’t have all the answers.” I like to joke: if you did, you’d probably be sitting on your own island somewhere, and I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. So, where do you start? Begin with your market segment. It all starts with understanding what’s unique about your industry. That’s always our first question: What’s specific to you? If you compare a bank to a healthcare organization or a tech startup, they’re obviously different. But some strategic fundamentals still apply. One tool I really like is the “Future Forces” theory, developed by futurist Amy Webb at the Future Today Institute. I first read her work years ago, and it really stuck with me. She outlines 11 sources of macro disruption that are outside a leader’s control, but that can influence a business in positive, neutral or negative ways. I often give clients a white paper or article on this framework and ask them to consider how each of these 11 forces could impact their stakeholders, clients and overall business model. They include things like global health events (think: pandemics), demographic shifts (like changes in wealth distribution or how younger generations view money), politics, technology and more. Take broadband, for example. Some of my clients are in rural areas where access to reliable internet can impact how they deliver services or operate. That’s a disruption they need to account for — and plan around. By walking through these 11 forces and asking, “How could this affect us?” — whether through AI, quantum computing or population shifts — you start uncovering new scenarios to plan for.
GARWOOD: Once leaders have that future vision, how do they get buy-in across the organization?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: Storytelling is huge. I’m a big believer in it. So what do I mean by storytelling? In the case of nonprofits I work with, it’s about showing how their work impacts their communities — and how every individual contributes to that impact, how their role matters. For manufacturers, the concept is similar. How does the person on the shop floor influence the company’s long-term success? Storytelling connects individuals to the broader mission of the organization. That’s especially important in companies where every role can make a measurable difference. In all the work we’ve done — studies, interviews, focus groups — the most consistent theme we’ve seen is this: when people are disconnected from how they help move the ball forward, they disengage. That weak link impacts performance, morale and momentum. But when people understand, through storytelling, how their work directly contributes to the company’s future planning, engagement goes up. Even during times of fear or uncertainty, that clarity empowers them. They feel like they have a role to play — because they do. That’s why storytelling isn’t fluff — it’s one of the most powerful leadership tools we have.
GARWOOD: What’s a common mistake leaders make in uncertain times?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: Clinging to the past. Staying tied to “how we’ve always done things.” That legacy thinking can limit innovation. Leaders don’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel. But they do need to make space for incremental change. Reward creative thinking. Allow some risk within a defined framework. Sometimes creativity is just combining existing things in a new way. Organizations that stick rigidly to legacy models without assessing relevance fall behind. Acknowledge the value of legacy — but don’t let it dictate the future.
GARWOOD: And that takes a level of vulnerability, right? How transparent should leaders be with their teams during uncertainty?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: Vulnerability is key, and it’s not weakness. Saying “I don’t have all the answers” builds trust — as long as you follow it with “but we’re going to figure it out together.” Transparency also means explaining your decision-making process. Even if the outcome is painful, people want to understand the why. That understanding builds credibility and maintains morale. And transparency must come with empathy. If you understand your team’s fears and speak to them directly, even tough news lands better. Employees don’t expect perfection, but they do expect honesty.
GARWOOD: Let’s talk AI. What advice do you have for leaders who feel behind or overwhelmed by it?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: First, acknowledge the psychology of it. AI triggers fear — of the unknown, of job displacement. We’ve seen this before with past tech shifts. Here are four steps I recommend:
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Start small. Identify real problems AI can solve. Think robotic process automation, for example.
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Build a roadmap. Align it with business goals. Establish internal policies for responsible use.
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Educate yourself and your team. Use industry associations, webinars, online learning.
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Bridge people and tech. Technology isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about how it enhances human work.
Don’t pursue AI for AI’s sake. It should serve your people and purpose. And make space for experimentation. Some pilots will fail. That’s okay. The goal is to learn and evolve.
GARWOOD: Amid all this disruption, what can leaders actually control?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: This might sound a little cliché or soft — and I say that as someone who came from highly regulated industries and was focused on ROI and bottom-line results — but the one thing you can truly control as a leader is how you work with your people. It all comes down to your conversations: being honest about what’s happening, staying grounded in reality, and showing up consistently. You can’t control external factors, but you can control your own behavior — how you support, train and communicate with your team. When I look in the mirror each day, I remind myself: the only thing I can fully control is how I choose to communicate in that moment. Whether I’m on a video call, in a meeting or sending a message — it all comes back to how I show up. I don’t have all the answers. But I can be honest. I can build trust. I can lead with empathy. And I can recognize that every person on my team has their own fears, thought processes and life experiences shaping how they show up, too. So the question becomes: Am I open to that? Am I paying attention to what they need? It might sound simple, but the organizations I see navigating uncertainty the best are the ones where leaders are tuned in to how their people are feeling. That’s what makes the difference.
GARWOOD: For leaders who feel stuck right now, what’s one thing they can do today to move forward?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: Open the aperture. Get out of your office. Stop trying to solve everything in isolation. Talk to your team. Ask questions. Flatten communication across your organization. If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. Lean on the creativity of the people around you. That’s how you build resilient cultures.
GARWOOD: Any final thoughts?
BOMBERG-MONTOYA: Fear is real in times of uncertainty. But it doesn’t have to paralyze us. Instead of asking “What if it all goes wrong?”, ask “What if this pushes us to think differently?” We’re not going back to the before times. This is a chance to lead differently — with empathy, flexibility, and vision. We have choices, even amid disruption. The leaders who embrace that — and act with intention — are the ones who’ll shape what comes next.
Rita E. Garwood is Editor in Chief of Monitor.
