Doctor of Psychology & CEO of KORE Women | Removing the Systemic Overload to Restore Innovation through Cross-Generational Mentorship and Strategic Operational Support
Organizations often operate under a persistent, quiet fallacy: the belief that if a system is failing, it is because the leaders aren’t capable enough. Dr. Summer D. Watson, MHS, PhD, has spent over three decades dismantling this myth. To her, the friction in modern business isn’t a lack of talent; it is the presence of “overload”—a systemic congestion that stifles communication, kills innovation, and leaves high-performers feeling isolated.
“Organizations don’t struggle because leaders aren’t capable,” Dr. Watson asserts. “They struggle because work, leadership, and systems stay overloaded, until communication breaks down and innovation gets pushed aside.”
As the CEO and Founder of KORE Women, Dr. Watson serves as a strategic architect of human systems. Her journey is a masterclass in how psychology, when applied with operational precision, can transform a stagnant workplace into a kinetic environment where belonging is the primary currency.
A Global Perspective on the Human Condition
Dr. Watson’s professional DNA was forged at the intersection of rigorous academia and diverse lived experience. Her education at the University of California, Berkeley, and her subsequent PhD in Psychology provided the theoretical bedrock, but it was her thirty-five years in human services that provided the heart.
As a military spouse of over 21 years, Dr. Watson’s life has been defined by transition and adaptability. Her three years living and working in Okinawa, Japan, and her deep involvement with the Marine Corps community offered her a unique lens through which to view leadership. She didn’t just study systems; she lived within high-stakes environments where “belonging” was not a buzzword, but a matter of mission success.
These early influences taught her that humans are inherently social and hierarchical creatures, yet we thrive best when those hierarchies are softened by mutual respect. This realization led her to the Adlerian principles that now anchor her work—the belief that every individual has a fundamental need to feel significant and connected.
Building the KORE Philosophy
The transition from a Doctor of Clinical Psychology to a global consultant and podcaster was driven by a desire to scale her impact. In 2018, she founded KORE Women, an organization whose name serves as a manifesto: Kinetically connecting, Organically learning, Reshaping lives, and Empowering one another.
Her path was marked by a refusal to stay in a single lane. She became a documentary film producer, capturing the stories of veterans in “Echoes from Afghanistan” and exploring female empowerment in music meccas like Nashville. She launched the KORE Women Podcast, now ranked in the top 3% globally, featuring interviews with everyone from original MTV VJs to sustainability strategists.
Through this expansion, she identified the two primary “overload” points in the business world: operational drag and generational silos. In response, she engineered two integrated solutions. First, KORE Business Solutions (KBS), a strategic Virtual Assistant program designed to protect a leader’s bandwidth. Second, KORE Mentorship Solutions (KMS), a framework that eliminates the traditional, top-down “mentee” label in favor of a horizontal model where everyone is a mentor.
Removing the Conditions of Overload
Today, Dr. Watson’s impact is felt in the “B-EPUC” framework she implements: Belonging, Empowerment, Purpose, Understanding, and Connection. She has become a vital voice for organizations—particularly in healthcare and education—that find themselves stuck in “transactional” cycles.
“Retention is earned through belonging, not enforced through policy,” she recently shared. “When people grow together, retention takes care of itself.”
Her work goes beyond mere consulting; she is a “Human Mechanic” who goes under the hood of an organization to identify friction. By integrating emotional agility and adaptive responsiveness, she helps leaders shift from a state of constant reaction to one of intentional action. Whether she is guest lecturing at South College’s Leadership Academy or producing high-impact conferences like GRITConn, her message remains consistent: we must remove what is in the way for stability to emerge.
A Legacy of Shared Wisdom
Looking ahead, Dr. Watson is focused on the future of work—a landscape that is increasingly cross-generational and technologically complex. Her vision is to continue flattening the ego-driven hierarchies of the past to make room for “collective genius.”
She remains a steadfast advocate for the veteran community, serving as Vice Chair of the Warrior Research Foundation and continuing her work in suicide prevention. For Dr. Watson, leadership is not about a title; it is about the legacy of empowerment left behind. Her story serves as a reminder to leaders everywhere: If your organization is carrying too much, the solution isn’t to work harder—it’s to build a system where everyone feels they truly belong.
Editorial Note
Dr. Summer D. Watson’s journey from clinical psychologist to global leadership consultant highlights a critical truth for the modern executive: empathy is an operational necessity. By prioritizing the “KORE” values of connection and organic learning, leaders can move from a state of overwhelm to one of optimized innovation.
