Propeller, a Portland-headquartered management consultancy, is pleased to announce the promotion of AJ Oberland to Vice President of Operations.

In his new position, Oberland will oversee several internal functions to improve processes and facilitate Propeller’s continued growth and scalability.

Oberland joined Propeller in 2015 as a consultant and quickly ascended to director in 2016 and subsequently managing director of the Portland office in 2017. During his tenure as managing director, Oberland played a pivotal role in doubling the size of the Portland market and its leadership team and hired 120 consultants locally. Oberland’s commitment and compassionate leadership style helped drive the regional success of Propeller and its employees.

“We are excited for AJ to take on this new challenge as VP of operations,” said Sunil Kasturi, CEO at Propeller. “As managing director of our original and largest market, AJ partnered with leaders across Propeller to deliver success for clients and the firm and has been instrumental in the growth and success of our Portland office. I am confident he will bring the same dedication to his new role.”

In addition to maintaining the region’s performance and driving maximum profitability, AJ has been a key collaborator in defining Propeller’s growing operating model. And despite these responsibilities and contributions, if asked, AJ’s employees would not cite his business acumen as the reason they stay and exceed their targets. They would cite his compassion and his commitment to the job and them.

We sat down with AJ to learn more about his path at Propeller to VP of Operations, his leadership approach, and what he’s most excited to tackle in this role.

# 1. What’s your favorite ethos and why?

For me, “be humble yet smart enough to have an ego” stands out. It’s memorable for being provocative, but I think it sums up a key area where Propeller works to differentiate itself in a crowded consulting market. The nature of the industry is to provide expertise to clients, and being an external expert can naturally lend itself to having an ego.

Through our hiring processes and culture, we aim to bring that expertise to clients with humility so that our consultants are seen as true team members, partners, and positive agents of change. I love how that ethos builds on that, with the presence of an ego being a deliberate, intelligent choice. It remains a novel idea to me, but one that’s powerful when achieved.

# 2. What are you most excited about in your new role? What are your expectations for yourself?

This will be the first time I’m not in an active consulting or client-facing consulting management role in my professional career, so I’m most excited about the opportunity to do something new and learn. I’ve had exposure to all the components of our operations organization and previous collaborations with our resource on the team, but this role will bring a new level of depth to my engagement with it all.

As with every consulting project I’ve had, I expect that I’ll feel some of the impostor syndrome that comes with being thrown into something so new, but I’m optimistic I’ll be able to find ways that my experience and perspectives can help build on the team’s success.

# 3. What’s your approach to leadership? How do you motivate and inspire?

I took a step back to think about this as part of my introduction to the new team so I could share my leadership philosophy and intentions. From that reflection, two ideas stood out that are personally important to me.

First, I believe you can’t hit your stride leading a team until trust is built, and that takes time. I’ve found I can’t effectively challenge someone to grow in their role, expand their responsibilities, or improve their performance until there’s a foundation of trust through which they’re hearing me.

Next, I think it’s important to acknowledge that mistakes are inevitable. Taking time to check work, call out risks, and avoid patterns of errors are, of course, important, but expecting perfection all the time is unrealistic. I’ve seen that trying to set that standard only constrains creativity and disables people from succeeding.

I think motivation and inspiration come from creating a balanced work environment. On one side, psychological safety is needed to ensure people are comfortable communicating openly and trying new things. On the other side, a push towards clear goals – at a company-wide or individual level – gives people a target to drive towards, a sense of impact tied to their efforts, and accomplishment when those goals are achieved.

# 4. What’s your vision for Propeller in 2024 as VP of Operations? What are you hoping to accomplish?

I think any internal function in a consulting firm should be focused on enabling the front-line consulting team members to create value for our clients. That certainly comes from my vantage of being in those front-line roles historically and relying on strong operational support to meet client needs. But at the end of the day, consulting is a service business, and providing great service to our clients must be the focus for every part of the organization.

As companies like ours grow, the complexity increases along with the expectations around our processes and tools, with more people supporting them and a diversity of internal roles. In 2024, I hope to build on the great experience and expertise that the team already has and find ways to continue down that maturity path to operational excellence.

# 5. What’s one important lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?

At many of the most critical junctures and decision points, uncertainty plays a role. Even with great data, smart people, and experience with similar situations, no outcomes can be perfectly predicted. I’ve found that acknowledging uncertainty and recognizing where you’re placing bets can help you pivot more quickly if a decision proves to be incorrect. I’ve seen that it’s just as important to move on from a bad bet as it is to make a great decision upfront.

# 6. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I have three young children at home, so right now, they basically represent all my hobbies and activities outside of work. But it’s been very rewarding to see them start to take an interest in some of my old hobbies, like learning musical instruments and playing on sports teams. I’ve been coaching some of those teams, and it’s been a fun way to rekindle experiences from my own childhood.

Related Content: Q&A With Maura Koehler-Hanlon, Portland Managing Director