About EJ
leadership growth
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Lead from Wholeness

Festival Leadership Development From Someone Who's Done The Work

36 years leading in the festival and live event space | Gallup-certified coaching for industry professionals

Learn About Rising Festival Leaders

The Leadership House provides research-backed leadership development for festival directors, production managers, and live event professionals navigating the unique challenges of our industry.

Through Rising Festival Leaders workshops and 1:1 coaching, we help leaders build collaborative teams, make strategic decisions under pressure, and create sustainable operations.

Our Industry Deserves Sustainable Leadership

The festival and live events industry creates extraordinary experiences for millions of people worldwide. But behind the magic, we face significant leadership challenges:

  • High turnover rates affecting institutional knowledge
  • Burnout impacting our most talented professionals
  • Cross-functional collaboration difficulties in high-pressure environments
  • Limited leadership development resources designed for our unique operational reality

Traditional corporate leadership training doesn't address how festivals actually work—the compressed timelines, the "show must go on" culture, the complexity of managing hundreds of moving parts simultaneously.

Our industry needs leadership development that understands these realities and builds on the excellence we've already achieved.

 

Get "The 3 Questions Every Live Events Leader Should Ask Before Burnout Answers For Them"

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“The festival industry has a 75% burnout rate. We can do better.”
— EJ ENCALARDE, FESTIVAL LEADERSHIP EXPERT

Meet EJ

Senior Festival Producer | Festival Leadership Expert

Transforming Festival Leadership Through Experience and Practice

For 36 years, I've had the privilege of producing major festivals including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Presidential Inaugurations, NFL events, and other large-scale live experiences serving hundreds of thousands of attendees annually.

This work has given me deep respect for the complexity of festival leadership. I've experienced every challenge our industry faces: building collaborative teams across functions, making strategic decisions under extreme pressure, developing leaders who can sustain excellence, and creating organizational cultures that support both high performance and human wellbeing.

I've also seen the gap: while our industry excels at production excellence, we have limited resources for leadership development designed specifically for our operational reality.

That's why I created The Leadership House. As a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach and adjunct professor at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business, I'm committed to serving our industry by developing leaders who can build on the excellence we've achieved while creating more sustainable paths forward.

The Leadership House is my contribution to an industry that has given me an extraordinary career. I'm honored to support festival leaders as they navigate the unique challenges and opportunities of our work.

Credentials

  • Senior Festival Producer (36 years)
  • Coordinatiing Producer: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
  • Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach
  • Billboard 2024 Touring Power Player - Festival Productions, Inc. - New Orleans
  • Adjunct Professor, Tulane University Freeman School of Business
 

How We Serve the Festival & Live Events Industry

Rising Festival Leaders Workshops

Intensive leadership development for festival production teams

What's Included:

  • CliftonStrengths assessments
  • Team strengths mapping
  • Three Depths Framework™ training
  • Practical application to festival challenges

Ideal For:

  • Festival leadership teams
  • Cross-functional production groups
  • Organizations developing leadership capacity
Learn More

Executive Coaching

Strategic support for festival directors and senior leaders

What's Included:

  • 6-month coaching partnership
  • CliftonStrengths-based development
  • Strategic decision-making frameworks
  • Sustainable leadership practices

Ideal For:

  • Festival directors and COOs
  • Senior production leaders
  • Leaders navigating transitions
Schedule Consultation

Speaking & Consulting

Thought leadership and strategic advisory

What's Included:

  • Conference keynotes
  • Industry association training
  • Organizational development
  • Custom leadership programs

Ideal For:

  • Industry conferences
  • Festival associations
  • Strategic advisory
Inquire
 
 

Festival Leadership Insights blog

The Leadership blog shares insights and trends for Personal Growth + Lifelong Learning, Career Advancement + Leadership Development, Work-Life Balance + Managing Stress, Relationship Building + Conflict Resolution, Teaming Dynamics.

 
 
 

Awards & Speaking Engagements

testimonials

“EJ Encalarde has been an incredible coach + mentor to me. Her insight has guided me through complex problem-solving in my career and personal growth. She is frank and will tell you like it is, but she always comes from a place of love. I truly appreciate the kindness and patience she’s shown me over the years.”
— Marion Wineinger, lmsw, millennial

Ready to Build Sustainable Festival Leadership?

Schedule a consultation to explore Rising Festival Leaders workshops or 1:1 coaching.

Schedule Consultation