After facing profound personal challenges in 2011, including family loss and career changes, Shad Berry’s journey through hardship became the foundation for his work in helping others heal. Now, as the Co-Founder and CEO of Kardia Collective and the President and Managing Partner of Edmundson Berry Group, Shad is dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations through transformational growth.
“I reached the end of my self-will. I never thought I would experience depression,” he shares of the pivotal moment before turning to therapy. “There’s this fear that if others find out you’re hurt and broken, they may move away. The pleasant reality is that people move in and become more open and vulnerable.”
The humbling yet powerful experience inspired Shad to be an advocate for counseling. In 2014, he and his partner, Dr. Tim Holler, opened Kardia Collective, a community of mental health professionals dedicated to fostering courage, hope, and freedom in relationship with self, others, and God.
“Courage is a by-product of healing. Hope is that internal flame that burns inside everyone, the picture you carry inside of what your future looks like if things work as they should. When you start living courageously and with hope, you make yourself vulnerable. Freedom allows us to represent that hope without being bound to the approval of others or misplaced identity.
Shad also emphasizes how living faithfully is more important than being successful. “We are created beings made to relate, grow, heal, and contribute in specific ways as human beings.”
He adds that while both men and women desire to be seen and valued, men tend to address it through achievements and accomplishments like work status, financial advancement, or even athleticism. “We tend to be driven by performance-based identities, which come with a contingent self-worth,” he says, “I try to encourage purpose-based identities.”
Shad applies similar principles to his role at Edmundson Berry Group, where he trains and consults business owners and organizational leaders to recover from burnout and move towards a mindset of stewardship and sustainable impact.
“Being ‘needy,’ I think, is a stigma that men try to avoid. A responsible man takes ownership of their health and wellbeing and gets those needs met legitimately,” he counteracts. “Find four or five other men to walk alongside in life and share vulnerabilities, openness, and honesty about things you are struggling with and hoping for.”
Running a business and being a husband and father to four children takes a lot of time management. Shad prefers the word rhythm over balance.
“Every human being has to find a rhythm of relating to themselves and others that is sustainable,” he says. “We live in an era of chronic anxiety and emotional regression, and people are often looking for quick fixes. We have to embrace an ancient way of relationship. No amount of technology is going to change what humans need. Going faster and smarter is not the solution. We have to find rhythms that give space for solitude, stillness, and intimacy.”
To stay healthy, Shad works out at Iron Tribe in Germantown up to five times weekly with a group of guys he now calls close friends. He also checks in regularly with himself to make sure he is living in alignment with a value-centered existence. “People have to connect with a vision for their lives that’s big enough and makes it worth the daily practices that will support it over time.”
Shad Berry – Executive Coach | Kardia Collective
Edmundson Berry Group
IG: @kardiacollective_
IG: @nextlevel.leadership
LI: Linkedin.com/company/edmundson-berry-group
By Shlomit Ovadia
Photos by Tindall Stephens
