About Me

I bring the perspectives of a proven leader and a veteran coach to my work with clients. I draw on a lifetime of experience in demanding leadership positions, including service as a Navy captain, a university dean, a college president, and the CEO of an international humanitarian organization.

Years before the word "executive coach" was coined, I was coaching managers on a pro bono basis Then, in 2001 I opened my own leadership development firm.

Since then I have personally coached over 700 executives, managers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and business owners across more than three dozen industries. And I've trained thousands of leaders on four continents.

Having written several books on leadership, I particularly enjoy coaching men and women who want to expand their leadership know-how. I help them gain clarity on when they should lead, when they should manage, and the difference between the two. More importantly, I help them hone pivotal skills in both arenas.

While I utilize personality profiles in coaching, I focus more on character and values than on personality. Why character and values? Because studies confirm that character accounts for 80% of a leader's effectiveness. Character, in turn, is the product of values habitually practiced.

Character is also essential to credibility, the cornerstone of a leader's influence.To maximize this influence, my constant goal is to expand a client's interpersonal, motivational, and communication skill sets.

To do so, I draw on several proprietary models of leadership, management, and communication. I developed many of these while teaching MBA courses on coaching and mentoring skills for managers. Others were first created for one of my leadership newsletters, blogs, or podcasts.

My clients have ranged from C-suite executives in Fortune 100 companies to husbands and wives starting a family business. While I strongly prefer coaching in person, I can deliver any of my services in a virtual format