What
Continuity and Strength Amidst Change
Why
Leadership transitions are some of the most consequential moments in life - an organization’s and an executive’s.
I’ve lived through them from several sides of the table.
In the military, leadership transitions are intentional - planned years out. Commands change hands with discipline and ceremony because the mission demands continuity and strength amidst change. Lives and national security depend on it.
I experienced this - arriving and departing - in command at sea and command ashore.
Later, in the social - or nonprofit - sector, I was on both ends of very different leadership transitions - less structured and more uncertain. I participated in and observed dozens of these - Founders moved on; executives retired or were recruited away; boards struggled to maintain momentum while a new leader found their footing. The stakes were high, but the process was often disproportionately undefined.
I experienced the transition personally again when I stepped into the role of CEO at a private management training company, following its founder. That moment reinforced something I had seen many times before; when leadership changes, the work is about trust, clarity, continuity, and the ability to carry the weight of the organization forward without losing what made it successful in the first place.
Those experiences shaped the focus of my coaching practice today.
I’ve worked with senior executives navigating leadership transitions across a wide range of industries - healthcare, energy, oil and gas, shipping, agriculture, manufacturing, education, aviation, professional services, philanthropy, and municipal government.
I’ve partnered with leaders in nonprofits, as well as those responsible for first responders and critical public services.
While every organization is different, the moment of transition shares common challenges - expectations shift overnight; relationships must be recalibrated; and strategic decisions carry new weight.
I help capable leaders navigate that moment well, so that the organizations they’ve been entrusted with move forward with strength, clarity, and confidence.
Because when leadership transitions are successful, organizations mitigate risk and emerge stronger.
Who
My formal education laid the foundation for this approach. I learned the basics of ethical leadership while earning a bachelor’s degree in physical oceanography as a student-athlete at the United States Naval Academy.
At one of the nation’s top schools, I studied ethics, management, leadership, philosophy, science, engineering and international law. I also earned 4 varsity letters in Track & Field, setting a school record in the 800m that lasted for 18 years.
Over the course of my subsequent 31 years in uniform, the US Navy and generations of accomplished mentors formally invested in me through a continuum that taught me leadership from squad-level tactics to complex interdisciplinary strategy. The capstone of my formal leadership education was earning a master’s in national resource strategy from the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School.
Learning
However, it was the school of hard knocks that shaped my personal approach to leadership – getting my hands dirty, questioning the status quo, developing a thick skin and nurturing a high risk tolerance while developing the skills necessary to mitigate that risk.
My personal leadership has been tested in diverse and challenging leadership environments, including roles in command of Combat Air Crews in a US Navy Maritime Patrol Squadron, consecutive tours as Director of Congressional Affairs/Legislative Liaison and Director of Collaborative Warfare for Navy Aviation at the Pentagon, Commanding Officer at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base - a joint military airfield, CEO at American Red Cross’ North Texas Region, and President & CEO at United Way of Tarrant County. In addition to founding my own coaching practice and consultancy, I served as CEO of Simple Leadership Strategies - a DFW-based management and leadership training company - during two crucial growth years.
In addition to coaching, I lead BoardBuild, a SaaS company dedicated to removing barriers to nonprofit board service. My executive experience is current, so I’ll be right there with you.
Serving
Life happens outside.
Between my departure from UWTC and kicking off my coaching practice, my wife Barbara and I took a career pause and spent three years cruising the Atlantic, Bahamas and Caribbean living aboard our sailing catamaran La Vie Dansante. This adventure was a life changer for us, teaching us to rely on each other through opportunity, fear and uncertainty. It also taught me the value of pursuing life on my own timeline, and pursuing it with gusto.
When COVID lockdowns closed many of the islands we’d hoped to explore, Barbara and I decided to sell the boat and move back ashore for a while.
We both hope to make it back to sea someday.
Living
I now devote my time and energy to passing along decades of leadership experience, from a unique perspective, to transitioning and aspiring leaders with a spirit to be bold. My blog, podcast, and coaching practice are geared to established leaders working through unique challenges.
I’m also a an experienced board member, currently serving on the Air Power Foundation’s Board of Advisors and the Board of Advisors for North Texas Leaders and Executives Advocating Diversity (LEAD), where I previously served as Vice Chair of the Board. I’ve also served as Governance Chair of Fort Worth’s Continuum of Care Board; as a founding director of the Tarrant Transit Alliance, LVTRise and BoardBuild; on the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Executive Council; the Fort Worth Blue Zones Project Advisory Council and the Fort Worth Executive Roundtable. From 2012-2014, I led the commissioning of USS Fort Worth as Commissioning Chair, then transitioned that body into an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization, serving as its first President.
Community
Recognition
The Secretary of the Navy awarded me the Legion of Merit for bold leadership at NAS Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, and The Fort Worth Business Press recognized me as Fort Worth’s Top Non-Profit CEO in 2019 for innovative reinvention of the region’s United Way.
How
If you’re looking for someone to coach you, your successor, or the chief executive of the organization you lead as a Director, you can dig deeper into my coaching here.
Of course, the best way to figure out if I can help is to talk through it. Schedule a Virtual Coffee Discovery Call and we’ll take a closer look.
All discovery - no hassle and no sales pitch.
