Mission

I’m on a mission—to help good people become extraordinary leaders.

Why? Because leaders have a tremendous impact on people—and the world. While bad bosses are practically killing people, good bosses need to up their game too. By helping leaders succeed–while also bringing out the best in their people–I get to enjoy playing a small part in positive and long-lasting ripple effects.

Expertise

After ten years of helping leaders develop, I founded LeadPeople™, a firm dedicated to assisting executives in their quest to truly lead people and get results.

I first started working with the National Leadership Institute in early 2000 and have since worked with a wide range of executives from large Fortune 500 companies to small privately held businesses. I have helped senior executives in government, partners in the largest professional services firms in the world, scientists leading non-profits, and younger leaders who are challenged to find ways of accelerating change in well-established organizations.

Some of the public companies I have worked with include Freddie Mac, Penn National Gaming, Hospital Corporation of America, Kaiser Permante, Yahoo!, PepsiCo, The Hershey Company, Verizon, General Motors, Hill-Rom Corporation, and SAIC. Privately held companies in my portfolio include PricewaterhouseCoopers and Vertex Inc. My experience with leaders in large governmental organizations includes Federal Bureau of Investigations, National Security Agency, Washington Metro Area Transit Authority and the US Navy.

Despite the diversity of leadership and business challenges I have experienced, one thing has become clear: it’s true… it all starts at the top. And while leadership isn’t the only critical variable for organizational effectiveness, it’s at the top of the list…

Philosophy on Leadership and Development

LeadPeople™ is a boutique leadership development consulting firm in the Washington, DC metro area.  I founded the firm to be a reflection of my philosophy about leadership and leadership development.

One important tenant of LeadPeople™ is that leaders have to personally own their own development. They have to realize, just like with a gym membership, the problem isn’t access to information and tools. The problem is deeper than that. It’s psychological—cognitive, attitudinal, emotional, behavioral, interpersonal and situational.

My philosophy on leadership development has been shaped through a combination of research and practical experience. But ultimately, I believe practice trumps theory. The most successful leadership development outcomes I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing have come from dedicated leaders—those who put in the time and effort. They were willing to try new ways of leading people; they were inspired while reading new material; they requested feedback from others during the engagement; they were receptive and withheld their defensive reactions; and they made their development a priority. While they leveraged my services, they didn’t overly rely on me.

Leadership Framework and Practical Tools

Recently, I have developed an integrative “transtheoretical” leadership framework called the LASER Leadership Framework™. It leverages evidence-based best practices and allows leaders to “plug in” their own model of leadership, as well as other models they’ve found valuable (e.g., Daniel Goleman, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Kouzes and Posner).

The LASER Leadership Framework™ is a powerful framework that helps leaders simplify the complexity of leadership into five key perspectives: Leader attributes. Actions. Situational and contextual factors. The Engagement of people, and a leader’s impact on people. Getting Results.

In addition to the LASER Leadership Framework™ I have developed several practical tools that simplify and accelerate development (e.g., LeadPeople’s Leadership Development Cohort™ methodology, A FUEL SOURCE™ leadership model, Lean Leadership Development Canvas™ and My Development Strategy™).

Education

From 2000 to 2010, I received specialized leadership assessment and development training through the Center for Creative Leadership, National Leadership Institute, PDI, Eckerd College, ASSESS Systems, and the Global Consulting Partnership.  I received my PhD and Master’s in Clinical Psychology from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Bachelors in Psychology from Virginia Tech.

Who I Am

I’m a happily married guy with three amazing kids living Northern Virginia. I’m trying my best to make time for the stuff I like to do, like golf, home improvement projects, running, and playing drums. But because I enjoy time with my wife, family and my work, these activities generally take a back seat. Outside of this, I enjoy reading and writing. I’m slowing inching ahead on my leadership book, so stay tuned…