Welcome! A Reintroduction
Hi there—and welcome!
This is my first blog post in quite a while, and the first for my new website. I’ve imported some earlier posts from my prior site, but this post marks a fresh start: a reintroduction to who I am, what I do, and how I help leaders grow.
I’m glad that you are here reading! Whether you follow along for future posts, reach out for a conversation, end up in one of my university courses, or explore a coaching relationship, my commitment is simple: to draw from a wide range of experience to help you lead more intentionally and empathically, straddling the line between the issues of strategy and people.
What I Do
I work with leaders to help them become more intentional and empathic—two capacities that are essential and too often imbalanced. Much of my coaching and teaching is rooted in “both/and” thinking, helping leaders integrate decisiveness with empathy, strategy with people, performance with development.
And, in so doing, I work with leaders – CEOs and C-Suite members – to simultaneously solve strategic and organizational or people issues.
I do this in three ways:
1. As a **Professor** at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business
2. As an **Executive Coach and Strategic Advisor** through August Third Leadership
3. And as a **Commentator**, through this blog and other outlets.
In the classroom, I teach the human side of business—leadership, teams, networks, and HR. Over time (and even now) I have taught undergrads, MBAs, Specialized Masters, and PhD students. Most recently, I have had the opportunity to work with the Executive MBA students at the Daniels College of Business. Teaching keeps me fresh by exposing me to diverse perspectives and cutting-edge research.
In coaching, I work with CEOs, executive teams, and senior leaders— in growth-stage or mid-sized firms, in Fortune 500s, in professional services and in higher ed. These long-term engagements often revolve around building leadership teams, mobilizing organizations, or navigating complex strategy and people issues.
Through this blog, I’ll explore real-life challenges that leaders face—drawn from my own experiences and those of my clients—and connect them to the best available research. There’s no shortage of opinions on leadership out there. What’s rarer is advice that’s grounded in real evidence and delivered in a way that’s practical, clear, and honest.
Why Now?
Back in 2021, on the back of almost 35 years in leadership, coaching, consulting, and academia, I launched my plan to bring together this three-part path of teaching, coaching, and writing. But in early 2022, I took on an unexpected and exciting challenge: leading the Executive MBA program at DU, a role I held until March 2025. That role—along with a physical move from D.C. to Denver—led me to put writing on pause.
Now, I’m excited to return to it.
Where I Come From
The past almost 40 years have been an interesting blend of line executive management, consulting, coaching, and investment in academia, which, in turn, fuels this three legged stool approach…
I started my career in strategy consulting, spending seven years at Oliver Wyman, where I became a partner focused on financial services. I then moved to Capital One, first as Head of New Business Development, and later as CEO of a telecom business we launched internally. That 14-year arc grounded me in executive leadership and corporate strategy.
In 2001, I pivoted to leadership development, first training as a coach at Georgetown and Harvard and becoming an internal coach at Capital One. In 2005, I left Capital One to earn a PhD in Management at Wharton. Since then, I’ve published research, taught across several universities, and expanded my coaching practice to work with leaders across tech, finance, venture capital, professional services, and higher education.
Why This Format?
A colleague recently asked me if I had plans to write a book or launch a podcast. My answers: an emphatic “no” to the book, and a thoughtful “maybe” to the podcast.
That distinction says a lot about me and what I bring to the table. I’m not a deep specialist in one narrow topic. I’m not writing the next definitive text on, for example, psychological safety, grit, or paradox—though I deeply respect the thinkers (Amy Edmondson, Angela Duckworth, Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis) who do.
What I bring is integration. I connect ideas across domains and help leaders apply them meaningfully. That’s what I do best—in my coaching, in the classroom, and here in my blog.
A Unique Blend
One thing I’ve come to realize is that this mix of experiences—leading from the C-suite, researching and teaching at a high academic level, and coaching across industries—is relatively rare. That’s not meant to be boastful (though you might experience it that way), just an observation. Most people build deep expertise in one or maybe two of those domains. What I bring is a fusion of all three, and that fusion gives me a broader lens and a more layered toolkit for helping leaders navigate complex challenges.
You’ll see it in how I coach—bridging strategy and human dynamics. You’ll see it in how I teach—grounding real-world dilemmas in evidence-based frameworks. And you’ll see it in how I write—making complexity more understandable and useful for leaders like you.
Looking Ahead
This blog is where it all comes together. I’ll use it to explore timely leadership topics, ground them in research, and offer practical insights to help you grow. If something here sparks your interest, let’s talk.
I’m looking forward to being in conversation with you, one way or the other!