I have spent the better part of thirty years leading diverse teams both at the corporate and field office levels with many different organizations. I created Pro Tier Leadership in 2016 based on one Gallup poll statistic – 70% OF US EMPLOYEES HATE THEIR JOBS! Over the many years I have worked in management positions, my experience has taught me that PEOPLE DIDN’T LEAVE ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE THEY HATED THEIR JOBS, PEOPLE LEFT ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE THEY HATED THEIR BOSSES! To me, this became the fundamental foundation for the work I do – TO INSPIRE PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS HOW TO BECOME EXTRAORDINARY LEADERS!

There have been so many books written on leadership and I have read most of them. Some have been written by PhD’s who study leadership but have never had the opportunity to actually lead people. There is nothing wrong with that but in my opinion, experience matters. Being in the arena matters! I have learned more from horrible bosses than I have learned from inspiring mentors.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to leadership.  We all travel through peaks and valleys.  Whether we like it or not, we are a collection of our experiences. I found myself thrust into leadership roles early on in my career and was not prepared to lead people.  My early experiences taught me that getting results no matter how you got them was the path that was rewarded most often by the top rung.  Fear, control and power were the staples that worked – or at least in the short term.  Even today, corporate America places a premium on individual performance and individual achievement. It promotes the bold, the brave and the ruthless even in the wake and at the expense of others. Leadership is not easy. It’s hard and it’s challenging.  But the role of leaders is to seek out the dark spots in our organizations and turn on as many lights as we can. It’s illuminating the halls of the places we work and creating safe environments where everyone has a voice and every voice matters.