Clearer decisions.
Distinguishing what you know from what you’re assuming, weighing the trade-offs, and choosing your next step.
EXECUTIVE COACHING & LEADERSHIP ADVISORY
Clarity for
the responsibility
you carry.
Who helps you see clearly when everyone is looking to you?
I give CEOs, senior leaders, and business owners a place to speak candidly, examine their judgment, and receive honest challenge. Our work stays close to the decisions, relationships, and pressures you carry.
THREE QUESTIONS I OFTEN ASK
- What are you working on?
- What is working on you?
- What do your people need from you now?
30+ yearsAcross psychology, leadership,
and human development
Direct work with KevinA personal working partnership
throughout your engagement
Chicago area · WorldwideConversations nationally
and internationally by video
WHEN TO CALL KEVIN
What brings you here?
You may recognize yourself in one of these situations.
“I’m carrying a larger role.”
The decisions carry more weight, and more people depend on you. You want to grow into the responsibility while staying grounded.
“My team needs something different from me.”
Perhaps they need clearer direction, greater trust, or more room to act. You want to understand what would help—and what you may need to change.
“I need a place to think candidly.”
Some questions are difficult to bring to colleagues or direct reports. You want an experienced thought partner who will listen carefully and challenge your thinking.
“I’d like support for someone on my team.”
You’re investing in a promising leader, supporting a transition, or helping someone work through a recurring difficulty.
“There’s a conversation I need to have.”
Expectations differ, tension is building, or something important remains unsaid. You want to approach it with clarity and care.
“I’m considering what comes next.”
A new opportunity or a change in priorities has you taking stock. You want to think through what fits this season of your work and life.
WHAT WE WORK TOWARD
What progress can look like
We agree on what meaningful progress would look like in your situation. Depending on your goals, we might work toward:
More useful feedback.
Making it easier for people to tell you what they see—and considering what you hear with curiosity and discernment.
Expectations people understand.
Clarifying what is needed, checking how it has been understood, and agreeing on responsibilities and follow-through.
Difficult conversations handled earlier.
Addressing concerns while there is still room to understand one another and make adjustments.
More room to lead thoughtfully.
Recognizing when pressure is shaping your reactions and responding with greater clarity and care.
Progress becomes visible in everyday practice: a decision you can explain, a concern someone feels able to raise, or a conversation you’re ready to have.
A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON LEADERSHIP
Careful listening.
Direct questions.
Honest challenge.
I’m Kevin—a licensed clinical psychologist, executive coach, and advisor. I take time to understand you, your business context, and what is at stake. I bring curiosity, directness, warmth, and a sense of humor. When I see something you may be missing, I bring it into the conversation.
My Leadership Calibration System™ helps us examine your judgment, relationships, and access to candid feedback as authority expands. Together, we test assumptions and connect what we learn to the decisions and conversations in front of you.
Experience behind the conversation
My work draws on more than 30 years across clinical psychology, executive coaching, adult education, and organizational consultation. That breadth helps me attend to both the leader’s experience and the organizational conditions shaping it.
You can explore my professional background and read recommendations from executives I’ve worked with on LinkedIn.
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER
From conversation
to practice.
Once we’ve agreed to work together, each conversation connects to what you are facing and what you can put into practice.
What to expect from our first conversation- 01
Bring a real situation
We begin with a decision, relationship, or challenge from your working life and examine what needs attention.
- 02
Consider a fuller picture
We test your interpretation, explore other perspectives, and identify what you may need to learn. Feedback or stakeholder input can be included when useful and agreed.
- 03
Choose a next move
You decide what to put into practice: a conversation, a clearer expectation, a different response, or a decision you are ready to make.
- 04
Review and adjust
We look at what happened, what you learned, and what needs to change. Your goals guide the work as circumstances develop.
FOR CEOs AND BOARDS
Sound judgment needs
room for honest
conversation.
When decisions carry consequences across an organization, the quality of the conversation matters.
The CEO–board relationship
Clarify expectations, surface differing interpretations, and prepare for conversations about authority, accountability, and transition. The work helps people understand what they need from one another.
Access to candid feedback
Examine whose perspective is missing, what has become difficult to say, and how concerns reach leadership. Together, we consider ways to make honest challenge easier to offer and receive.
Consequential decisions
Test assumptions, distinguish observation from interpretation, and consider effects beyond the immediate decision. An independent psychological perspective creates room to examine both the leader’s judgment and the surrounding conditions.
Engagements may involve a CEO, board chair, or leadership team. We agree on the purpose, participants, confidentiality, and communication before beginning.
Read a perspective for CEOs and boardsFOR ORGANIZATIONS
Support the leader.
Attend to the system.
Boards, business owners, and organizational sponsors can engage me to work with a leader, support a transition, or facilitate leadership-team conversations.
Shared purpose at the start
We establish the leader’s and sponsor’s goals, the context, and what a useful engagement would look like. Responsibilities and review points are agreed together.
Clear boundaries for reporting
We agree in advance what may be shared with a sponsor—such as goals, themes, or recommendations—and how authorization works. Individual disclosures remain private within the confidentiality terms and legal limits of the engagement.
Work that fits the circumstances
Individual coaching, advisory conversations, stakeholder input, or team facilitation can be combined by agreement. The scope follows the needs of the leader and organization.
A FEW PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
Before we meet.
What will I need to bring?
Bring one live leadership question and a willingness to look at it honestly. As we work, your part is to try the next moves we agree on, notice what happens, and bring that experience back into the conversation.
Where do conversations take place?
I’m based in the Chicago area and work nationally and internationally by video. We can discuss in-person arrangements where practical.
How are timing and fees decided?
We shape the scope and rhythm around your situation. Timing, fees, and any organizational sponsorship are agreed before the work begins.
How does this relate to The Second Formation?
Coaching focuses on the responsibilities, relationships, and decisions of leadership. The Second Formation offers a broader space to receive your lived life and consider what matters now. Our first conversation can help us choose the right starting place.
Explore The Second Formation (opens in a new tab)A PLACE TO BEGIN
Our first conversation
Perhaps you’re facing a leadership challenge, stepping into a new or expanded role, or exploring support for a member of your team—or the team as a whole.
We begin with what you’re noticing and what you hope would be different. I’ll listen, ask questions, and help clarify where I might be useful. You’ll have room to ask about my approach, too.
If you’d like me to work with someone on your team, we’ll discuss how to invite them into the conversation and understand their goals alongside yours.
If there’s a good fit, we’ll discuss the focus, meeting rhythm, fees, and confidentiality so everyone understands the arrangement before the work begins.
You don’t need a polished explanation. Bring one question you’re facing.