Leadership Development: Personal Coaches

Coaching is one of the most effective ways to help people develop. It is not for everyone but it is a critical piece of developing the capacity of your current and future leaders. The coaching relationship is personal yet it is focused on the needs of the individual in the current context of the challenges the business is facing. Clear goals and candid feedback are the foundation for a successful coaching relationship. Another key component is the ability of the coach to offer advice that works on the job not the latest theory that has no use in reality.

Wally Adamchik

When you work with Wally, you get the accrued knowledge of a lifetime dedicated to leadership and improvement – both organizational and personal.

In his youth, Wally worked with his father and brother in construction. Both master craftsmen, they insisted upon and produced top-quality work. He learned more about excellence from his mother, who was the first woman to referee a basketball game at Madison Square Garden. At the University of Notre Dame, Wally was the mascot where he led 65,000 people on every football Saturday.

As an Officer of Marines, Wally deployed throughout the world as an armor officer and as a pilot of AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters. Always seeking a new challenge, Wally entered the hyper-competitive private sector. He was recognized for superior performance and award-winning leadership at two national restaurant companies. At the same time he earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He serves today as a consultant, speaker, and author. He works with firms to improve their leadership capability and organizational effectiveness. He understands the Fortune 500 firm as well as he does the family business and is able to tailor his approach to make an impact in both. He is a regular contributor to national business and trade publications and is a sought after leadership speaker.

His first book, NO YELLING: The Nine Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You MUST Know To WIN In Business, has been selected as one of the best business books of 2006 by three different reviewers (www.noyelling.net) and as one of the best business books for summer 2007 by Entrepreneur Magazine. Wally also serves as a Non-Resident Fellow with Marine Corps University working with the Marines to define and refine leadership at all levels as the Corps fights the Global War on Terror.

Wally lives in Raleigh, NC with his family. He no longer has any hobbies since he has two children under the age of 10.

Steve Brooks

Steve Brooks is the president of Potomac Associates; a Washington, DC based leadership and management consulting firm. He works with leaders in the corporate and not for profit sectors helping them to be more effective in their organizations. Notable recent projects include working with a $40mm regional site contractor and a $500mm regional general contractor to develop Project Executives to oversee strategic business units.

Steve spent 13 years working for the American Trucking Association (ATA) before establishing his coaching practice in 2005. ATA is the premier association for the trucking industry employing 230 staff with a $50 million budget. During Steve's final five years with ATA he was the chief of staff, the highest ranking staff position next to the president and CEO. In this role, Steve fine-tuned his leadership and coaching skills with his direct-reports and directly worked with functional area vice-presidents to effect change in their areas. He created and implemented a number of distinct company-wide leadership and communications programs to change the culture of ATA as it evolved to a near $60mm association. These programs contributed to reduced turnover and increased profitability during a period of rapid growth and difficult organizational restructuring. Today, as an executive coach he calls on this experience to collaborate with clients to craft effective solutions. Steve is certified in the Myers-Briggs Assessment.

Over the past 20 years Steve has been involved in politics at the Federal, state and local levels. He actively participated in five presidential campaigns and a number of gubernatorial and congressional races throughout the country. He has a unique ability to speak candidly with executive leaders and work with them to develop solutions that really work.

Steve is a native of Colorado but now lives in Washington, DC with his family. He returns to Colorado each summer to compete in the Pikes Peak Ascent - a 13.8 mile run ascending to 14,110 feet.

Pete Caulk

With extensive experience in both the civilian and corporate worlds, Pete has served as a Navy fighter pilot, Topgun Instructor, MIG pilot in the movie TOPGUN, F-14 Squadron Executive Officer, and a Boeing 757/767 Line Check Captain for a major airline. He is currently a corporate coach, working with executives and providing guidance in all aspects of management and leadership positions.

Pete attended the US Naval Academy where he played varsity football all four years, starting as a defensive end, and served in the Midshipman command structure. He majored in Operations Research, graduated with distinction and won the Operations Research Society of America Award as the outstanding graduate in his major.

With an aviation career spanning 27 years, Pete has flown 17 major types of aircraft with 14,000 flight hours and 400 carrier arrested landings. He graduated at the top of his class in Naval Flight Training and reported for instruction in flying the F-14 Tomcat, again graduating at the top of his class. He was selected to be an instructor pilot at the Navy's elite Fighter Weapons School (Topgun), and was the top ranked department head while leading the Tactics Development and Evaluation Department. He has led as a Maintenance Officer, Safety Officer, Operations Officer and Executive Officer of an F-14 squadron with 350 personnel assigned.

Pete was selected as the Volunteer of the Year in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district due to his development and execution of mentoring programs targeting at-risk students. He has spoken to national organizations about Mentoring techniques and programs.

Pete currently resides in Athens, Georgia with his wife Peg. They have three adult children.

Mike Neller

Mike Neller attended the U.S. Naval Academy where after graduation he served as a submarine officer for 28 years and commanded the nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine, the USS FLORIDA (SSBN 728). Mike has over 30 years of experience in the area of sports, health and fitness. He has been a competitive athlete at the collegiate level and coached at the High School level. He was a Navy Fitness Instructor for over 10 years and has worked as a personal trainer with a certification from the Cooper Institute of Aerobic Fitness in Dallas Texas. In the late 90's he developed and ran a remedial fitness program for Navy personnel who failed to meet the Navy's physical fitness requirements. This program was unprecedented in that it achieved a nearly 100 percent success rate. As a Nutritionist he has a Master of Science Degree in Holistic Nutrition from the Clayton College of Natural Health, is board certified in Nutritional Wellness from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and holds a Master Herbalist Certification. He is available as a leadership and wellness lecturer.