See the whole business, not every decision
Coaching from a sitting CEO who made the jump from VP. We move decisions to the people who should own them, so you can lead the whole business.
Why This Happens
It's not a personal failing. It's how most leaders get here.
If you built the company, deciding everything was the right call for a long time. It's how you got here. If you were promoted, it was because you had the answers.
Then the job changed. The team grew, the stakes went up, and the real work became deciding who decides. Nobody teaches that part. You get the title and the targets, not the tools.
So the decisions keep coming to you. Your calendar fills up, your team waits, and the business grows only as fast as you can decide.
Most leaders figure this out by trial and error, and their team pays for it while they do. Coaching gets you there faster: an honest picture of where decisions pile up, a clear map of who owns what, and a sounding board who has sat in the seat.
Who I Work With
Most of the leaders I coach are in one of two spots. See if either sounds familiar.
The Bottleneck:
Every decision runs through you.
Your team waits on you. You're not sure you can trust them to make the call, so you make it. And the company grows exactly as fast as you can decide. That's not a work-ethic problem. It's a ceiling. Together we define your sandbox and theirs, so decisions land with the people who own them. If you want your team to own their position, tell them explicitly that they own it.
What it means for the company: A business can't scale past a leader who decides everything.
The First 180 Days:
You just stepped into the seat.
You were promoted or hired into a senior role. You inherited someone else's habits, a team's politics, and a lot of advice about what to do. The next six months will shape everything after. I've been there. When I moved from VP to CEO, I knew what I was responsible for. Nobody taught me how to think in the role. Coaching in your first 180 days helps you make the decisions that show your peers why you earned the seat.
What it means for the company: The first 180 days decide whether the hire pays off. Coaching protects that investment.
How It Works
Six months. Three steps.
02: Define Your Sandbox
We set your top three priorities, tie them to company goals, and decide what to work on first.
I talk with 8 to 12 people who work with you, above, beside, and below. We start from how you actually show up, not how you think you do.
01: Get The Real Picture
Weekly or biweekly sessions keep you accountable. At six months, I go back to the same people to see if they notice the change.
03: Make It Stick
Why Me?
I'm a sitting CEO. I lead a group of four mission-driven service companies and I got there by moving from VP to CEO. My onboarding covered what I was responsible for. It didn't cover how to lead from the seat. For a while, I kept doing my old job with a bigger title.
What got me through was a sounding board: people who challenged my thinking instead of doing it for me. When I skip asking for one, I can tell I'm less effective.
Before that, I spent years helping organizations through change as a consultant. I've been the one recommending the change and the one living with it, so I know what each side needs.
I'm an ICF Associate Certified Coach and a certified executive coach through the Center for Executive Coaching. I keep a small client list on purpose, and I reply within a business day.
I help leaders think for themselves, so they never have to think by themselves.
“The coaching JP provides is worth far more than any dollar amount he could charge. His style and approach are not only thoughtfully designed, but executed with precision and impact. Coaching with JP creates space to step back and reflect. It pulls you out of the day-to-day grind of working in your business and into a strategic mindset of working on your business. More than just insight, his coaching instills accountability and empowers you to make educated, forward-thinking business decisions.”
Steven L. - Owner
It All Begins With a Conversation
Book a 30-minute chemistry call. You tell me what you're working on and what's getting in the way. We'll both know by the end whether working together makes sense. It stays between us.
I'm based in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area) and work with leaders in person or virtually, anywhere.