We Develop Effective
Leaders and Teams

We are an international leadership development firm that works with a variety of organizations, from start-up ventures and fast growing mid-market companies to large global corporations.

We help organizations build healthy, high-performing cultures that accelerate productivity and sustainable results.

Schedule a Consultation 303-279-3322

How We Build Leaders

Three integrated practices — for the individual, the team, and the organization.

Leadership Development

A dynamic program that will spur individual growth, improve team dynamics, and elevate leadership capabilities.

Benefits of the Leadership Development Programs include:

Accelerates leadership effectiveness
Strengthens alignment and trust across leadership teams
Cultivates a healthier, high-performing culture
Increases organizational agility and adaptability
Improves strategic clarity and execution
Drives sustainable, long-term performance (not just short-term wins)
Elevates leadership confidence, presence, and authenticity

Team Development

A systems approach that results in greater trust, accountability, healthy conflict, and commitment to goals.

Benefits of our team programs:

Increases engagement, morale & overall team cohesion
Strengthens trust & psychological safety across the team
Aligns team members around shared goals, priorities & expectations
Increases accountability & ownership
Enhances collaboration & cross-functional effectiveness
Accelerates problem-solving & decision-making as a team
Improves execution by turning strategy into coordinated action

Executive Coaching

A thought-provoking and creative process that will inspire you to maximize your personal and professional potential.

Benefits of executive coaching:

Clarity of Self – Know your strengths and blind spots
Better Decisions – Think clearly under pressure
Stronger Leadership – Communicate and influence effectively
Disciplined Execution – Follow through on what matters
Adaptive Agility – Lead through change and uncertainty
Culture Impact – Shape trust and performance
Focused Energy – Align effort with what drives results

Leadership Development Podcasts

All Podcasts

Tom Athenour, host of the Leader2Leader podcast

The Leader2Leader podcast, hosted by Tom Athenour.

Host, Leader2Leader Podcast

Podcast episode art: Rhett Keisler, Learning to Fail Forward

episode 23

Learning to Fail Forward with Rhett Keisler

Rhett Keisler shares his entrepreneurial journey from corporate finance to brewing and beverage ventures, highlighting the importance of a resilient mindset toward failure.

episode 22

Leadership Principle #1: Never Stop Learning

In this conversation, Ron Redell, president of DoubleLine, shares insights on leadership, risk management, and building a high-performing successful organization.

episode 21

Creating Enterprise Value Through Leadership

Tom Athenour and Karen Posey discuss strategies for creating enterprise value, building effective leadership teams, and developing future leaders in mid-market companies.

episode 20

Stop Rescuing, Start Coaching

Tom Athenour and Donna Zajonc explore the Empowerment Dynamic framework and the Drama Triangle roles of Victim, Rescuer, and Persecutor at work. Donna makes the case for shifting from a Rescuer mindset to a Coaching approach that empowers teams.

Podcast episode art: Lisa Lahey, The Immunity to Change Framework

episode 19

Creating a Deliberately Developmental Organization

Tom Athenour and Lisa Lahey unpack the difference between informational and transformational learning. They discuss leadership's role in building a deliberately developmental organization — and why self-reflection and feedback drive growth.

Podcast episode art: Tom Athenour, Taking a Step Back

episode 18

Taking a Step Back: A Leadership Reset for the New Year

Tom Athenour opens season 2 of the Leader-to-Leader podcast on holistic leadership, setting intentions for the new year, and the One Big Thing (OBT) framework for focused growth.

Leadership Case Studies

Real engagements, real outcomes.

Senior leaders reviewing work on a laptop at a desk

Executive Coaching Engagement: Senior Leader

A senior leader at a professional services organization was getting feedback that people wanted her to engage more and represent her functional role more assertively.

A management team on a video call in a conference room

Team Development: Increasing Collective Effectiveness of a Senior Management Team

A division of a large global manufacturing company wanted to increase the effectiveness of their senior leadership team.

Two colleagues reviewing a tablet in a plant-filled modern office

Leadership Development: Building Leaders for Future Growth

A financial services organization needed to build their current and future leadership bench strength.

All Case Studies

Articles on Leadership

Practical thinking from our coaches, published for leaders.

A woman holding documents facing a glass office building complex

Featured

Reflecting on the Year: An Annual Ritual

End of year milestones are a great opportunity to zoom out and take stock of the year. These reviews can provoke reflections and spark planning as we look to the new year.

Why Do People Dread Mondays? It's the Boss!

The worst and most stressful part of your job might be your immediate boss.
Tough Conversations: Just Do It!

Tough conversations affect all parties and involve high levels of emotion.
The ROI of Time: 3 Ways to Maximize It!

It's easy to get derailed on our time. Some would say that our culture is addicted to busyness, and it's only getting worse.
Learning to Love Your Inbox

Take a look at your inbox right now. How many unread or unanswered emails are in there?
What Is Your Why?

How great leaders inspire everyone to take action.

All Articles

Books on Leadership

The reading list behind our programs.

A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

By Carolyn Dewar (Author), Scott Keller (Author), Vikram Malhotra (Author), Kurt Strovink (Author)

In the high-stakes world of corporate leadership, becoming a Fortune 500 CEO is an Everest-like ascent—with only the savviest managing to avoid falling off the mountain.
X-Teams: How to Build Teams That Lead, Innovate and Succeed

By Deborah Ancona & Henrik Bresman

Why do good teams fail? Very often, argue Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman, it is because they are looking inward instead of outward.
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

By Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

Two U.S. Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special forces unit of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life.
The Power of TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)

By: David Emerald

Escape the Grip of Drama and Take Control of Your Life. The Power of TED is a fable on self-leadership, because how you lead your own life has everything to do with how you lead in other areas. It is a tool for both individuals and organizations who want to create more effective communication and relationships.
Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

By: Simon Sinek

The inspirational bestseller that ignited a movement and asked us to find our WHY. Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?
The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business

By Patrick M. Lencioni

Patrick Lencioni argues that the difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know or how smart they are — and much more to do with how healthy they are.
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

By Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

By Daniel Pink

Pink explores and debunks several myths about what drives human behavior, and builds a strong case for why leaders and managers need to better understand what motivates people rather than relying on economic motivators alone.
Your Brain at Work, Revised and Updated: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

By David Rock

If you want to understand how the brain works, start here. Rock follows one two-career couple through the workday to show how brain science can help us organize, prioritize, recall, and focus.
Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results

By Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams

Highly recommended — but not bedtime reading. It asks the hard question: is your leadership a competitive advantage, or is it costing you? And are you developing it at the pace of change?
Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

By Charles Duhigg

A great read with memorable stories and case studies that make the lessons stick. Where The Power of Habit explained why we do what we do, this applies the same curiosity to how we can do it better.
Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life

By Tasha Eurich

We think so highly of this book that we've integrated Insight into our leadership development programs. Learn how to develop self-awareness and use it to become more fulfilled, confident, and successful.
Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family

By: Bob Chapman (Author), Raj Sisodia

Chapman and coauthor Raj Sisodia show how any organization can reject the traumatic consequences of rolling layoffs, dehumanizing rules, and hypercompetitive cultures.
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More, and Change the Way You Lead Forever

By Michael Bungay Stanier

This book is used in our Coaching for Success workshops and is featured in our Leadership Journey programs. Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the globe in practical, everyday coaching skills, Bungay Stanier reveals how to unlock your peoples' potential.

Books on Leadership