I believe the best leadership begins with the person doing the leading.

I grew up on a cattle ranch in western North Dakota, where some of my earliest lessons about leadership had nothing to do with leadership.

You showed up.
You worked hard.
You treated people well.
You cared for what had been entrusted to you.
And your character mattered far more than your title.

Those lessons stayed with me.

Today, after years of speaking, coaching, and working with leaders, I've become increasingly interested in a question I think we've stopped asking: Who are you becoming while you lead?

We spend a lot of time developing what people can see—performance, communication, strategy, influence, and results. But the person doing the leading shapes it all: our character, values, self-awareness, convictions, and the choices we make when no one is watching—because leadership is the outward expression of an inwardly rooted life.

And when we become more grounded in who we are, we don't just lead differently; we show up differently.

We listen better. Encourage more freely. Stand steadier. Make braver decisions. Have harder conversations with greater grace.

That changes relationships; it builds trust; it shapes culture; and ultimately, it changes how other people experience our leadership.

That's the kind of growth I love!

Not endless introspection. Not becoming a leadership project. Real growth. In real life. In doable doses.

Through Bar 33 Leadership, I speak, coach, write, and create experiences that invite people to think deeply without making growth feel heavy—to discover something worth carrying and put it to work in everyday life and leadership.

I want people to leave our time together more grounded, yes. And also, more hopeful. More courageous. More intentional. More alive. Because becoming deeply rooted isn't about becoming more serious; it's about becoming more fully who you were created to be—and allowing something good to grow from there.

That's the work I love!!