Before founding GLA I dedicated 16 years to the U.S. Army — first serving in uniform, then continuing as a civilian leader in roles including Division Chief of Physical Security at Fort Bragg and Physical Security Program Manager at U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

My time serving the Army — in uniform and in civilian leadership — taught me something no business book ever could. I watched leaders with authority consistently choose ego-driven execution over genuine service to their people — and I watched the cost of that choice ripple through everything around them.

That gap — between the position and the person it requires you to be — follows leaders into every organization, every team, and every decision they make. Closing this gap is why I founded Grow to Lead Academy.

Across 16 years — from small units to large commands — every environment I operated in confirmed the same truth. The crisis was never a skills problem or a strategy problem. It was a leadership problem. Leaders so consumed by performance, pressure, and self-preservation that they lost connection to the most fundamental question: who am I as a leader, and what does my leadership make possible for the people around me?

That question is what GLA was built to answer.