From Pool Guy to Executive Leadership Coach: Why I am Building This Program

💧 From Pool Guy to Executive Leadership Coach: Why I am Building This Program

If you’d told the 30-year-old me — the guy driving a beat-up truck from pool to pool in the Virginia summer heat — that I’d one day coach executives at Fortune 100 companies…

…I’d have laughed and said,
“Sure. Right after I clean this filter.”

That’s where my story starts — with chlorine, callouses, and a determination to provide for my family.

🚚 The Pool Truck University

Being a “pool guy” gave me a strange kind of MBA.
Hours behind the wheel meant hours with audiobooks — leadership, psychology, service, purpose, business.
No radio. Just learning.

Somewhere between scrubbing tiles and replacing pumps, I realized something simple:
Leadership isn’t a title. It’s how you serve, even when no one’s watching.

That belief became my compass — pulling me from blue-collar hustle into corporate America, then consulting, and eventually executive leadership coaching.

🏢 The Fortune 100 Chapter

When I landed my first role at Capital One, I was surrounded by complexity — teams of teams, competing priorities, big egos, and even bigger goals.
I fell in love with it.

Not because it was easy, but because it was human.

Every stalled project, every misaligned meeting, every frustrated leader — it all came down to trust, empathy, clarity, and courage.

I’ve since worked with leaders at Capital One, USAA, Fidelity, Federal Reserve, and Ancestry — helping them rebuild trust and lead with confidence again.

And one truth kept resurfacing:
No framework or title can fix a trust problem. But the right kind of leadership can.

🎯 Why I Am Creating This Program

I’m creating the Trust-Centered Leadership Accelerator to help leaders reconnect with what actually makes leadership work — trust, empathy, clarity, and accountability.

Too many capable leaders burn out trying to control outcomes instead of cultivating trust.
This program does the opposite: it’s principle-guided coaching designed to restore clarity, consistency, and courage to leadership.

🌊 From Pool Water to Boardrooms

That kid cleaning pools didn’t know it, but he was already learning leadership.
Every customer taught service.
Every repair taught problem-solving.
Every 100-degree day taught grit.

Now, in boardrooms with executives, those lessons still apply.
Leadership isn’t about knowing everything — it’s about showing up with humility, empathy, and a commitment to serve.

Different uniform. Same principles.

💡 Final Thought

That pool guy never imagined this story would lead here — but every step prepared me for it.
Because leadership isn’t about status.
It’s about service.

And sometimes the best leaders… start as the pool guy.

What’s your leadership origin story?
Has your journey taken you somewhere unexpected?

👇 Drop a comment — I’d love to hear it.

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