What Mark Stands For

• Cultivating the leader within you

• Questioning assumptions about how things have always been done

• Helping you reclaim balance between being a parent and your career

• Nurturing you to create and live a life that honors your values

• Bringing more hope, kindness, and positivity into the world

Are you…

👍 A high-achiever or middle manager that feels like you are failing on all fronts?

👍 Exhausted and unsatisfied?

👍 Feeling stuck by the responsibility (financial obligation) to support your family and “have to do what you have to do” because your family depends on you as the primary earner?

👍 Still trying to adjust to a hybrid workplace and a lack of connection and engagement with others?

👍 Wondering, “Is there more to life than work?”

Do you want…

✅ More time in your day?

✅ A team built on trust and psychological safety?

✅ Engaged team members who love their work?

✅ More fun and play in your life?

✅ More energy, verve, vitality AND balance between family and career?

✅ To do more things that are unrelated to your responsibilities at work or home?

Hello! I’m Mark!

I believe our world needs better leaders.We need leaders who go beyond showing strength, being in command, telling people what to do, and always driving and pushing for more. We need leaders who show compassion, care, and courage, whether leading an organization, team, family, or their own life. Leaders who treat themselves and others as humans and with kindness, who forgive themselves and others, who protect and nurture those around them, and who show bravery, confidence, determination, and strong moral principles.

I aspire to be a great leader, to help others grow and become great leaders themselves, to be a great colleague and friend, to be a great husband and father. I aspire to be someone who replenishes hope and makes a difference in our world.

The Professional Side

My professional life encompasses over 30 years of corporate experience in technology and software development across industries that include market research (syndicated data), consumer packaged goods (CPG), financial services, and management consulting.

• My experience includes client, account, project, and people management, as well as U.S. domestic and international team leadership.

• I have written code and supported others who write the code.

• I have managed people across multiple U.S. time zones and once had a team of 35 people located in India.

A Certified Coach with Agile Values

Earlier in my career, I came across “Agile” as an approach to getting work done and discovered a label for my natural way of thinking and collaborating with people. As an Agile Coach, I embrace the Agile values and principles and help teams live these ideals.

Several years ago, recognizing that our world needs better leaders and knowing that leadership growth starts with me, I embarked on a “self-improvement tour” and consumed many books, podcasts, training, and articles about leadership and personal development. It was around this time that I also recognized that becoming a professional coach would enable me to influence leadership growth in others. My career journey led me down a path to seek coach training from the Co-Active Training Institute (CTI) and become a certified coach and member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

For the last decade, I have been coaching teams, managers, and organizations to improve processes, approach work differently, and become better versions of themselves. I discovered that there is much going on personally behind the scenes and this was not getting addressed. I recently added that personal focus into my coaching because it's important for success.

A Coach Who Sees the Whole Person

I see my own experience within the teams and individuals I serve. As a high-achieving parent, I felt (and sometimes still feel) a deep responsibility to provide for my family. I found myself continually pushing, climbing uphill, putting my nose to the grindstone, trying to do more with the hope that “this” will result in more happiness and more success. There comes a point when there isn’t any more to give.

I support high-achievers, like myself, to break the cycle of doing more and instead help them focus on doing what would provide the most fulfillment. The people that I work with feel reinvigorated and purposeful, they embody verve, vitality, and finally experience balance in their lives. Together, we get to explore ways to revamp how to approach work and play.

The Personal Side

I grew up as the oldest of four children. That meant that my siblings looked up to me and noticed what I did and how I did it. I felt an expectation to do everything “right” and set a good example for my brother and sisters. This carried over into the classroom and all sorts of activities throughout my life. I got an “A” or I failed. It was all or nothing. Things were very black and white. I’m a “card-carrying” recovering perfectionist. Anyone else?

Mark’s Groundhog Day

Throughout my life and career, my days on “autopilot” typically went like this:

• wake up

• go to work

• come home (stop working)

• coach my kid’s soccer or track team

• eat dinner

• serve as a group leader or committee member

• return home

• maybe do some more work

• go to bed

The next day? Repeat the one before. I often made the choice to skip workouts, eat poorly, and not get enough sleep. Some days still look like this, I am still a work in progress.

At work, the day is full of decision-making. When returning home, I often feel “fried” and only want to relax, not make more decisions.

Thankfully, I learned how to break this cycle. I remember growing up and hearing my parents say, many times, that “actions speak louder than words.” Fast forward a couple decades and the translation is me choosing to honor my values through action. I choose to create my life. Not just saying something is important to me, actually showing it through what I do. Intentionally. I get to nurture others to do the same in their lives.

Fun Facts About Mark

🍨 My top personal values include family, fun, learning, trust, integrity, freedom, positivity, and kindness.

🍨 My interests include music, physical and mental fitness, cooking, and anything in the outdoors, especially camping, hiking, running, downhill skiing, mountain biking, and platform tennis.

🍨 I love personal growth

🍨 I also enjoy craft beer and homebrewing. I serve as a beer judge and brew with my son (a great way for us to do something together and be part of each other’s lives).

🍨 On most weekends in the fall, you can find me watching American football, cheering on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Chicago Bears.

🍨 DiSC style profile: CS

🍨 StrengthsFinder: Deliberative, Responsibility, Developer, Connectedness, Learner

🍨 The Predictive Index: Collaborator

🍨 Did I mention that I like ice cream?!

What people are saying…

“Mark has a genuine passion for helping coach and grow others. He maintains a positive attitude and maintains an open mind throughout the discussions. Mark helps encourage others to challenge themselves in new ways and to think outside the box in how they can do things differently to better themselves. It was a real pleasure having a coaching relationship with Mark.” - R.P.

“I worked with Mark over several months focused on career development, realizing my purpose, and building a “toolbox” of resources to use when I find myself in stressful situations. Mark is patient, kind, and is wonderful to work with. His thoughtful approach to coaching makes you feel comfortable while allowing you to be open and vulnerable. I always left our sessions feeling grateful and confident that I could take on any situation that came my way. Thank you, Mark, for your friendship, support, and coaching!” - H.Z.

“Before meeting Mark, I was unconfident, unhappy and out of ideas to turn my life around for the better. Pushing me to find the strength and courage I had buried years prior, I have been able to tackle and renounce these shortcomings. I am now on a path to become a more proactive and empowered person and have Mark to thank for it!” - J.B.

Meet Mark