Our leaders speak for themselves.Executive Leadership Case Study
Whitney Taylor, PhD
Career & Development Coach
Vanderbilt University
Jonathan has such great emotional intelligence and he’s such a good listener that he was able to really quickly think through how to adapt his content and create a meaningful workshop for our specific group.
“I was lucky to come across Jonathan when I was working at Vanderbilt, and we were looking for someone to do professional development workshops for graduate students, PhD students, masters students, and postdoctoral fellows. We wanted to find something meaningful for them that could also be applicable across a range of needs and interests. Some people want to become professors or researchers, and some people want to go into industry.
One of the challenges for graduate students—and probably everyone—is thinking about the arc of their narrative and feeling ownership of it going forward. When I met Jonathan, I was really impressed. He has such great emotional intelligence and he's such a good listener that he was able to really quickly think through how to adapt his content and create a meaningful workshop for our specific group. I really appreciated how thoughtful he was about tailoring it to our audience and making it work for them.”
Jonathan did his own research to inform the programming, which was really amazing—he created something at the right level for our group that could challenge them, give them insight, and meet them where they are. That was special.
“I think one of the things that stood out the most was how it wasn't one size fits all. We had looked at some other options that would have felt a little bit more like fitting a square peg into a round hole, but Jonathan was able to create a custom program and shape a peg that fit exactly what we needed.
He not only listened to what we needed, but he also extrapolated from that to develop something that would be really meaningful for this group. He did his own research to inform the programming, which was really amazing—he created something at the right level for our group that could challenge them, give them insight, and meet them where they are. That was special.
I appreciate many things about working with Author Leadership, but particularly the intentionality and thoughtfulness on the planning side. Everything was very well thought out.
On the facilitation side, Jonathan was so engaging and warm, not only in presenting, but also in engaging with people in the audience and connecting with our group.”
We did a survey after the program and it was very effective. But outside of the quantitative data, the feedback on the ground was immediately really wonderful.
“We did a survey after the program and it was very effective. But outside of the quantitative data, the feedback on the ground was immediately really wonderful—I had students right away say that this was useful thinking through how they would tell their story. Two years later, there were two separate students who said, ‘I refer back to Jonathan and his workshop and that's been helping me think through what I want to do next.’ It helped them not feel like they had to be stuck on a certain path, but could actually consider what they wanted and what was fulfilling for them.
I've thought about it a lot since and used his insight in my coaching, but it was neat to see students who are now graduated and are in the career saying, ‘Oh, I look back at my workshop material and reflect on it.’ That's really neat.
Personally, working with Jonathan was really helpful for thinking through the arc of my own career and how to be more intentional both in my current role and in what's possible for the future. The Story Loop framework has given me a really cool lens that’s easy to apply in so many areas of my life.”
Jonathan has all the tools and expertise to do it, but also there's genuine curiosity and listening to help people with what they need. That’s really rare.
“When I think about Jonathan and Author Leadership, I think of genuineness. It comes out of real curiosity about where the people he's working with are and how to support them. He has all the tools and expertise to do it, but also there's genuine curiosity and listening to help people with what they need. That’s really rare.”
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your story
If you sense drift—professionally or personally—this is your invitation to slow down and take an honest look. A simple conversation can open the path to clarity, courage, and renewal.