Thomas A. Kolditz

Brigadier General (Ret.), Leadership Thought Leader, Social Psychologist, Author, Global Gurus Top 30 StartUp Coach 2024, and Chosen as a Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coach
Thomas A.
Kolditz

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AVAILABLE FOR

Keynote
Virtual Presentation

Fee ranges

Domestic In-Person (USA):

$20,001 - $30,000*

International In-Person:

$40,001 - $50,000*

Virtual:

$15,000 - $25,000*

Other:

* Ranges are presented as a guideline only. Speaker fees vary by engagement type and are subject to change without notice. For an exact quote, please contact Gravity Speakers.

Traveling from

Illinois, USA

About

Tom Kolditz is a social psychologist who develops leaders. He is currently the Managing Member of Saxon Castle LLC, a coaching and leader development consultancy. He founded the Ann and John Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University and led it for 7 years. Prior to Rice, he taught as a Professor in the Practice of Leadership and Management and founded the Leadership Development Program at the Yale School of Management.

A retired Brigadier General, Tom led the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at West Point for 12 years, and was titled Professor Emeritus after retirement. He served for 2 years as a leadership and human resources policy analyst in the Pentagon, and a year as a concept developer in the Center for Army Leadership. General Kolditz is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, the Army’s highest award for service. In 2017, he was honored with the prestigious Warren Bennis Award for Excellence in Leadership—an honor also bestowed on Doris Kearns Goodwin, Howard Schultz, Tom Peters, and Benazir Bhutto. From 2018 to 2023, he globally ranked in various coaching categories by Global Gurus, an independent research and professional ranking organization, most recently, #12 in Start-up Coaching in 2023. In 2019, he was selected by Thinkers50 MG100 as the #1 University Coach in the world in London in November 2019.

Dr. Kolditz has published more than 75 books, book chapters, and articles across a diverse array of academic and leadership trade journals, and served on the editorial and advisory boards of several psychology journals.He developed the concept of in extremis leadership—an original crisis leadership model—while serving in Iraq. His subsequent book on that topic, In Extremis Leadership: Leading as if Your Life Depended On It, currently helps train leaders in more than 8 service academies in the US, the United Kingdom, China, Israel, and Japan. His second book, Leadership Reckoning: Can Higher Education Develop the Leaders We Need, launched a national movement to improve the quality and quantity of leader development across higher education. Understanding the power of scale, Tom partnered with the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to design and administer a Carnegie Elective Classification titled “Leadership for Public Purpose,” as a challenge to 5200+ colleges and universities to examine and improve the professional development of students, and is a member of the Leadership for Public Purpose National Advisory Committee. In 2022, he worked with the largest employer in Ukraine, DTEK, and the International Coaching Federation, to pilot and administer a grand-scale coaching strategy in business and government to assist and accelerate the resistance and recovery of Ukraine. He is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and a founding member of the Board of Advisors for the Department of Psychology at the University of Missouri. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology from Vanderbilt University, three Master’s degrees, and PhD in Psychology from the University of Missouri. Credentialed by the International Coaching Federation, Tom was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Professional Practice by the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

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Topics

Topics

In Extremis Leadership: Leading As If Your Life Depended On It

Failure: Why You Can Survive Big Mistakes

Measure What Matters: Innovate With OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)

Hope Is not a Method: 40 years of Leadership Takeaways

Leaders Developing Leaders

Dodging Bullets: How to Prepare Your Organization for the Next Crisis

Leading by Serving: The Principles of Servant Leadership

Videos

https://youtu.be/fAs1PDGOivg
Tom Kolditz Sizzle Reel
https://youtu.be/ej8s0ZcWrKM
What are the Common Characteristics of In Extremis Leadership | Thomas Kolditz
https://youtu.be/ETT5S6-WtjA
How To Measure Leadership Skills | Thomas Kolditz
https://youtu.be/HvFQovINVPQ
Game-changing Insights From John Doerr's 'Measure What Matters' Talk At Rice University!
https://youtu.be/pzfMfNFuV0o
How to Lead in a Crisis--with Mark Thompson
https://youtu.be/M50EXH7jWJ8
Leading in Tough Times--with Mark Thompson and Col. Thomas Kolditz
https://youtu.be/xjNdjclPQEY
Tom Kolditz Director of Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders

Testimonials

"Thomas was a huge hit - everyone enjoyed his speech and I heard from a few folks that his session was their favorite part of Day 1. His talk was impactful, resonated well with our overall leadership theme, and had the perfect blend of humor. Thanks again for your help!"

Google

"At TIME’s recent global sales meeting, General Kolditz delivered an inspiring and invigorating call to action for our sales team. His presentation, ‘Leading As If Your Life Depended On It,’ offers the ideal rallying cry for our times – when crisis is ubiquitous and when the worse things get, he says, the calmer true leaders become. The General’s charge to focus outward and to set yourself apart in order to set your influence apart is the perfect message for an international sales organization facing challenge and change at every turn. Thanks, General, for helping our team to embrace leadership 'In Extremis.'”

TIME Worldwide

"You were outstanding, really made us think and your presentation sparked much conversation in the remaining time we had together. Thank you again for inspiring us to think more systematically about leadership development and how we might improve."

The Conference Board

"General Thomas Kolditz was a 10 out of 10! The responses from our key executives and leaders were extremely positive. Having a third party expert on leadership with a unique perspective not often seen in the business community was refreshing, informative and inspiring! We were extremely satisfied with Thomas."

DDR Corp

"General Kolditz is an engaging speaker who is able to make real-world connections between extreme military operations and leading in a corporate environment. His presentation was truly inspirational and insightful. The universal principles of leadership that Gen. Kolditz has researched and presented can certainly be transferred to a global company such as Siemens."

James
SVP, Communications and Marketing, Siemens Corporation