I was talking recently with a friend who's considering where to focus his time and energy as he builds his coaching and consulting practice. He's seeking not only to support his own efforts, but also to connect with a community of like-minded people working on leadership, professional development, personal growth and related issues.
Our conversation led me to reflect on the people who command my attention in this regard, people who who consistently maintain my interest through their combination of...
- thoughtful writing
- in a personal voice
- with a sense of community
- and a well-designed web presence.
I came up with the list below of 32 people (alphabetized by first name) who fulfill these criteria, and after sharing it with my friend I thought I'd post it here to express my thanks for all they do to contribute to my own learning and development. It's not intended to be an exhaustive list--I know I'll regret leaving someone off--and there's nothing special about 32; these are just the first people who came to mind in this process, and I preferred that to randomly choosing 25 or 50 or whatever:
1. Alain de Botton (@alaindebotton)
London-based de Botton is...a working philosopher? I don't really know what to call him, but I know I've benefited from his guidance.
2. Anne Kreamer (@AnneKreamer)
NYC writer Kreamer's It's Always Personal: Navigating Emotion in the New Workplace deftly balances first-person experience with recent research.
3. Annie Murphy Paul (@anniemurphypaul)
Murphy Paul is amazingly productive writer based in New Haven, CT whose articles, posts and tweets have a particular focus on how we learn.
4. Art Markman (@abmarkman)
Markman is a prof of psychology and marketing at UT Austin, whose work explores thinking, decision making and motivation.
5. Bill George (@Bill_George)
George is a former Fortune 500 CEO who's carved out a second career teaching leadership at HBS.
6. BJ Fogg (@bjfogg)
Fogg is a Stanford prof and tech industry consultant whose expertise is in "creating systems to change human behavior."
7. Brene Brown (@BreneBrown)
Brown is a prof at the University of Houston whose talk on vulnerability has been seen nearly 1 million times and still makes me cry.
8. Bret Simmons (@drbret)
Simmons is a prof at the B-school of the University of Nevada, Reno who integrates topics like personal branding into his courses on leadership and organizational behavior.
9. Dan Oestreich (@DanOestreich)
Oestreich is a coach and consultant based outside Seattle who's one of the very best writers we have on the subjects of leadership and organizational life; it was a privilege to be interviewed by him.
10. David Rock (@davidrock101)
Rock is a coach based in NYC who's studied the implications of neuroscience for leadership and coaching, resulting in such useful tools as his SCARF Model.
11. Daniel Coyle (@DanielCoyle)
Journalist Coyle writes about talent, performance and motivation, with a particular interest in endurance sports.
12. Doug Sundheim (@DougSundheim)
Sundheim is a consultant and coach in NYC and the author of the recently-published Taking Smart Risks, which encourages us to consider the costs of playing it safe.
13. Eric Pennington (@epicliving)
Pennington is a consultant and coach in Columbus, OH whose personal voice is a hallmark of his writing.
14. Eugene Eric Kim (@eekim)
Kim recently left Groupaya, the Bay Area consulting firm he co-founded, to explore new horizons.
15. Halley Bock (@HalleyBock)
Bock is CEO of the Seattle coaching and consulting firm founded by the great Susan Scott, whose Fierce Conversations taught me much.
16. Kelly McGonigal (@kellymcgonigal)
McGonigal is a psychologist and lecturer at Stanford whose work focuses on translating findings from medicine and neuroscience into strategies for personal development.
17. Maria Konnikova (@mkonnikova)
Konnikova is a writer in NYC who's pursuing a PhD in psych at Columbia.
18. Mark McGuinness (@markmcguinness)
McGuinness is a coach in London--and a poet--who specializes in working with creative professionals and who's inspired me for years.
19. Michael Bungay Stanier (@boxofcrayons)
Bungay Stanier is an inspiring Toronto-based coach, consultant and author whose focus is helping people and organizations "do great work."
20. Nilofer Merchant (@nilofer)
Merchant is a Bay Area corporate director and author who addresses a wide range of business topics with an emphasis on innovation and culture.
21. Nir Eyal (@nireyal)
Eyal is an entrepreneur (and Stanford GSB alum) who now consults to tech companies and writes about product design, the power of habit and user engagement.
22. Oliver Burkeman (@oliverburkeman)
Burkeman is a British journalist based in NYC whose recent book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking is simply brilliant.
23. Pam Fox Rollin (@PamFR)
Fox Rollin is a coach (and Stanford GSB alum--and a friend!) here in the Bay Area and the author of 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role.
24. Richard Winters (@drrwinters)
Winters is an ER doctor--and an leadership coach to other physicians--based in Fresno, CA.
25. Stephanie West Allen (@idealawg)
Denver-based West Allen is a former attorney who now consults to the legal field and writes on mediation, mindfulness, neuroscience and related issues.
26. Scott Eblin (@ScottEblin)
Eblin is a coach and consultant focused on leadership development, with a longtime practice in Washington DC and a new home base in LA.
27. Tara Sophia Mohr (@tarasophia)
Mohr is a San Francisco coach and author (and Stanford GSB alum) whose practice focuses on helping women fully achieve their aspirations.
28. Thaler Pekar (@thaler)
Pekar is a NY-based communications consultant who helps people harness the power of narrative to tell their own stories more effectively.
29. Tom Peters (@tom_peters)
Peters is a well-known management thinker (and Stanford GSB alum); what you may not know is how effectively this longtime author makes use of social media.
30. Vickie Gray (@adaptivecoach)
Gray is a coach based in Nova Scotia whose practice focuses on Agile development and whose insights are relevant in any field.
31. Wally Bock (@wallybock)
Bock is an indefatigable blogger and ghostwriter in Charlotte, NC who has plenty of good advice for fellow writers.
32. Whitney Johnson (@johnsonwhitney)
Boston-based investor and author Johnson translates her business acumen into insights on personal growth, innovation and leadership.
Photo by dpika. Yay Flickr and Creative Commons.
