Wayne Applewhite

Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured myself doing what I do today; writing, speaking, and talking about leadership!

Why leadership? Why me? Why now?

Growing up, I had a talent for art. Not necessarily free hand, mind you, I was good with straight edges, templets of all kinds, drafting machines, and envisioning thought to paper. My very first job right out of high school was as a technical illustrator with then, North American Rockwell Corporation; college would have to wait.

Then came the military, I was a cook, a medic, a surgical technician, a college student, a supply operations officer, a fuels officer, grad school, a program manager, an intelligence officer, it seemed I could not keep a job! The truth of the matter is, someone always noticed me and nudged me in a direction I would not have easily found on my own. Then more grad school, an adjunct professor, an associate professor, director of graduate military studies, a thought leader, an associate dean, a chief operating officer, a co-founder of a business, and a writer.

Why leadership? Wherever I go and whatever I do, my best talent is observation and engagement. I like to ask questions because I truly want to learn and to want to know why things are the way they are. You can imagine with all of those jobs or positions behind me, I have encountered hundreds of individuals; smart individuals! I observed talent across many spectrums in diversified career fields, and yes, I noticed leadership from those same spectrums, some bad, some good and some phenomenal. I noticed smart people, visionaries, passionate tacticians, deliberate strategists, ever changing individuals, and thought leaders on the cutting edge; again, some bad, some good and some phenomenal. Also noted here, many of those individuals I worked with and for were true leaders in every respect and yes there were green ones, plaid ones, big ones, tall ones, short ones, round ones, and skinny ones. Diversity works!

My vision: “To inspire, to influence, to have a dramatic impact on the future, through people.”

Why me? When I turned to teaching, as luck would have it, I found myself teaching Organizational Behavior and Leadership courses at the graduate level. The students came prepared. They came with knowledge. They came with experience. They came as junior, senior, and C-Suite executives. They taught me just as much as the courses offered them, if not more. And again, I learned about leadership from my students and clients. This time it was a bit different; some bad, some good and most phenomenal. After many years of working, teaching, following, leading, and learning, I noticed something; a pattern, a leadership recipe if you will. As I took notes, read, asked more questions of top leaders, conducted deliberate research, the essence of leadership unfolded before me. I would always rethink where I came from, whom I encountered (in the vast array of fields and industries I have worked in) and what transpired (how some individuals acted, reacted, approached, and implemented differing strategies). I would compare and contrast those actions and decisions and found that no matter the field or industry I found myself thinking about, the actions or decisions those individuals decided to act on, with a successful outcome, were basically the same. So no matter the industry, leaders make similar decisions with similar outcomes.

Why now? Today we need strong leaders to get us to tomorrow. Today we need ethical leaders to preserve and defend right from wrong. Today we need leadership that embraces who we are and celebrates what unites us! Today we need mentorship more than ever. Not the forced mentorship we see from time-to-time, but that mentorship that is subtle, dynamic, life changing, and sometimes impromptu. Yesterday, many promising young minds stalled out because they lost their momentum and did not know why. They had no one to turn to for differing reasons, yet they saw their peers continue to rise and move forward. How unfortunate. This site, our book is a possible solution (not The Solution) but a solution.

In essence, this is my journey and it continues. I will continue to read. I will continue to learn. I will continue to listen. I will continue to ask questions. I will continue to observe. And I will continue to write, speak and talk about leadership, as long as you will have me.