J. Jeffrey Spahn
Founder and President of Leading Leaders Inc. - guiding executive teams to the zone
Along the banks of the Ohio River something happened to a group of high school students that we will never, ever forget. During a high school football game, my team was absolutely dominated in the first half. Yet somehow in the second half we outperformed ourselves -- entering into what I now call a 'collective zone.' It was as though we were lifted up to another level of existence.
We won the game.
This experience marked me. What happened during that game and why? Could this “collective zone” occur in a professional setting? If so, what would that look like? The Leaders Leading Leaders® (L3) program grows out of these questions.
A degree from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and my experience in Michigan athletics continued to prepare me for creating the Leaders Leading Leaders® program.
Moving along a more scholarly and theoretical path, I obtained a doctorate from the University of Chicago by researching a scholar's movement from a dialectic to a dialogical worldview. In this context, dialectic informs a hierarchical model of organizations and dialogical a more integral and collaborative model. The L3 program integrates the strengths of each of these paradigms.
After 12 years of executive experience teaching business graduate students, conducting research on the purpose of business and engaging many top executives, the L3 process began to coalesce. Improvisational theatre classes and my love for live improvisational jazz also provided inspiration.
Leaders Leading Leaders® has a life of its own. Through the years, the L3 process has regenerated and refurbished itself through the courage and wisdom of clients, the contributions of colleagues, and the eclectic insights and disciplines of business and philosophy, arts and athletics, science and spirituality.
I invite you and your team to share in this experience, and see how the power of L3 can move you.
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