My history, and my future.
Founded in 2003 on a simple belief that standing tall is critical to success and fulfillment in work and life.
The short answer is that I’m 5 feet 10 inches tall. The longer answer is the whole story.
What's behind the name?
I come from a tall family, where long legs are one of our hallmarks. “How tall are you anyway?” is a question I’ve heard since I shot up in junior high, and in those early years, it wasn’t one I liked.
At 5 feet 10 inches, I towered over my classmates, taller still in heels. Shy and wanting to blend into the crowd, I learned to round my shoulders, slump, and lean onto one hip to shave off a few inches. (You can see it starting in the photo with my dad.) In college, I began to learn my height was a positive attribute and something to embrace.
When I stood up straight, claimed my full 5 feet 10 inches, and put my shoulders back, I didn’t just look different. I felt different. Confident. Strong. Emboldened. That was my first experience of working through the body as a vehicle for change, and the mind-body connection has informed the work at the heart of 5Ten ever since.
Thirty years in, here's what I know for how leaders stand tall.
I’ve coached scientists and attorneys through the F word – in this case, F stands for feeling.
I’ve helped law firm CEOs understand that leadership is a state of being, not just a set of actions.
I’ve worked with women at NIH who had been managing their power down for years and helped them rediscover and claim their authentic voice and sense of empowerment.
I’ve sat with leaders at the hardest crossroads of their careers and watched them summon something they didn’t know they had.
And I’ve been doing this work since before coaching was a LinkedIn keyword.
I’ve also learned to show up again and again. When I tell you that what you’re carrying is workable, I mean it.
And while change can be serious and challenging, it can also be fun and enjoyable. This is the point, not the paradox.
Leadership is as much a state of being as it is a series of actions. Let’s work together to bring about the most true version of you, as a leader and as a human being.
The ocean is in the name, too.
The other half of 5Ten lives in the power of the ocean.
I grew up spending one glorious week each summer with my family on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The four of us stayed in a bare-bones cottage: no air conditioning, no TV, no phone, nothing in the kitchen but a stove. We rode the waves, went crabbing and fishing, hunted for shells, and spent whole days on the beach. Life was simple, easy, and fun. It taught me how to relax, unwind, and be present to the natural ebb and flow of things. That connection to family, tradition, and nature still grounds me, and 5Ten, today.
Easily able to develop a collaborative relationship with mutual respect and trust of each other’s expertise. Really helped me to focus on what I wanted to gain, kept me challenged and gave me courage.”
— Senior Vice President
