David Vaughn

Principal Consultant, Executive Coach – Team and Individual Coaching Practice Lead

Expertise

Purposeful Leadership , Redesigning Inclusion

​About David:

David helps senior leaders bring out the best in themselves and others by building self-directed teams, developing value-centered culture and cultivating authentic relationships across their organizations. David has in-depth experience facilitating these initiatives in the healthcare, insurance, financial services, consumer products, and light manufacturing sectors.

David uses his extensive executive coaching experience to help his clients become purposeful leaders regardless of the context, business climate or scope of responsibility. He brings experience from prior senior management positions and an acute organizational development mindset to his client engagements.

Background & Experience:

Prior to joining Linkage, David worked for Anheuser-Busch. As a Regional Director, he was responsible for the Wholesale Operations in seven Midwest and Southern markets. He was also a Director of Business Development and Division Vice President for the Anheuser-Busch subsidiary, Campbell Taggart. Both roles helped prepare him for his assignment to lead their internal consulting efforts, where he focused on business management consulting, operations analysis, sales service strategy development, route distribution planning, computer-based routing, information systems consulting, and hands-on leadership coaching at all levels of independent distributorships, from small to large.

David has also worked as an independent consultant on large-scale global organizational interventions in Asia, Africa, and South America. His work included developing and coaching the executive directors and their leadership teams and boards in how to effectively take on the identity of the organization and manage it as a single-minded group in the deployment of policy, strategy, and solutions to emerging opportunities.

Education & Training:

David earned a BS in industrial engineering from Missouri University, an MA in human resource management from Washington University in St. Louis, an MBA from McNeese State University, and a PhD in public policy and administration from St. Louis University. He also received a certificate in theology from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.

David's Insights

The power of social capital

Unlike other forms of capital (i.e. human, financial, physical, etc.), social capital refers to productive connections between people. It’s not formed out of a self-serving agenda, but rather a genuine interest in joining together to accomplish a goal.

The ultimate value of an executive coach

The best coaches hold themselves accountable for not just the leadership development of their coachees, but for actually helping them solve their business problems.

11 elements of great executive coaching

These 11 elements are built on the belief that every coach (every employee and employer, really) has the responsibility to give every assignment their best effort because consistent best effort leads to great performance.

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