We founded High Achiever in 2018 based on a very clear market observation. Our belief was that there is a massive leadership gap in the marketplace and that this gap is not only hurting companies but as importantly hurting the people that work in our companies.  

The reality is that - 

“Poor leaders hurt people and great leaders change lives”

In our experience this continues to be one of the biggest problems in the marketplace today and is directly tied to a company's ability to improve performance, especially in customer facing teams.

AS you can see in this diagram - Gallup frames the problem better than we can:

Consider the impact of these statistics as it relates to revenue acceleration.

Now ask yourself this question: What is the top contributor to revenue acceleration in business today?  

It’s likely not what you expect. It’s what we call  “The principle of continuity.”  There is a direct correlation between the operating continuity and tenure of  your customer-facing teams and your productivity per head. By improving these two facets of your business you will begin to increase revenue growth and predictability. 

Now consider this: 

The average tenure of most customer facing positions today, inclusive of sales leaders on average is less than 16 months.

Statistics show that the average ramp time to full productivity is 18 to 24 months.

16 months is just enough time to do harm. That’s a problem.

Let’s talk a little bit about the root issue then we will dig into the solution.

The Leadership GAP: 

We believe the leadership gap exists today and continues to grow because of the unique market dynamics that have shifted over the last ten years.

2016 was the first time in the history of business that we had five generations in the workforce. 

• The Silent Generation (born approximately 1928-1945)

• Baby Boomers (born approximately 1946-1964)

• Generation X (born approximately 1965-1980)

• Millennials/Generation Y (born approximately 1981-1996)

• Generation Z (born approximately 1997-2012, with the oldest entering the workforce)

If you were working at the time you will remember the constant narrative on social channels was a lot of generational banter around topics like - 

• Boomers being out of touch and less relevant

• Millennials being  lazy and entitled

• GenX  being invisible or silent

The commentary is symptomatic and in most cases inaccurate. It does however point to a divided workforce. This is not just our opinion, it is a statistical fact. (We cover this in more detail in our LBD course).

We see two primary things that contribute to the current leadership gap the consequence of which is our current workforce divide, 

#1 Institutional Knowledge

Boomers are rapidly exiting the workforce as a result of age (burnout, retirement, death) and financial means. There is also a prevalent theme that  In many ways, contemporary Western culture has moved away from the traditional reverence for elder wisdom that was common in earlier societies. This results in what is becoming commonly known as “aging out” of the marketplace, In many cases before a person would choose to leave and certainly before they have lost the ability to add massive value. 

With their exodus they are taking 50 years of institutional knowledge with them. At High Achiever we often comment on how “first principles - have left the building”. Their departure has created a leadership vacuum that is pulling younger employees forward into leadership positions that they frankly don’t have the experience or skills to fill.  The “Peter Principle” is very prevalent in our workforce today. This is also one of the reasons that we have massive title inflation in our companies. Historically it would take an employee 15 to 20 years or work to advance to VP. In today’s world we are seeing people rise to the level of VP in less than five years at times. 

This is not an indictment on younger leaders. “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Someone has to fill the vacating positions. The gap is not their fault. The challenge is that we as an industry have done a terrible job of preparing our emerging leaders to lead. This is the root issue, not generational nuance. 

#2 Workforce Complexity

Generational nuance  is a huge factor as is our post pandemic world. Rest assured that while first principles are timeless they are also nuanced.  Generational traits are real which means the ability to translate timeless first principles into a mulit-generational post pandemic workforce is mandatory for High Achievement. It’s also more complex than it’s ever been, which is why our people need help. 

A tangible, yet commonly overlooked example, is the way we think about workforce management ratios. This is a common planning metric that plays into our coverage models. Yet there is a very common belief in companies that management ratios have not changed over time. We speak with leaders all the time who think the ratio of 8 to 10 employees or more to one manager is the right ratio. At one point this was a reasonable benchmark. Today it’s a terrible one. Yet the belief is more common than not. 

Let me say it again, workforce complexity has radically increased, meaning that the job of the frontline manager has radically changed. Managing the right way requires more time than it ever has in the past. This means my benchmark ratios need to come down. In many cases we see 4 to 1 ratios as the sweet spot. Even that however is a generalized number that changes based on the unique needs of organizations. This example is one of many that if we don’t think properly about, we are setting up our organizations to fail before they even get started.

LBD is how we address the common leadership obstacles we see in the market every day that are blind spots to revenue production.  

We are literally enabling emerging leaders to stand on the shoulders of High Achievers who have gone before them. 

Our goal is to eradicate “The Peter Principle" from our companies. 

Getting this right bleeds into every operating area of the business and radically contributes to our ability to build a “Great Place to Work”

Our LBD Methodology

Our proven 90-Day Leadership Development Experience is designed to unlock hidden potential, close the leadership gap, and drive rapid business growth. Through a powerful combination of executive coaching, strategic leadership frameworks, and high-performance habits, we help companies achieve measurable acceleration in leadership effectiveness, team performance, and ultimately revenue growth.

The Learn - Teach - Learn model ensures that we are not just giving your teams more information, we are creating environments where information is being ingested in a way that leads to transformation. 

1 on 1 Coaching delivers clarity and drives accountability. Cohort groups align the experience across teams, creating cultural and language norms.

In just 90 days, our clients experience:

• Stronger Leadership – Elevate decision-making, expand influence by understanding context and driving alignment, and foster deeper team engagement. The ability to recognize when, where, and how to lead ensures leaders inspire action that is both strategic and impactful.

• Higher Performance – Increase productivity and accountability across all levels while eliminating redundant work and focusing on what truly drives results. This ensures teams operate efficiently, with purpose, and without wasted effort.

• Revenue Acceleration –  Implement strategies that drive immediate impact and sustained business growth by aligning leadership, operations, and market strategy. 

When leaders make the right decisions at the right time, organizations unlock new opportunities, optimize resources, and remove barriers to profitability—creating momentum that lasts.

We develop High Achievers  for the sake of their companies, their people, their families and their own sanity.