Erik Thompson, MA
Erik is the founder and president of Thompson Leadership Development, an executive coaching firm. Trained as a family psychologist, Erik spent his early career in clinical settings, using systems leadership theory to strengthen families, hospital leaders, and prison wardens. In 2005 Erik began working with senior executives and their leadership teams. He created the innovative Leading by Managing Self Course that has been taught at more than 40 companies throughout the United States.
Erik is passionate about helping talented, inspiring people become extraordinary leaders of teams and organizations. His valuable and meaningful conversations with senior leaders led to the introduction of LeaderSight, an interview series on Zoom, with topics ranging from leadership succession, developing highly successful teams, the art of mentoring, to lessons learned from personal loss.
To meet Erik’s personal mission of investing in family health, he is a co-founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Vermont Center for Family Studies, an organization dedicated to helping family leaders foster stability, maturity, responsibility, and effective communication.
A 40 year practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, Erik enjoys reading classic fiction and watching high school basketball. He resides in the mountains of Vermont where he hikes with his wife Sarah and a brood of daughters, nephews, and nieces.
Kent Michael, PhD
Kent has been working with leaders for over a decade. He earned a Master of Education in marriage and family counseling from the University of Montevallo, and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from The University of Alabama. In addition to leadership coaching, Kent has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at various universities and has also facilitated seminars and workshops for educational institutions and religious organizations in Alabama.
He is the co-founder and executive director of the Alabama Center for Pastoral Resilience, a non-profit organization that exists to support pastors and other ministry leaders in their personal and congregational lives through training, education, and consultation. Kent also co-hosts the podcast, So, Tell Me About Your Mother, where he and is co-host discuss current dilemmas through their roles as educators, therapists, husbands, and fathers. Kent has a passion for helping leaders discover and bring their best selves to the modern challenges they are up against.
Kent is married, has three children, and cherishes laid back weekends with his family. He also enjoys fly fishing, hiking, reading systems books, watching Alabama football (Roll Tide!), and working on music production projects for his church.