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About

At Fish Leadership, we help leaders solve their most pressing problems and achieve their biggest dreams. We do this by tapping into the power of leadership development and the power of culture. Great leaders build culture. Great culture builds leaders. Put the two together, and you create an unstoppable force of progress.

Over the past fifteen years, we have worked with College Deans, School Heads, CEO’s and Teachers. Our engagements run from focused issues like building alignment in the boardroom to wide-ranging cultural initiatives that transform the whole organization.

Our unique approach to leadership development increases three critical capacities: self-awareness, strategic acumen, and the ability to galvanize groups. When it comes to culture, we focus on two elements. We develop and align leaders throughout the organization, and we strengthen teams by carefully crafting change initiatives and gathering ever larger wins.

Our Team

Dr. Ted Fish

Dr. Ted Fish has been immersed in the practice of leadership since he founded an elementary and middle school at the age of 25 in Santa Fe, NM. He now guides leaders at universities, startups, multinational corporations, k-12 schools and non-profits across North America, Europe and the Middle East. What distinguishes his work is a seamless integration between strategy, culture and leadership – helping organizations achieve the highest results because of how they lead, support their people, and aspire to excellence.

In k-12 education, Dr. Fish consults widely with independent, public and charter schools. For ten years, he served as the Executive Director of the Gardner Carney Leadership Institute (gcLi), a role from which he mentored hundreds of leaders across North America. Under his guidance, the gcLi became a premiere source of professional development for independent school educators, running national Symposia with Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently works with Heads, Leadership Teams, and Senior leaders at dozens of schools across the nation and collaborates with regional associations to provide high impact cohort-based trainings.

Dr. Fish is equally involved in higher education and the veterinary industry. He works with leaders and clinicians in private practice and academia throughout the United States and Canada and guides comprehensive initiatives at multiple universities. He has worked with more than 50 clinics in the private sector, helping owners to gain market share and improve financial results, all while building cultures that support quality of life and community. For three years, he served as CEO of Canada’s largest equine clinic, located in Calgary, CAN, initiating a cycle of unprecedented prosperity.

Additionally, in the private sector, Dr. Fish works with a range of executives, from founders of startups to CEO’s and Division Heads of multinational companies.

Ted holds a Doctorate in the Department of Organizational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, an Executive MBA from the University of New Mexico and has completed additional coursework at Harvard Business School. In addition to leadership and cultural change, his research interests include resilience, community wellness, and the excellence of teams. Dr. Fish regularly presents at national events.

Holly Copeland

k-12 Public School Excellence & Wellness Initiative

Holly Copeland is a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 30 years’ experience guiding adolescents, adults, children and families. She is an adept listener who has worked extensively in private practice and in a variety of clinical settings.

Holly is trained in a range of modalities, including Transpersonal, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). She is skilled in using deep breathing, meditation and relaxation techniques to help clients better cope with stress, anxiety, trauma and depression.

Holly has served as the Clinical Director of a residential facility for traumatized adolescent girls and of outpatient clinics located throughout Pennsylvania. In these roles, she created new programming and mentored other therapists. She holds her Master’s in counseling psychology from Immaculata University.

Holly has been a close collaborator on community education projects with Dr. Fish for over fifteen years and is working as the mental health expert on public school initiatives for Fish Leadership in Chester County, PA.

What people say

  • In the midst of a global pandemic, racial reckoning and national political unrest, I began my tenure as a first-time, high school president. Ted was an anchor in the midst of the tumult. He offered keen insight, professional acumen, and a warm, empathetic presence that rooted and encouraged me in my leadership.

    Sister Charlene Diorka, SSJ

    President Mount Saint Joseph Academy, 120 W. Wissahickon Ave, Flourtown, PA 19031

  • For years, I have observed with admiration Ted Fish’s dedicated work to developing leadership in schools. He brings a scholar’s understanding of organizations and a practitioner’s awareness of the challenges of day-to-day leadership. He is an acute listener who shares his wisdom in a way that strengthens others.

    Dr. Earl Ball

    Senior Fellow, The University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education

  • I don’t know that I have met a better listener or someone who was more authentically invested in my growth and success who I hadn’t known before. Ted is wise, sensitive, and immediately gets to what is core.

    Noni Thomas Lopez, Ed.D.

    Head of School, Gordon School, Providence, RI

  • Working with Ted is so insightful, I engaged him for my whole leadership team.

    Quentin McDowell

    Head of School, Mercersburg Academy, PA

  • Ted Fish is so good that at our school, his name has gone from being a “noun” to a “verb.” When we want to listen intently, check in empathetically, or work on being an effective group, we now say things like “Ted Fish me” or “Let’s Ted Fish this problem!” He’s had an amazing impact.

    Kelly Richards

    Director of College Counseling, St George’s School, Middletown

  • Ted is a spectacular presenter! Our Heads raved about his content and presentation style. He has such a keen sense of what it’s like to be a Head of school and his message really resonated with our group during our Fall retreat.

    Lynn Maloney

    Director of Programs, Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington, Washington DC

  • The leadership cohort Ted ran was medicine.

    Michael Gary

    Head of School, Friends Select School, Philadelphia

  • Ted’s warmth, sincerity and incisive listening made a huge difference for me and our whole team.”

    Meghan Finnegan

    Co-Director, College Counseling, Pingry School, NJ

  • Working with Ted has been such a boon for our team. His approach utilizes research and a deep sense of empathy. I can’t recommend him more highly.

    Alixe Callen

    Ed.D. Head of School, St. George’s School, Middletown, RI

  • Working with Ted was time very well spent. He gave our leadership team a lift without heavy lifting! We dived into meaningful work that simultaneously boosted our individual and collective spirits.

    Henry Smyth

    Head of School, Gilman School, Baltimore, MD.

  • Ted has been invaluable in helping me lead culture change at our college, through direct coaching and through working with the leaders who report to me. He has an amazing ability to ask questions that lead to the most critical and useful insights into complex challenges and to illuminate next steps even under very murky conditions. I’ve worked with many consultants over the years, and I can say that he truly stands out.

    Dr. Laura Molgaard

    Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota

  • Ted is brilliant at what he does. He encourages everyone to take their ideas, dreams and perceptions at least one layer deeper than presented. He provides advice for measured decision-making – something I’ve found enormously helpful as a leader. At the end of an interaction, the outcome is energized for all participants. We have made tremendous progress in building a culture that is more collaborative and positive.

    Dr. Bonnie Rush

    Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University

  • Ted has been extraordinarily helpful with my leadership development these past two years. He helped me negotiate difficult conversations and build my strategic and political acumen. He was invaluable in facilitating contentious meetings where we discussed the future of our department and in improving group dynamics throughout our faculty.

    Dr. Jane Welch

    Department Head and Professor, Texas A&M University

  • Ted has a remarkably effective ability to communicate and connect. He helps people of varied backgrounds appreciate the importance of commitment and teamwork. He teaches that when individuals make small, incremental changes and yet work together with the end goal in mind, they can move the mission forward in powerful ways.

    Dr. Elizabeth Davis

    Department Head and Hospital Director, Kansas State University

  • When we hired Dr. Fish, it was the best decision we ever made. We are the largest Equine Veterinary company in Canada, and he systematically helped us to build a company culture that was happy and cohesive. The alignment achieved in our Board and the unity of vision was fundamental to our success. He helped us dramatically increase our market share and profitability, building an infrastructure that I believe will be the key to our continued success. I cannot recommend him strongly enough as a leader for your organization.

    Dr. Dennis Rach

    past President of the Board, Moore Equine, Calgary, AB, Canada

  • One of my key employees was creating a great deal of conflict at work. It was having a difficult impact on our whole culture. Ted came in for a single site visit to mediate and had a series of meetings with different members of our team. What happened was a miracle. My employee is back to her original great self. She feels supported, and all of us are on the same page. I couldn’t be happier.

    Dr. LeAnn Kuebelbeck

    President, Brandon Equine Medical Center, Tampa, Fl.

  • Ted and I started working together over 15 years ago, at a point when I was comfortable in my career yet uncertain about my future. Our small company was successful, yet something was missing. Ted’s guidance helped me develop leadership skills and vision, quintupling the size of my original business and launching me to found and serve as CEO of a company with over $120M in annual revenue. I’ve been able to lead, train and motivate a team, giving me personal success and freedom I never imagined possible.

    -Dr. Scott Spaulding

    CEO MAVANA; Janesville, WI

Our Approach: Leadership Alignment

Aligning Vision + Heart + Culture = Success (by every measure)

VISION

Leaders need a compelling and energizing vision of where they want to go and why. And then they need to translate that into LASER-FOCUSED STRATEGY. Resources are finite. It takes 90% of your energy just to keep your organization doing what it’s currently doing. So leaders must choose the right initiative that will propel your group forward farther and faster than anything else. This takes careful thought! What will be the one thing – the one thing – that if you accomplish by the end of the year will put you and your group in a transformatively different position? Where will you be in 3 years or 5?

HEART

Leadership is all about inspiring and mobilizing teams. And the best teams are ones in which every member is fully committed to both their job and the ultimate goal of the group. In the words of Bill George of Harvard Business School, the leader must move from I to WE. It’s not about your individual productivity anymore; it’s about what you can habitually generate from your group. We help you do this by eliciting the WHY behind your actions, by lining these up to the ACTS THAT REALLY MATTER for you, and by INCREASING YOUR POSITIVE IMPACT upon others by learning about your strengths, weaknesses and blind spots, and the unique way – according to your qualities – that you most effectively inspire others.

CULTURE

Everything we do at Fish Leadership is grounded in building culture – the secret to transforming groups into teams and teams into community. We start by identifying the values, practices and vision that are already at the core of your organization. Then we help you to shape and magnify your core through calibrated strategic actions, group initiatives, and leadership support for your key people. In this way, your organization doesn’t just solve problems. It becomes better at solving problems. And your culture is characterized by alignment of SHARED VALUES, SHARED VISION, and SYNERGY.

Our Model of Cultural Change

  • You Speak. We listen. We learn about your organization and hear about your challenges and dreams. Typically, we speak with the CEO, Head or Dean and key people to gather a diversity of viewpoints.

  • Together, we design. After listening carefully to themes (strengths, weaknesses and opportunities), we help you build your vision, identify your key allies, and contemplate initial low hanging fruit.

  • We build your strength by building your leaders. We help leaders at all levels increase their self-awareness, their strategic clarity, and their impact.

  • We build group efficacy. We facilitate group meetings to build shared values, energizing vision, and clear action steps.

  • Ever widening circles. We help the group extend its reach, scope and impact.

  • We link. We link the circles, building an unstoppable wave of momentum.

  • Step by step, win-by-win. Culture is built when groups intentionally enact their values and dreams. In this way, the capacity of your whole organization grows!

Leadership Model

Any effective change initiative starts small. But if we take the right series of steps, gradually extending our reach, we can build an unstoppable wave of momentum.

Consulting Services

Let us know how we can help.

Strategic Planning

    • Our approach to strategic planning focuses on building open communication, collective buy-in, and psychological safety as the foundation from which great thinking can emerge. Then, we create succinct, focused and impactful plans.
    • This approach has produced transformational change for Universities, K-12 schools and in the private sector.
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Leadership Development

    • Through a combination of site visits and phone sessions, we help leaders refine their effectiveness. You will strategically grow your strengths, as well as awareness of your weaknesses. You’ll develop a keen sense of how to support and develop your protégés.
    • We help you to build a culture of leadership by developing a specific, intentional framework to grow the capacity around you.
    • Strengthen your organization’s position in the marketplace by clarifying where you are headed, building a focused plan about how to get there, and executing in a way that grows stakeholder buy-in from the beginning.
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Culture Building

    • Solve a compelling problem, or go after a big dream by tapping into the synergistic power of leadership development. This may be the development and launch of a new initiative; a decision to tackle an historical pattern that has held you back; or the dismantling of silos.
    • Get individuals or groups who are stuck, back on track through skilled mediation and facilitation.
    • Develop a culture that supports wellness and excellence, commitment and retention, by addressing underlying cultural patterns.
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Every initiative is uniquely tailored to your vision and your culture!

Our engagements run from 1-2 visits + phone support to quarterly visits for a year or more, depending on the scope of your plan.

Speaking

Dr. Fish leads workshops and presents keynotes. Topics include:

  • How to Build a Culture of Leadership
  • The Key to All Group Performance: whether you’re a Teacher, a Business Executive, a Scientist or a Navy Seal
  • Growing Dynamic, Transformative Leadership
  • The Essence of Impact – how to influence, energize and inspire the people who matter most
  • Filling in the Blind Spot: why sustaining yourself has become a critical skill as a leader and what you can do about it
  • DEI, Belonging and the Tribal Mind: addressing racism at its roots
  • Dismantling Bullying – a system’s approach
  • Cracking the code on Retention and Recruitment

Let us help you build leadership today!

Get in touch

Please call 5052312699 or email ted@fishleadership.org

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