What Others are saying

My leadership career in Higher Education spans twenty-eight years at four different universities. It is a career credentialed with two terminal degrees, including a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership. Despite all that experience, I can honestly share that I have learned more about leadership and myself as a leader during my time working with Mark than in all the previous years combined.

Fine Arts Dean

Mark has taken the lessons he has learned over many years, from both successes and failures, and translated them into a leadership portfolio which not only helps leaders in terms of their own issues and challenges but also sets a tone of civility, respect and openness that is a far cry from what happens in most universities. It is a privilege to be a recipient of Mark’s lessons for transformative, determined leadership.

University President

Mark's experiences have led him to possess a deep, holistic perspective on leadership. He brings this perspective, combined with an uncanny ability to listen, empathize and advise his clients, such that their ability to lead in turbulent times is remarkably enhanced. Working with Mark, clients are clearer about their purpose and that of the organizations they lead. Even more, they are able to put the various domains of their life into a healthy, effective whole. Healthy leaders, build healthy organizations. Therefore, Mark's work benefits everyone the leader touches.

CEO and Author

Mark has made a tremendous impact on our university by coaching up our leaders to seize opportunities and lead transformational change. He works with individual leaders and groups to build highly effective teams that work collaboratively and in support of institutional goals. He has helped me become a better leader, too, through a process of gentle inquiry that guided me to focus on my strengths and approach challenges with courage, curiosity, humility, and respect for others.

University Provost

As a practicing physician in a new leadership role, I knew it was a big jump from my previous positions and coaching support was going to be essential to my growth and the overall success of the team and program. I can, without a doubt, attribute my ability to navigate the environment to Mark’s coaching. He is thought provoking in an organized manner that ultimately helps you find clarity in your own purpose and that of your team. Mark not only helps develop you as a leader, but as a wonderful resource in dealing with operational challenges. Transformative Determined Leadership is now fundamental to how I function as a leader.

Surgeon and Center Director

Mark's lessons and guidance on Team One were just what I needed, just when I needed it. The grounding in finding my own purpose and building my team set me up for the big change I had to lead. I am so much more prepared to lead my organization than I would have been without his coaching.

University Dean

I spent several decades in C-suites and on Boards of emerging life science companies observing teams try to figure things out by themselves. Then I got to personally experience the transformative impact Mark has had on our leadership team. Now, I can’t imagine tackling an epic mission without the guidance of a superb coach like Mark. Among important lessons Mark has taught me about leadership are: my 'to don't list' is more important than my 'to do list'; ambiguity needs elimination by making the implicit explicit; to get the change I want from others, I have to first give it; to increase operational trust, we have to approach a 1:1 ratio in what we say to what we do. A bonus is that I find myself sharing these lessons on Zoom calls with my adult children.

Life Sciences CEO

I cherish my weekly interactions with Mark that we call our “sacred hour.” Mark compels you to think beyond self while helping you identify ways to do better and be better. Because of Mark, I am a better me, and a better me means I am a better administrator, but more importantly, a better person overall.

Campus President

Working with Mark has been a transformational experience that has enabled me to develop as a leader and individual. He has provided me with invaluable tools to face the intricacies of leadership in higher education. In our regular meetings, I have gained clarity about my core values and priorities, hence becoming a better leader with personal life balance. I am sure that my organization is moving in the right direction, thanks in large part to Mark’s encouragement and guidance.

College Dean

Credibility. That is what you get from Mark McCoy’s lessons on leadership. To enact fundamental, second-order changes, the leader must have courage, stamina, a high tolerance for loneliness, and a willingness to put the future of the organization ahead of personal comfort. Mark shows you that leadership as about who you must be as well as what you must do.

Organization President

As an administrator who never planned on being an administrator, having the opportunity to work with Mark has been a blessing. By focusing on building the leader first, Mark is always able to bring discussions about thorny issues back to first principles. It is amazing how much easier decision-making is when you have built your core document. My spouse says I am so less stressed as a Dean than I was as a faculty member and I owe that to having the opportunity to work with Mark.

College Dean

Mark McCoy’s lessons on leadership help transform you from a leader to a “Transformative Determined Leader.” Mark helps build the leader first, then guides the leader to build the team who can in turn lead the change. He teaches you to be a data-driven, inquisitive leader. Mark’s Transformative Determined Leadership is what higher education needs today – it’s what all leaders need now!

University Dean

As a physician scientist working in large organizations—NIH, Food and Drug administration, and the World Health Organization, I became interested in leadership and organizational effectiveness. The many books and courses that I consumed took me only so far. It was not until Mark became my coach that I started to understand not only how to improve my personal effectiveness but what was holding me back and why. The insights that Mark led me to every week profoundly changed my life—and my plan for using it.

Physician, Scientist, CEO

In all of my twenty+ years in university administration, I never encountered an executive coach like Mark. He’s helped build my skills in a manner that one does not find in formal leadership training. As an experienced coach and former university dean and president, he’s lived many relatable experiences and has been able to “poke the bear” and help me learn from my mistakes as well as my successes. All of this backed by his writings, observations, learned theories and practice. What I have learned has helped both my life at work and outside work. Anyone seeking to excel as an administrator in a time of change should be lucky enough to have a coach like Mark.

University Dean and Director

The time spent reading and studying the materials in Transformative Determined Leadership are both thought provoking and practical. This "guide on the side" fills a void in leadership training and is filled with real world examples that make the point as clear as we all ought to be. It is valuable to leaders--no matter the specific venue of their leadership role. My time spent with Mark in our sacred hour is always something I look forward to every week from the theoretical to the practical matters small and large. My sacred hour is a time of support and camaraderie that provides enormous value to me personally but also to the team I lead.

College Dean

Mark's approach of asking what is most important to you and how you want to be remembered is at the core of his methodology of building a better person to make them a better leader. He balances the challenges you are currently addressing with preparing you for the future. He helps celebrate your strengths while also challenging you (“Poking the Bear”) to think beyond what is right in front of you or what is easy. It is without a doubt that I am a better person and a leader because of Mark. My family will tell you that I am a better husband and father after working with him.

University AVP

I have worked with Mark for years as I served as dean at two large academic institutions and as a leadership fellow at a third. What sets Mark apart from other coaches is his commitment to excellence and genuine investment in my success. Mark's approach is not only results-oriented but also deeply rooted in empathy, understanding, and trust. His ability to listen attentively, ask probing and challenging questions, and provide constructive feedback has empowered me to navigate complex leadership challenges with confidence and clarity. Through our work together, I have learned a great deal about myself, how to build a strong leadership team, and how to help that team lead important change.

Working with Mark has been a transformative experience, both professionally and personally. Beyond honing my leadership skills and strategic acumen, Mark has helped me cultivate a deeper sense of self-awareness, resilience, and authenticity. His guidance has not only propelled my career forward but has also enriched my overall well-being and fulfillment.

Academic Dean and Fellow