Today we’d like to introduce you to Ted L. Turner.
Hi Ted L., thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I spent forty years in construction, starting on my tools and finishing in the C-Suite. I’ve managed five-thousand dollar projects and three and a half billion dollar projects. Construction has taken me all over the world. I’ve had projects in 17 countries on four continents.
What I enjoyed most about my career was building teams and mentoring individuals. There is a real thrill when you see someone succeed and know you played a part in their success.
When I decided to retire from construction/engineering I wanted to continue helping people expand their vision and realize more of their dreams. So I took the lessons I had learned from my experience and also pursued an intense focused education. Today I am a master certified executive coach. I work one-on-one and with groups; from high potential leaders to C-suite and BOD level leaders to strengthen their impact and influence. I also help companies assess, and transform corporate culture.
Global gurus has called our system the world’s best leadership development program.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road, but most worthwhile endeavors face obstacles. The struggle just adds to the sweetness of the eventual success.
In addition to direct coaching and workshops, I also speak at conventions and conferences. I started my business at the height of COVID-19. So, many such events were being cancelled or shifted to on-line events. This was a challenging time for many industries.
I’ve never been one to focus on the obstacles, nor have I shied away from stepping outside the norm to find a better way. When I was in eighth grade, I decided that the public school system wasn’t meeting my needs. So, I dropped out. Many people told me I was throwing my future away. My parents were not happy, but they supported me when they saw that I was not turning my back on education. I was just not willing to waste my time with such a flawed system. Dropping out at that age was not legal, so I made arrangements with the school district to home school myself. I met with a teacher for one hour a week.
This way I graduated high school at sixteen and started college at seventeen. By nineteen I had started my international education, living in Taiwan for eighteen months. My educational path since then has followed that same pattern-learn from every good source, focus on your dream, face the struggles head on, don’t ignore them but don’t let them knock you off your path.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
There are a few things that set me apart from the crowd. My back ground in the field of executive coaching and leadership development is unique. I don’t come from academia. I have decades of global, real world business operations success. that coupled with my educational path uniquely enables me to teach immediately implementable tactics that apply to the real challenges my clients face.
Through-out my career, I had the opportunity to attend some of the world’s best known leadership development courses and almost with out exception, I was disappointed in all of them, even the ones that were well worth the money and did make me better at my job. What was disappointing is that they were not leadership development. They focused more on managerial skills, with some focus on leadership tactics.
What’s missing in most leadership programs is the focus on the individual as the engine of leadership. We can’t build stronger businesses without first building stronger people. True leadership development starts from the inside out — aligning the inner core (values, character, self-image, and emotional triggers) with the outer core (strategic thinking, decision-making, team leadership, and driving results).
When leaders learn to close that gap, everything changes. Their communication becomes clearer, their teams become more inspired, and their organizations become more resilient. That alignment between who they are and how they lead is what drives sustained performance — and that’s what I’m most passionate about helping others achieve.
How do you think about luck?
There are two old sayings that I like “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity” and “Luck is with the man that doesn’t include it in his plan”
That being said, luck is a real thing. Sometimes a lucky break, or unlucky break comes along. You can’t make progress waiting for good fortune to come along. You also can’t let unforeseen challenges steel your dreams.
Some may need to work harder than others. Some may have more help or better suited resources. All that really matters is that your dream is bigger than whatever set of challenges gets in your way. Are you willing to pay the price to achieve your dream, not the price you perceive that someone else paid for a similar dream?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tedturner.intelligentleadershipec.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-turner-58612621
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Tornados-Daughter-Inspiring-Story-Charlotte/dp/B0D4RDPZ1M
