The People Behind the Perspective.

Amanda helps leaders see what their strategy requires of their people, their organization, and themselves.

A strong strategy depends on people making sound decisions, working across boundaries, and understanding whose needs their work must serve. Amanda helps our clients examine where those connections are strong, where they are breaking down, and what needs to change for their strategy to move forward.

As Managing Partner of Deviate, she brings a systemic perspective to leadership and organizational performance. She looks beyond an individual behavior or isolated problem to understand how relationships, priorities, expectations, and ways of working influence one another. Her work helps leaders recognize when a recurring challenge calls for a change in their own approach, greater coordination across the organization, or a deeper understanding of their stakeholders.

Her guiding question is: *What is limiting progress, and what would enable people to move forward together?*

Amanda brings people into conversations that expand their understanding of the whole. She helps teams surface competing assumptions, work through tensions, and turn different perspectives into clearer decisions and shared responsibility. Throughout the process, she connects personal development to the work leaders are accountable for delivering.

Her belief: Great organizations don’t depend on one person’s intelligence. They create the conditions for everyone’s intelligence to contribute.

Amanda is a Senior Practitioner in Systemic Team Coaching,  and a Judgment Index administrator. Her leadership has been recognized through the Nashville ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award, Nashville Emerging Leader Award, Nashville Cable Rising Star recognition, and recognition among the top 40 Influential Women of Northern Michigan.

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Ryan helps leaders think and act when the stakes are high. One of the most trusted leadership advisors in professional sports, he works alongside head coaches, general managers, and executives to navigate the decisions, relationships, and defining moments that shape organizations.

The higher you rise, the fewer people you have around you who can offer a truly independent perspective. Ryan has built his career being that person. He’s someone leaders call when the decision is difficult, the situation is complicated, or the conversation matters too much to get wrong. He brings candor, perspective, and an uncommon ability to simplify what others make complicated.

Ryan has worked with leaders across multiple professional sports leagues, championship-caliber collegiate programs, and all 32 NFL teams. He has served as a leadership instructor for the NFL’s Coach and Front Office Executive Accelerator programs. His work extends into business and entertainment, where the pressures may look different, but the responsibilities of leadership are remarkably similar.

Known for his practical, no-fluff approach and ability to connect with people, Ryan challenges leaders to think differently about themselves, their relationships, and the influence they have on others. Drawing from his signature material, The Psychology of Leadership, he helps people turn difficult conversations into progress, strengthen commitment, and build cultures where high standards are lived rather than simply discussed.

At the heart of his work is a question every leader should be willing to answer: Are people winning because of you, or in spite of you?

Angie Clark knows what it takes to command a room because she’s spent much of her career doing exactly that.

She began her career at IBM before moving into executive communication training and eventually becoming a managing director on Wall Street. At Oppenheimer Capital, Angie helped grow the firm’s assets from $500 million to $9.5 billion where her reputation rose and she was seen as one of the best leaders on Wall Street.

Throughout her career, she has trained executives, CEOs, and organizational leaders in public speaking, presentations, executive presence, and high-stakes communication.

Angie understands that having something important to say is only part of the equation. How you show up, connect with an audience, and communicate your message can determine whether people listen, understand, and act… or not.

A recipient of the Money Management Institute’s Pioneer Award, Angie brings decades of executive experience and a practical understanding of what makes someone credible, compelling, and effective in front of others.

At Deviate, she helps leaders strengthen their presence, communicate with confidence, and make their message matter.

Bennett believes there’s very little in life that can’t be figured out with a good question, a little effort, and a willingness to get hands-on with the work. An aspiring thinker and enthusiastic tinkerer, he’s fascinated by how things work. His interests often involve moving parts or ambitious construction projects.

When he’s not investigating a mechanism or proposing an improvement, you’ll find him exploring the outdoors, reading, or playing with our family’s golden retrievers.

Bennett occasionally joins us on client trips, getting a firsthand look at the professional world, and the preparation, relationships, and teamwork behind the performance. At retreats, he lends a hand with set-up, practices alongside us, and discovers what it means to contribute to something bigger than himself.

He’s also learning something we believe matters at every age: you don’t have to know everything before you can make a useful contribution. You do need to ask questions, listen, practice, and take responsibility for your part.

For us, developing tomorrow’s leaders begins with the opportunities we give them today. A real task. A chance to try. Someone patient enough to teach, offer guidance that builds on what they’ve learned, and let them try again.

Bennett gets to experience that process, and regularly reminds us how much learning begins with curiosity.

His philosophy?

There’s always something new to try. Start by asking.