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Adam Gierlach, M.A., PCC
Leadership Coach, PhD Candidate in Leadership Studies, Former DI Men's College Basketball Coach • Comprehensive Leader Development for Collegiate Athletics Programs, Coaches, and Student-Athletes
Adam Gierlach, M.A., PCC is a leadership coach and PhD candidate in Leadership Studies based in Spokane, Washington.1 He has a diverse background that combines academic pursuits, coaching experience, and a history in collegiate athletics.
Professional Background
Adam is the owner and operator of Adam Gierlach Coaching, a business he started in July 2018.1 Through his company, he offers comprehensive leader development coaching and consulting services, primarily focusing on collegiate athletic teams, coaches, and student-athletes.
In addition to running his own coaching practice, Adam serves as a leadership coach for two notable organizations:
- The Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University
- Ama La Vida, where he works with executives and leaders across various organizations1
Credentials and Expertise
Adam holds several professional certifications that enhance his coaching practice:
- Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential from the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
- Certified leadership coach through Rice University's Doerr Institute for New Leaders
- Certified in EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 Emotional Intelligence Assessments
- Certified in DISC and Motivators Behavioral Assessments1
Academic Background
Adam's academic pursuits include:
- Currently a doctoral student in Gonzaga University's School of Leadership Studies
- Earned an M.A. in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Servant-Leadership from Gonzaga University
- Holds a B.A. in History from Rice University1
Previous Experience
Before transitioning to leadership coaching, Adam had a career in men's college basketball:
- Served as an Assistant Coach at Rice University
- Worked as an Assistant Coach at Cornell University, where the program achieved its most successful season in eight years1
Research and Publications
Adam's research focuses on servant-leadership, leader development, and well-functioning relationships, particularly in athletic contexts. His work has been published in:
- The International Journal of Servant-Leadership (2022)
- The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership (2023)
- The Financial Manager magazine (2022)1
Adam Gierlach's diverse background in coaching, academia, and athletics provides him with a unique perspective in his role as a leadership coach, allowing him to draw from various experiences to support his clients' growth and development.
Highlights
2023: A Year In Books
- The books I read last year
- The books I found most valuable for me
- Where I’m starting in 2024 (yes, a few are making an appearance again this year 🙃), plus an abundance of academic journal articles (maybe A Year in Journal Articles makes an appearance next January🤔…) • If you would like to know more about a specific book, or would like a book recommendation, please reach out at any time. ••• #leadershipstudies #servantleadership #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #leaderdevelopment #leadershipcoach #AGreads
The summer and fall semesters were spent exploring global leadership, and complexity theory and leadership studies. And I’ve continued to dive deeper into emotional culture and interpersonal trust in relationships (head coach - student-athlete relationships), and the capacity for complexity of leaders (head coaches) to build relationships of interpersonal trust.
The reality of relationships is one of complexity…multidimensional, nonlinear, interconnected, dynamic. When characterized by interpersonal trust, the whole of the relationship becomes much greater than just the sum of its parts. More than just a technical confidence, interpersonal trust provides a felt emotional security that supports individuals to cope with change and navigate an uncertain future.
This may draw on emotional processes, which potentially play a much richer role than previously thought, as one’s emotional experience and the reality of one’s lived experience are entangled in mutual causation.
Indeed in teams, continuously nurturing an emotional culture of joy was found to grow team resilience capacity. And a humanizing and positive form of interrelating accounted for more change in team resilience capacity compared with change in cognitive pathways. Facing adversity or uncertainty is often an emotional challenge rather than just a cognitive one. And thus, emotional processes provide a pathway to support human and relational flourishing. Caring, humanizing interactions, and a joint focus on the relationship, equip teams with the resources needed to cope, adapt, and grow together. • If you would like to know more about a specific book, or would like a book recommendation, please reach out at any time. ••• #theoryofconstructedemotion #complexity #complexitytheory #emotionalculture #interpersonaltrust #wellfunctioningrelationships #resilience #globalleadership #leadershipstudies #servantleadership #leadership #leaderdevelopment #leadershipcoach
