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Phillip Cave
Humanizing Tech | Leadership & Team Coaching | Group Dynamics | Mindfulness & Interpersonal Intelligence
Professional Background
Phillip Cave is an accomplished leadership mentor and coach with a distinguished career spanning over 30 years in the technology and business sectors. He partners with tech and business leaders, facilitating enhanced results through improved relationships. His extensive experience as a tech startup veteran and operational leader allows him to bring rich insights to organizations ranging from nimble startups to Fortune 100 companies. Phillip's mission is deeply rooted in humanizing tech leadership and teams by creating a harmonious balance between authentic relationships and tangible business results, making him a sought-after figure in the realm of leadership development.
Phillip's career is marked by his innovative approach to leadership training and organizational transformation. He has been instrumental in creating, developing, and facilitating comprehensive leadership and enterprise agile curricula tailored for both public and private sectors. Utilizing effective tools like the Leadership Circle 360, the Enneagram, and the Team Performance Model, he guides leaders and teams towards meaningful success through human-centered strategies that emphasize collaboration and understanding.
His noteworthy tenure at Starbucks included designing and mentoring an internal tech startup that developed a global commerce platform, significantly unifying the customer experience on a worldwide scale. Phillip's experience as an executive coach at Torch and Accenture | SolutionsIQ has allowed him to impact numerous startup leaders across diverse industries, co-creating ICAgile-certified leadership courses and spearheading organizational transformations that resonate with creative agility and operational excellence.
Throughout his illustrious career, Phillip has held diverse roles across leading organizations. He has contributed to the operational agility and leadership development initiatives at renowned companies such as Microsoft, Tableau, Alaska Air, REI, and Blue Cross. His ability to seamlessly shift from roles as a software architect to co-creating tech startups has provided him with a unique perspective on leadership dynamics and technology.
Education and Achievements
Phillip Cave possesses a solid educational foundation, having earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management of Information Systems from the prestigious University of Washington. He further pursued a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership through independent study, showcasing his commitment to lifelong learning and professional development. In addition to his degrees, Phillip is certified in Co-Active Coaching and Leadership, The Leadership Circle 360, Internal Family Systems, and the Integrative Enneagram—credentials that enhance his ability to cultivate effective leadership practices.
Phillip's approach to leadership transcends traditional methods; it incorporates modern techniques and frameworks that are effective in today's fast-paced, technology-driven business landscape. His extensive training and expertise in coaching individual leaders and organizations have solidified his reputation as a leader in the field, particularly in the realms of organizational agility and transformational leadership.
Notable Achievements
Phillip's career is not just defined by his roles but by the significant impact he has had on the organizations he has collaborated with. Some notable achievements include:
- Leadership Development: As the Executive Leadership Development Coach at Torch, Phillip played a pivotal role in developing leadership talent that drives organizational performance and fosters a culture of continual growth and change.
- Co-creating Innovative Courses: His work in co-developing ICAgile-certified leadership courses exemplifies his dedication to elevating leadership skill sets within organizations.
- Driving Transformational Change: Through his consulting roles, particularly at Accenture | SolutionsIQ, Phillip has effectively led transformative initiatives that have resulted in enhanced organizational agility and responsiveness to market demands.
- Tech in Leadership: At Starbucks, Phillip's involvement in developing the global commerce platform demonstrates his ability to integrate technology with leadership strategies, ultimately improving customer experiences and operational efficiencies.
- Veteran Experience: Phillip's unique perspective is enriched by his background as a former soldier in the US Army, which contributes significantly to his leadership style and approach to team dynamics.
Phillip Cave’s extensive background combines expertise in technology, coaching, and leadership development, making him a key player in the journey toward transforming organizations into agile, responsive entities. His engaging approach helps facilitate meaningful conversations about leadership in the tech industry, connecting leaders on a human level while striving for perform
Highlights
We all cry (hunger, yearn) for something when we navigate experiences, and we can struggle to articulate that in language. One helpful approach I have found is to leverage a framework from David R. Hawkins:
Each level (the number or frequency) on David Hawkins' consciousness scale can be seen as a cry for something more profound or a fundamental need that still needs to be met.
In my personal and professional quest to take frameworks and put them into practical, pragmatic, applicable approaches (think Applied Human akin to Applied Physics), I'll share this brief look at what each level might be yearning for:
Shame (20): A cry for acceptance and self-worth Guilt (30): A cry for forgiveness and absolution Apathy (50): A cry for hope and energy Grief (75): A cry for comfort and healing Fear (100): A cry for safety and security Desire (125): A cry for fulfillment and satisfaction Anger (150): A cry for justice and fairness Pride (175): A cry for respect and recognition
Courage (200): A cry for confidence and action Neutrality (250): A cry for ease and detachment Willingness (310): A cry for growth and opportunity Acceptance (350): A cry for harmony and understanding Reason (400): A cry for knowledge and clarity
Love (500): A cry for connection and compassion Joy (540): A cry for inner satisfaction and unity
Peace (600): A cry for transcendence and serenity
Enlightenment (700-1000): A cry for ultimate truth and oneness
Understanding these levels as cries for unmet needs highlights the human aspect of this journey. It reminds us that personal and spiritual growth often involves recognizing and addressing these deeper needs to move toward higher states of consciousness. They become intended practices.
If you hunger for Joy (not the same as happiness), consider that there is no such thing as dissatisfaction (of anything or with anyone)—practice satisfaction. But Joy seems rather difficult for humans to practice consistently.
The journey invites us to notice our emotional/energetic state and aim for Courage when we are below Courage. We hunger to feel confident and take action toward fulfillment.
How does one satiate this hunger to practice confidence, as Courage suggests? This is a critical threshold where a significant shift occurs. Courage involves affirming Life and taking responsibility. It's a level of empowerment and constructive action.
No one out here can give this to you. This is you affirming Life as the ultimate source and taking (radical) responsibility for your energetic states of mind, heart, and body. It is action in service to Life (in you, at work, in relationships, in thought, in deed...)
Often, this takes unlearning and deprogramming. This is why we call it Courage. It is no easy task to become radically responsible for our experiences instead of falling into shame, etc.
Consider your journey. What will it take for your Courage to live fully through you?
#Courage
Don't focus on becoming "better." Don't strive to become anything. Simply Love, which seems rather difficult for many. That might explain our effort and striving. We are domesticated (conditioned) to over-effort. When we rest into something, it naturally occurs. Rest in love... "better" happens. You, as human, in any role you play with others when you rest in love, notice how better occurs without you doing a damn thing. Non-effort is not the same as practice. "Resting" is "effort." One must practice resting in a state of mind, heart, and body. And then, eventually, maybe, you'll see, we're simply that which we thought we had to make an effort to become. We weren't efforting, after all; we were simply that from which we came. Love.
For you "leaders" in the world—and I'm looking at you leaders in Tech—you likely have your "work" cut out for you. I know this all too well, having been a software engineer and leader once upon a time. We're not the most savvy when it comes to human relations or "interpersonal intelligence," to give it a fancy label. Thus, my work in the world as someone who coaches tech folks.
This quote from the book The Alchemist" can speak to the polarity of Relationships ++ Results, something I like to call the Calculus of Humans. Playfully speaking, we are all implementations of Life, and as such, we must learn to become savvy with how Life works in humans' minds and hearts. Do not take on a leadership role if you are not interested in interpersonal intelligence. It's a disservice to your entire organization. It is better to remain a highly skilled technician. But even then, if we fail to become human savvy, we suck as team members too. I know that all too well, also.
We all have our work cut out for us: to slough off the shackles of fear, we've been so domesticated into absorbing to the point of obfuscation. The antidote is Love through Courage. Love humanity. Become fascinated with your own humanity and see how we are all alike AND unique as implementations of Life. Allow, Accept, and Appreciate each other with Attention and Affection (a nod to David Richo's work).
This is our journey in the leadership of self before or during the leadership of others. When we journey thusly, "everything around us becomes better too."
#leadership #love #itsthesamething
