David Gruner's Email & Phone

Since founding Career Directions in 1979, David Gruner has been an influencer and proponent of state-of-the-art leadership models that help executives establish a more powerful and impactful leadership presence. His coaching style is characterized by his creation of a space of safety and trust in which leaders can develop an awareness of their reactivity, blind spots, competency gaps, and impact on others. By helping leaders to know themselves better, David is able to free them from personal and professional history that has conditioned them to lead in ways that are not optimal for their current roles or organizational missions. With David's assistance and without compromising who they are, leaders learn to develop optimal behaviors that are based on both personal integrity and maximizing organizational effectiveness. David has served as consultant to more than 100 organizations in business, including Fortune 500 firms, higher education, government and health care. His down-to-earth application of the teachings of psychology, combined with his holistic approach to the art of leadership, helps leaders address hard issues and discover their own right actions. Leaders coached in his holistic approach are able to readily adapt to new challenges and changes in their organizations. David was the first Career Management Practitioner in Michigan certified by the Institute of Career Certification International (ICC International). His other credentials include Personal and Professional Coach certification by the Coaches Training Institute of San Rafael, CA; Empowerment Coaching Certification from the Empowerment Institute of Woodstock, NY; his MSW from the University of Michigan; and his BA in Economics from Brandeis University.