Leading from the Front: the Mind of a Marine with Courtney Lynch
Release Date: 12/29/2022
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info_outlineCourtney has found success by living her life as a leader. Notable achievements include her nine years of service as a Marine Corps officer, managing a top-notch sales team for Rational Software, earning her law degree at William & Mary, practicing at one of the nation’s leading law firms, and creating Lead Star (www.leadstar.us) -- a premier leadership development consulting firm that works globally with leading organizations. She has also served as an elected official and recently spent time living in the UK during which she served as Chief Operating Officer of a rapidly scaling technology company. Beyond Courtney’s government and corporate accomplishments, she is a business owner, thought leader, and New York Times best-selling author of Spark, Bet on You, and Leading from the Front. Her success has been recognized throughout her professional career, but most recently she was awarded the National Stevie Award for Best Female Entrepreneur and BusinessWeek profiled her achievements as a leadership expert. A dynamic guest on CNBC, FOX News, and CNN, Courtney’s efforts with Lead Star have been noted in publications ranging from Harvard Business Review and Fast Company to The Financial Times. Courtney is married to Patrick Lynch and is the proud mother of three children. She resides in the Washington, DC area.
In this podcast we discuss:
Courtney’s seemingly unusual path to the Marines and her start in her career (7:12)
The importance of authenticity and the origins of the theming in Courtney’s book (12:37)
The social influence that comes with a leadership role and how finance is not the only factor. (19:10) And the correlation between risk-taking and leadership. (32:32)
Books: Spark, Bet on You, and Leading from the Front
Website: Leadstar.us
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