Adam Gierlach

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT ADAM GIERLACH

Adam Gierlach is a leadership coach, a leadership studies scholar, a former Division-I men’s college basketball coach, and a lover of the mountains and the outdoors. His work with others is a co-creative partnership that provides the time, space, and opportunity for clients to learn about themselves, others, and the world so they can serve others in more life-giving ways and act with greater impact. This speaks to an emotional and relational focus found at the heart of leadership, in the context of complex environments that often call on resilience capacity to support flourishing relationships and teams. Adam owns and operates Adam Gierlach Coaching, where he offers leader development coaching and consulting for athletics teams, coaches, and student-athletes. Adam also serves as a leadership coach and coach observer for the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University. He holds a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential from the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and is a certified leadership coach through Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders. Additionally, Adam is certified in the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 Emotional Intelligence Assessments, and DISC and Motivators Behavioral Assessments, to further support clients in their leader development.Adam researches emotional culture and interpersonal trust in well-functioning leadership relationships. He also writes on a variety of themes connected to servant-leadership, often exploring the transforming power of servant-leadership and its application in the real world of the harms and negative impacts of leadership embedded in dysfunctional hierarchies and inappropriate power. His work has been published in The International Journal of Servant-Leadership (2022), The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership (2023), and The Financial Manager magazine (2022). He transitioned into leadership coaching after a decade in men’s college basketball, serving as an Assistant Coach at Rice University and Cornell University. During his time at Cornell University, the program achieved their most successful season in eight years. And no matter the time of year, you\'re likely to find him in the mountains - hiking, backpacking, and mountaineering in the summers, and skiing in the winters.Adam is a doctoral candidate in Gonzaga University’s School of Leadership Studies. He earned his M.A. in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Servant-Leadership from Gonzaga University, and a B.A. in History from Rice University. He currently resides in Spokane, Washington.