Ralph Johnson

About Ralph Johnson

Ralph is the Founder and President of Cleave Advisors, a professional services firm that delivers executive coaching, team building and leadership development programs, and Ombuds services to clients. He founded Cleave Advisors based on his passion for helping executives to bloom and thrive in their roles, while building strong teams that drive results for their organizations. Cleave Advisors is anchored on Ralph’s abiding belief that executives and leadership teams are the primary agents of impact on organizations. He believes that his clients have the necessary tools to navigate an increasingly complex leadership landscape. Therefore, he partners with clients to dig deeply and be more conscious of leadership traits they can cleave tightly to and leverage, and other unproductive traits to minimize or eliminate. Ralph’s, client-centric approach is informed by his 40-year professional career; 26 years of which were at McKinsey & Co. in consulting and senior people leadership roles. In addition, Ralph spent a collective 15 years as an engineer and manufacturing leader at General Motors, leading the Welfare Reform Agency in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), and as CEO of Breakthrough Public Schools - a network of 12 K-8th grade charter schools.Ralph received his MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He holds Bachelors degrees in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University and Business Administration from Aquinas College. In addition, he completed the coach training program from Co-Active Training Institute.Outside of work, Ralph enjoys walks with his wife and their chocolate Labrador Retriever, spending time with their adult children and four grandchildren, and serving (and occasionally preaching) at churches in Cleveland.

Experience

1. Outsourced Organizational Ombuds

   Mwi

   Dec 2023 — Present

   I assist employees of clients to address concerns affecting their work environment, professional development or anything else that is impacting their workplace experience. As a member of the Ombuds Office, I provide a confidential, impartial, independent and informal forum for employees to raise questions, identify issues, clarify goals and determine their options for moving forward. The services I provide include: conflict coaching, facilitating conversations between employees, shuttle diplomacy between individuals or teams in the organization, accessing information about policies and procedures, and providing upward feedback to client leaders. Current Ombuds Clients - University of California - Berkeley - MacArthur Foundation - Sutter Health

Education

• Aquinas College - Grand Rapids

  BBA, Business

  1990

• University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business

  MBA, General Management

  1992

• Co-Active Training Institute

  Executive and Leadership Coaching

  2024

• Kettering University

  BSIE, Industrial Engineering

  1985

Skills

• Management Consulting
• Organizational Design
• Organizational Development
• Change Management
• Staff Development
• Operational Excellence
• Leadership
• Leadership Development
• Operations Management
• Strategy
• Manufacturing
• Business Strategy
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Government
• Program Management
• Business Process Improvement
• Strategic Planning
• Team Building
• Management