How Strategic Management Consultant and Executive Coach, Lynell Green, Navigates Success

For over four decades, Lynell Green has solidified her reputation as an accomplished strategic management consultant and executive coach. Throughout her illustrious career, she has delivered impactful public speeches, led successful leadership programs, offered valuable coaching services, and provided expert consulting in accounting, tax, and finance.

Lynell’s impressive client portfolio boasts prominent organizations like Meta, Twitter, Netflix, Hilton, and numerous aspiring entrepreneurs. Her true passion lies in empowering leaders to develop and execute effective strategies, enabling them to expand their influence and make a lasting impact both nationally and internationally.

Demonstrating her unwavering commitment to personal growth, Lynell participated in the prestigious Warren Buffett 10,000 Small Business initiative program in Boston, collaborating with CEOs from diverse regions of the United States. Additionally, she recently achieved a Certificate of Specialization in Strategy from the esteemed Harvard Business School, highlighting her continual pursuit of excellence in mastering strategy as a powerful framework for leadership and life.

How did you get started in the consultant and coach industries? Was this something that inspired you growing up?

I started consulting and coaching while I was still working as an accountant. Accounting did not provide me with enough human interaction, so I found volunteer opportunities to teach leadership classes which led to coaching. I transitioned into my own tax practice where I was consistently asked to help solve various strategic or operational issues by my business clients which is how my consulting practice was born. I found that I enjoyed problem solving with my consulting clients and providing a safe space for leaders to share and discover the next level of their leadership as their executive coach was rewarding.

Growing up I was the kid in the neighborhood that inserted myself into any situation that needed a mediator or a leader. Other kids would ring my doorbell looking for me to help resolve an issue regarding rules for a game they were playing or help mediate disagreements on various issues. It all came natural to me, and I enjoyed it. This was the beginning of my inspiration to help others.

What are three key strategies you look to apply to your business practices?

I have a few strategic frameworks or principles that are foundational to how I consult and coach. The first principle is to accept 100% responsibility for the current state of things in your life, your leadership, and your business. You can’t control external events, but you are 100% responsible for how you react and the consequences of those actions. The second principle is to be clear about what you want for the future and be honest with yourself on where you are relative to that future now. That honesty requires you to distinguish the gap between where you are and what you want. The question then is whether you are willing to do the work and incorporate the discipline to go after what you say you want. The last principle is having structures around your vision to help you continue to get clarity, complete what needs to be completed along the way and maintain congruence with your values and the life you say you want to live.

You’ve helped so many leaders achieve success over the years. Does one success story stand out as a highlight for you?

I could write a book on the answer to this question. I have had the privilege to work with so many emerging and senior leaders that to choose one is difficult. There is one that comes to mind.

There was a woman I was coaching that worked with her husband in his business but was looking to discover her own voice. Her days were spent promoting his vision. She was happy doing it, but she felt she wanted to find a way to make a difference with women. She started a project helping women recover from trauma using various modalities that she was trained in. Her project eventually spread to 22 countries, and she trained other women to lead that did not see themselves as leaders. She started her own company, helped her husband hire an assistant and now works in her business full time. Watching her blossom is so inspiring.

If you could spend a day with any leader, who would it be and why?

I would like to spend the day with 2 leaders, Anne M. Mulcahy, prior CEO of Xerox and well known for the turnaround she led. The second person is her predecessor, Ursela Burns, who was the first woman to succeed another woman as CEO of a Fortune 500 company and the first black woman to become the CEO and later Chairman of a Fortune 500 company. These 2 women inspire me because they were friends, they allowed themselves to be mentored to help them succeed as CEO’s and they both remained humble. They also went on to sit on the boards of other companies which paved the way for other women leaders to sit on boards beyond nonprofits. I think spending time with them together would be an invaluable source of leadership wisdom.

If you had any words of advice for a young business professional, what would you tell them?

Don’t wait to be led. It is wise to know best practices, study successful and unsuccessful leaders to grow and develop from the journey of others but you must find your own path. What kind of leader do you want to be? What are your values? How can your zone of genius contribute to the success of leading teams and helping the companies you work for remain competitive while maintaining work-life balance? I recommend the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz as part of the foundation they are building. The Four Agreements are: Be impeccable with your word; Don’t take anything personally; Don’t make assumptions; Always do your best. And lastly, know that you are never stuck. There are always options. You must keep your mind clear and allow your emotional intelligence to win over emotional reactions. This requires you to play the long game regardless of what other people are saying or doing. Lastly, find a way to be nurtured by your work and have fun.