Effective, Positive Influence with Court Whitman '99

Court Whitman '99 discussed his leadership journey with Emily and Derek on a break during the 10th Annual VMI Leadership Conference this past October where he was a guest speaker. Court is energetic and dynamic on stage and focusses his latest efforts on high performance in individuals and teams. He also hosts his own podcast, High Performance Pathways! 

Whitman is a former NCAA D1 Football player, retired US Army Special Forces Green Beret, speaker, International Coach Federation certified leadership coach and facilitator committed to unlocking the hidden potential in others and teams to develop competence so others perform at incredibly high levels.

Whitman began his Army career after graduation from VMI – where he was a walk-on linebacker. In the Army, his first assignment was with the 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg NC. After a few years with the 82nd Airborne, Court volunteered, assessed, and was selected for Special Forces training – earning his Green Beret in 2004. After a number of years serving the 7th Special Forces Group, Court volunteered, assessed, and was selected to serve with the Army’s Special Mission Unit – our nation’s precision surgical strike unit which undoubtedly was the highlight of his Army career. Court served in a number of positions with Army Special Operations to include Special Forces Team Commander, Special Forces Executive Officer, Special Forces Operations Officer and Commander with a number of interesting and varied assignments that included four tours in Afghanistan, two tours in Iraq, and two tours in South America.

Following his retirement from the Army, Court graduated from George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-being as a certified Leadership Coach. Court currently serves as CEO and Managing Director of Court Whitman - Inspiring High Performance LLC, the Chief Leadership Officer for WHIT|BAR LLC, and as an Executive Coach for The COMMIT Foundation. In addition to Coaching, Court facilitates off-site workshops for executive teams, consults with organizations to make informed hiring decisions and build optimal organizational culture, executes multi-day outdoor leadership experiences on the Appalachian and Black Mountain Crest Trails, keynote speaks, and is the creator and host of the High Performance Pathways podcast.

Whitman’s speaking engagements include the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, MVP Capital LLC, General Dynamics, Methodist University, and the United States Military Academy at West Point Football. Court’s comments encourage the listener to consider the way they think, organize, communicate, manage and lead. This reflection enables the listener to explore their current personal and professional habits, identify opportunities for growth, and consider possibilities to achieve different results in order to perform at a high level.

Connect with Court Whitman on his website at www.coutwhitman.com or LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtwhitman/ or listen to his podcast High Performance Pathways on APPLE Podcast, iHeartRadio, Spotify or Goggle Play.

Our Center's mission is to enhance the VMI citizen-soldier journey with programming that educates, engages and inspires critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and leader development. For more information about our Center and its programming, please visit vmi.edu/cle. Visit our YouTube page to see Court Whitman's remarks during the 2019 Annual Leadership and Ethics Conference.

On this episode, we touched on the following leadership competencies from the VMI Leader Journey: teamwork, initiative, mentoring, group development, personal values, self-understanding, and reflection.