Thomas A. Kolditz

Brigadier General (Ret.), Leadership Thought Leader, Social Psychologist, Author, Global Gurus Top 30 StartUp Coach 2024, and Chosen as a Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coach
Thomas A.
Kolditz

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AVAILABLE FOR

Keynote
Virtual Presentation

Fee ranges

Domestic In-Person (USA):

$20,001 - $30,000*

International In-Person:

$40,001 - $50,000*

Virtual:

$15,000 - $25,000*

Other:

* Ranges are presented as a guideline only. Speaker fees vary by engagement type and are subject to change without notice. For an exact quote, please contact Gravity Speakers.

Traveling from

Illinois, USA

About

Tom Kolditz is one of the most experienced and educated leadership experts of our time. An intellectually gifted scholar, he holds a BA from Vanderbilt University, three master’s degrees, a PhD in psychology from the University of Missouri, and an honorary Doctorate from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He taught at West Point, Yale University, and Rice University for 22 years. He is a widely published author of two books and more than 75 journal articles, and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Yet unlike most academics, he is also a profoundly experienced leader. He has been the principal responsible for 12 organizations, both military and civilian, over 35 years leading people across four continents. A retired Brigadier General, he commanded thousands of troops, served in combat, and was awarded the Army’s highest medal for service. He is the successful founder of five leader development start-ups, including the Ann John Doerr Institute for New Leaders. In 2017, he was honored with the prestigious Warren Bennis Award for Excellence in Leadership—an honor also bestowed on other brilliant scholars like Doris Kearns Goodwin and Tom Peters, and other outstanding leaders like Howard Schultz and Benazir Bhutto.

He is the author of In Extremis Leadership: Leading As If Your Life Depended On It, an authoritative book based on more than 175 interviews taken on the ground in Iraq during combat operations. His latest book, Against the Storm: How True Leaders Prevail When the World Shakes (Wiley, September 2026) offers a practical, experience-driven framework for how leaders can build trust, make high-stakes decisions, and guide people through extreme uncertainty, crisis, and potential chaos.

Tom now focuses on developing others. He has spoken to more than 350 audiences worldwide and is a highly sought-after professional leadership coach, ranked multiple times among the top 15 coaches internationally by both Global Gurus London and Thinkers50, most recently, #3 in the 2025 Coaching Legends.

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Topics

Topics

In Extremis Leadership: Leading As If Your Life Depended On It

Failure: Why You Can Survive Big Mistakes

Measure What Matters: Innovate With OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)

Hope Is not a Method: 40 years of Leadership Takeaways

Leaders Developing Leaders

Dodging Bullets: How to Prepare Your Organization for the Next Crisis

Leading by Serving: The Principles of Servant Leadership

Videos

https://youtu.be/fAs1PDGOivg
Tom Kolditz Sizzle Reel
https://youtu.be/ej8s0ZcWrKM
What are the Common Characteristics of In Extremis Leadership | Thomas Kolditz
https://youtu.be/ETT5S6-WtjA
How To Measure Leadership Skills | Thomas Kolditz
https://youtu.be/HvFQovINVPQ
Game-changing Insights From John Doerr's 'Measure What Matters' Talk At Rice University!
https://youtu.be/pzfMfNFuV0o
How to Lead in a Crisis--with Mark Thompson
https://youtu.be/M50EXH7jWJ8
Leading in Tough Times--with Mark Thompson and Col. Thomas Kolditz
https://youtu.be/xjNdjclPQEY
Tom Kolditz Director of Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders

Testimonials

"Thomas was a huge hit - everyone enjoyed his speech and I heard from a few folks that his session was their favorite part of Day 1. His talk was impactful, resonated well with our overall leadership theme, and had the perfect blend of humor. Thanks again for your help!"

Google

"At TIME’s recent global sales meeting, General Kolditz delivered an inspiring and invigorating call to action for our sales team. His presentation, ‘Leading As If Your Life Depended On It,’ offers the ideal rallying cry for our times – when crisis is ubiquitous and when the worse things get, he says, the calmer true leaders become. The General’s charge to focus outward and to set yourself apart in order to set your influence apart is the perfect message for an international sales organization facing challenge and change at every turn. Thanks, General, for helping our team to embrace leadership 'In Extremis.'”

TIME Worldwide

"You were outstanding, really made us think and your presentation sparked much conversation in the remaining time we had together. Thank you again for inspiring us to think more systematically about leadership development and how we might improve."

The Conference Board

"General Thomas Kolditz was a 10 out of 10! The responses from our key executives and leaders were extremely positive. Having a third party expert on leadership with a unique perspective not often seen in the business community was refreshing, informative and inspiring! We were extremely satisfied with Thomas."

DDR Corp

"General Kolditz is an engaging speaker who is able to make real-world connections between extreme military operations and leading in a corporate environment. His presentation was truly inspirational and insightful. The universal principles of leadership that Gen. Kolditz has researched and presented can certainly be transferred to a global company such as Siemens."

James
SVP, Communications and Marketing, Siemens Corporation