While we all know that successful leaders are busy, get-things-done kinds of people, we also know that not all tasks are created equal. Join us as Zach Clark, Founder of Development & Leadership, discusses how leaders have to ask themselves hard questions to guide their own efforts before managing others. You’ll also hear how he grew up with a schoolhouse in his backyard and was immersed in duck hunting as a child. Join us for an equally fun and insightful episode all in one.
Bio: Building on more than twenty years of adventures with leaders, Zach Clark has a big vision to see people experience the reality that God is still doing extraordinary and impossible things!
An unusual childhood, including a high school education in a one-room schoolhouse, formed in Zach the lifestyle and character of a true “Renaissance man.” He embodies a strange blend of musical training, obsessive learning habits, outdoor sportsmanship, storytelling, fitness, organizational leadership, and entrepreneurship—all with a trademark East Tennessee accent.
His expertise and skills were honed in a family business, starting at the young age of twenty, while working as a consultant to Christian schools, churches, and non-profit organizations around the country. With the unusual privilege of starting so young, he holds the position of having stepped inside and personally worked with more Christian organizations than any recognized expert in this generation.
From 2006-2013, Zach served as Director of Advancement at Westminster Christian Academy St. Louis, one of our nation’s largest independent Christian schools. It was there he had the privilege of recruiting and supporting a highly effective team. He was responsible for providing leadership to the overall advancement efforts of the school, including giving, communications, community and alumni relations, and a $70 million campus relocation plan.
In 2013, Zach created and launched Development & Leadership Coaching, a non-traditional ministry business approach helping leaders grow and build a culture of significant giving—step by step.
Beginning with just one client, this movement of coaches has already served over 200 organizations across North and Central America, most with annual operating budgets of less than $1 million. Leaders served through coaching services provided by the company have raised over 200 million dollars (and still counting) in additional giving from 2013-2022, with an average success of more than 200,000 dollars in additional giving in their first year of coaching.
Zach’s dynamic and energetic teaching style makes him a sought-after public speaker. But, as a founder, he now spends most of his time listening, learning, and doing his best to serve a continuously growing number of coaches and team members. He is surrounded by a team, knowing and caring about each other while doing great work to serve others.
Zach often says that the most significant work of God in his life is his marriage to Paula, who knows and loves him in spite of any achievement or failure. They call St. Louis their home, and they have two adult sons.
Zach's Something Extra: “I would say self leadership. The way to see something impossible happen is to focus on leading yourself well first, then those you are accountable to, then your peers. When you look at others, think about serving rather than lording over them.”
Guest Links:
Credits:
- Lisa Nichols, Host
- Scott Crosby, Executive Producer
- Jenny Heal, Podcast Coordinator
- Joe Szynkowski, Marketing Support
- Kendall Brewer, Director of Leadership Programs