Ed Oakley

Ed Oakley spent 13 years in the computer industry, mostly with HP, managing as many as 300 people and 28 worldwide teams with only his engineering degrees from North Carolina State University and Stanford University, plus two years with Bell Labs as Member of Technical Staff to show him the way.

Suffice it to say, being personally challenged in his first management roles, Ed quickly realized that people issues were the most difficult for most managers, not the technical stuff. Once he got over the shock of that reality, he launched into a quest for over 30 years to understand how to bring out the best in people, teams and organizations – and to share what he learned in a way that makes a significant impact on the individual as well as the organization.

Ed is Founder and CEO of Enlightened Leadership Solutions, Inc., a consulting and learning firm focused on balancing the “hard” and “soft,” the processes and the people, to deliver measurable results. Ed’s scientific orientation insists on practical, simple solutions – an exceptional strength of Enlightened Leadership approaches. Ed founded the firm in 1987. A few years later, he co-authored the best selling business book "Enlightened Leadership: Getting To The Heart Of Change" (Simon & Schuster), still in print and now in its 32nd printing.
Other books he has written or co-written include: - Leadership Made Simple - Making Managers into Leaders - Be A Trusted Leader - Enlightened Leadership in a New Era - Life’s New Game Over 350,000 of his books are in circulation.

Ed is a well-known keynote speaker, facilitator and consultant. He holds the National Speaker's Association's Certified Speaking Professional award, which has been achieved by only 8% of its thousands of members. He has worked personally with managers from some 68 countries – having thoroughly tested Enlightened Leadership concepts and tools across many different cultures.

Ed’s work has been particularly well received by organizations challenged with major change initiatives or where good managers want to become great leaders.

Ed’s passion is helping you “unleash the amazing talent you already have…” in yourself and your organization.