Jesse Lyn Stoner

Jesse Lyn Stoner, founder of Seapoint Center, works closely with leaders helping them create collaborative, engaged organizations that make a powerful and positive impact on the world. A business consultant, coach, former executive, and bestselling author, Stoner has worked in a wide range of industries including Fortune 500s, small startups, government agencies, and nonprofits. Her clients include Edelman, Marriott, SAP, Stanley, Skanska, The Hartford, and Yale University, to name a few.

Stoner is coauthor, with Ken Blanchard, of the international bestseller “Full Steam Ahead: Unleash the Power of Vision,” which has been translated into 21 language. She is also coauthor of “Leading at a Higher Level,” with Ken Blanchard et.al. Also, as a senior consultant at The Ken Blanchard Companies, she helped create many of the programs and materials in the areas of vision, teams, and organization excellence.

Stoner has authored several team and organizational assessments, including the “Benchmarks of Team Excellence,” a popular assessment that measures whether a team shares a common vision and has the needed processes and skills.

Stoner’s first experience with the power of vision took place in a third grade classroom, where she taught reading to children with learning disabilities. One day it occurred to her that the children had experienced so many years of failure, they probably couldn’t imagine themselves reading a book. Using mental imagery techniques, she had the children visualize themselves reading. That year the children made more progress and were happier than any previous class.

Intrigued by the children’s success, Stoner went on to study the impact of vision in other settings. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on vision and leadership, identifying the three elements of an enduring vision. She then went on to develop practical ways to help leaders create a compelling vision and ensure it is lived.

Over the past 20 years since then, Stoner has supported hundreds of leaders in clarifying their vision, developing collaborative leadership skills and building high performance teams. And she has facilitated many large-scale collaborative change efforts in companies such as Honda, Jackson Hole Ski Resort, Stop and Shop, and TJX (T.J. Maxx and Marshalls), and T. K. Maxx (Europe).

Stoner served as the Executive Director of Guest House Retreat and Conference Center during the start-up period. Under her guidance the organization was designed, opened for business, and exceeded revenue goals the first year. Most recently she supported the creation and launch of the Berrett-Koehler Foundation by facilitating the design and launch, and then serving as Interim Executive Director during the startup period.

Stoner holds advanced degrees in psychology and a doctorate in organizational development from the University of Massachusetts. Her weekly blog is ranked as one of the top 100 leadership blogs and can be found at www.jessestoner.com