CLOSING GAPS
TRANSFORMING IDENTITY
DEFINING PURPOSE
Synergistic partnerships are all about empathetic listening, curious observation and supportive questioning. This is how we connect with our clients to understand their daily struggles in order to provide the right support, in the right manner, with the right methods. Our Purpose is "Helping Leaders Achieve Their Greatest Potential" and we wrap it into all of our partnerships!
Mark Thienes, Founder & CEO, has the identity as a "results driven, developer of people who lives every day as a servant leader" drives his passion for helping leaders achieve their greatest potential. His experiential journey encompasses over thirty five years of success as an industry-leading executive and has resulted in three books, Gapology: How Winning Leaders Close Performance Gaps, IMBAR: The Pathway of Transformation, and Speed of Purpose: Achieve 2.8X Productivity and Beyond.
In his first book, Gapology, Mark proudly refers to himself as “the original Gapologist.” Through his research for the book and subsequent coaching sessions, he has transformed the leadership of literally thousands of winning leaders. Mark has gained incredible insight into their secrets of winning. Gapology—the formula of closing the Knowledge Gap, then the Importance Gap, and then the Action Gap—resulted from listening to and observing winning leaders in action.
Brian Brockhoff, Co-Founder, President & Creative Director is a learning & development, sales, and operations expert who has led and mentored teams of diverse business leaders for over thirty years and is responsible for the creation and design of numerous skill-development programs. He also designed and co-authored Gapology: How Winning Leaders Close Performance Gaps, IMBAR: The Pathway of Transformation, and Speed of Purpose: Achieve 2.8X Productivity and Beyond with Mark Thienes, as well as a book of weekly inspirations based on the principles described in Gapology entitled, Gapology Inspirations. Brian currently writes the leadership blog, The Gapology Angle, and hosts the podcast series, Gapology Radio.
Jolyann Lee-Brockhoff, SVP Operations is a client relations, learning & development, and project management expert who has a strong focus on details, customer relations, and a drive for excellence in all things. She has over twenty years of project management experience and a strong background in instructional design and curriculum development. Jolyann heads up all Gapology business functions, such as workshop bookings and coordination, material logistics, and client billing.
Judy Shoulak, Vice President, background includes executive leadership in retail and restaurant service industries. She joined Buffalo Wild Wings in 2001 and was promoted to president of international operations in 2014. During her 16-year career at B-dubs, Judy was instrumental in creating foundational processes and fostering internal alignment to support the organization’s steady growth including Gapology. Her genuine and approachable style, unwavering determination to accomplish the company’s goals, and dedication to developing passionate, high-performing teams have enabled her to achieve consistently strong results. Judy Shoulak has a B.A. in Business Administration from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
After beating her battle with breast cancer, she helped start a family charity event called Shoulak BreastFest Music Festivals which raises money for breast cancer research, awareness, treatment, and cure. She serves on the board of directors for Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities. In addition, she has served as an active board member for the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, where she currently sits on the Advisory Panel.
Sarah Shoulak, Vice President has vast experience helping to grow the skills and mindsets of leaders in a variety of business types as a co-founder and leadership consultant at Relatively Speaking, an organizational coaching firm, and also as a Faculty member at both Valencia Community College and Florida International University teaching Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication. Her use of humor made it easy for students of all ages to feel comfortable with one of the most uncomfortable experiences people encounter; speaking in front of groups. You could say that she was the opposite of the cliché, stuffy college professor.
Sarah has a M.A. in Communication Studies from The University of Miami in Miami, FL and a B.A. in Communication from The University of Colorado in Denver, CO. She first joined Toastmasters International in 2008 and was the Keynote Speaker at the Toastmasters Leadership Institute in 2015. In addition, she is active in her family’s music festival fundraiser to support breast cancer research, treatment, education, and cure.
Bryan Thienes' commitment to his clients stands above all. With a relentless focus on delivering results through a lens of collaborative exploration, he helps leaders see their performance gaps clearly and the required root solutions objectively. Bryan's years of experience in the service industries provides the solid foundation to help those working on the front lines and in the corner offices develop realistic expectations and the necessary behaviors that consistently move the needle to achieve the organizations highest goals.