Strengthen Your Change Leadership with a Coach You Can Trust |Forbes Contributor |Accenture Alum |Former NU Adjunct Faculty

Empowering Leaders to Navigate Change and Drive Results

With over 20 years of experience guiding executives across industries, I've honed my expertise in leadership development, change management, and high-performance team building. My journey from competitive tennis to global change initiatives at Accenture and other global firms has taught me the critical importance of adaptability, resilience, and strategic communication in today's volatile business landscape.

Key focus areas:

 - Elevating leadership potential through personalized coaching
 - Mastering Change Leadership to drive sustainable transformations
 - Enhancing executive presence and inclusive leadership skills

My approach combines structured frameworks with agility, utilizing assessments, workshops, and hands-on coaching to deliver rapid, measurable progress. Drawing from my academic work at Northwestern University and insights from the Forbes Coaches Council, I provide leaders with practical strategies to navigate complex challenges and inspire their teams.

Ready to elevate your leadership and drive impactful change? Let's connect.

Email: smschwan@evolvingstrategies.com
Phone: +1.312.371.7263
Schedule a call: https://calendly.com/sandyschwan

Sandy Schwan

I coach creators with <2.5k followers how to be LinkedIn pros in <45 days | 264k Impressions & 23k Engagements in L12 mos. | The Real You Podcast Host | Enneagram 6 | Runner, Triathlete, Obstacle Course Racer

I was the quiet kid in the back of the classroom.

I never wanted to be called on.

Never wanted to read out loud.

And I definitely didn’t want to give a presentation.

So when I was 14, in 9th grade, and had to give a speech in front of my entire grade and their parents,

I delivered one of the worst speeches in the history of civilization. No exaggeration. It was, memorable. For the wrong reasons.

That moment stuck with me.

I struggled with being visible, using my voice, and public speaking well into my mid-30s.

I learned how to stay competent. Helpful. Fine. And mostly invisible.

By the time I hit 40, something shifted. I felt called toward something more. Something different.

- I wanted to speak.
- I wanted to start a podcast.
- I wanted to help others who felt the same quiet pull.

But I didn’t know how.


So instead of moving forward, I did what a lot of capable mid-life professionals do, I stayed stuck. And fearful.

For another eight years. Fear didn’t stop me loudly. It stopped me efficiently.

That finally changed in the summer of 2023, when I started posting on LinkedIn.

At first, it was small:

- content
- selfies 
- stories from my past

And something unexpected happened.

People responded. They resonated. They recognized themselves.

That was the beginning of a real transformation.

Since then, I’ve launched three podcasts, a YouTube channel, and developed my keynote, The Fear That Formed Me: a funny, honest talk about fear, visibility, and the self-imposed rules that quietly shape our lives.

I don’t talk about eliminating fear. I talk about what happens when you stop letting it decide.

Today, my work is about helping mid-life professionals do what they’ve been avoiding, not through hype, self-help clichés, or forced journaling, but through clarity, humor, and the relief of realizing they’re not broken.

If you’ve been feeling that quiet nudge toward something you keep putting off, you’re not alone.

And you’re probably closer than you think.


➜ Listen to my podcast here, https://www.theunderlayerpodcast.com/

➜ Book me to speak at: david@davidjyoung.me

David Young, MBA

What do I miss the most while working in an office?

My Kobs.

He's been with me at home every day since we got him in mid-January 2021. 

I never really leave him for long stretches unless we/I travel, which isn't very often. 

He's in my office or just outside most of the time.

Sometimes, he'll sleep at the bottom of the stairs on the landing, but I know he's not far, keeping me company.


The thought of leaving him daily hit me on Sunday, and I had tears in the eyes, which is saying something/b c/ on Zoloft, I cannot cry. 


The good part is I'm only 10-12 minutes away, so I've come home for lunch the first two days, and that has worked out well. 

It's a tight turnaround for me, but it's worth it to see him, let him out, and let him run. 

We crate him for the first part of the day, then I leave him out in the family room for the afternoon. 


So far, so good. 🐾

A work-from-home day today, just like old times.

Kobe will probably be confused and be like, yo, I thought you were leaving here.

I Help Mid-Life Professionals Do What They’ve Been Avoiding through a keynote on Fear & Visibility without self-help clichés & journaling | 🎤 Keynote Speaker | Host of The Underlayer

Let's talk about group chats for a minute.

I'm not a fan of any group communication.

I am part of exactly 1 group chat in my life, and it's with 2 other people.

So, on our beloved MS teams, we have a group chat, which I got thrown into from day 1. 

• My total messages contributed, zero.
• My total reactions, zero (I accidentally hovered once and hearted something and almost panicked, but was able to remove b4 anyone could notice)


There are occasional needs and uses for it, like sharing something quickly that can help the group. 

I find those messages few and quite far between. 


𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆:

• Memes (please stop)
• Happy "insert day of the week" (apparently, any of the 5 can be happy?)
• Something that should be sent individually, but it's like a reply all and sent to all of us (I have an entire post on reply all, but not today)
• Attempts at humor (which are usually the opposite of funny) - if you want a recent real example of this, DM me 

They should just type it out, then erase it. Don't press send. If you think it's funny, it's not. 


I turned off my alerts on day 1, I just couldn't, and still can't. 

This is my life now.

I've realized that the modern 9-5 office setup is the exact opposite of the casino setup. 

𝗜𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲:

• no clocks
  
• pumped in oxygen to keep you awake
  
• easily lose track of time. sit down to play 20 mins. of blackjack, and the next thing you know, 6 hours have passed


𝗜𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲:

• clocks everywhere. I have 3 screens, my phone, and several wall clocks constantly telling me what time it is.
  
• I think they reduce oxygen, constantly making you battle to keep your head from hitting your keyboard.
  
• time CRAWLS by. Last week, I swore I'd been there for 2 hours, and it had been 16 minutes. Then, I was certain it had been 2 more hours, and it was 11 minutes more. What felt like 4h was 27 minutes. 


I do get two 15-minute breaks, and those go by in a nanosecond. I've even tried just staring at my locked phone screen the entire time. Still gone in a flash. 


Last week, it was just my boss and me in the office. 

This week, everyone returns, and it'll be full.  Maybe 20-25 or so people in our room. 

Yeah

We all know the benefits of working from home. Let's talk about one of the biggest drawbacks 

to working in an office:

𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆.

Now, as someone with OCD, I understand it's harder for me than most b/c I don't like to touch anything in public, especially:

• bathroom door handles in or out
• stall doors and locks
• public toilet handles
• everything

You really take for granted using the bathroom in your home, until you're trapped for 8+ hours in an office and suddenly faced with using a 2-stall, 2-urinal men's room on a regular basis. 


It's clean, ish, but could definitely be better.

And, there are 3 sinks, but none of the automatic soap dispensers work. 

There was a standalone soft soap when I started, but it was running low.

A few days later, I brought in a larger soft soap, and it's now acting as the ONLY soap in the bathroom. What if they hadn't hired me? Would nobody there be using soap?

Guess I'll have to buy 2 more.

I didn't get the memo that it was a B.Y.O.S.S. workplace.


Now, using the bathroom like this is one thing, BUT

using it with others at the same time is where the real magic happens. 

I'm constantly trying to scout it, hoping for a solo mission, but inevitably, someone always comes in. I can never be fast enough. It's like I trigger an alarm.  

Young is in the bathroom. Steve, you're up, get in there!!!


I walked in yesterday, and a guy in one of the stalls said, to himself, I have to presume, "I shouldn't have used that Fiber One."

Whoa there, buddy.


Then, you have the classic: someone leaves the stall and washes their hands for 2 seconds?

Bro, you can't even get them wet in 2 seconds, let alone actually wash them.  Where do you work, so I can be sure to never go to that part of the office? 

Oh, that's right, I can't f'n see so I don't KNOW who that is!!!

Wow, what an experience, every day.


There's a new sign, two of them, black ink on white 8.5"x11 paper that says, "Spray the deodorizer after you use the bathroom!!!!!!!"

I guess they figured if it only had 2 exclamation points, ppl wouldn't' take it seriously, but 7 !, ppl would be like, "damn, they are serious, spray that sh!t"

taplio

The Battle

Sandy Schwan

David Young, MBA

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDavid Young, MBA's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Sandy Schwan

David Young, MBA

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}David Young, MBA's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDavid Young, MBA's LinkedIn Performance