J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

• Lead engineering efforts for Final Mile Services and Managed Logistics Solutions.
• Direct the E&T Development Program since 2016, accelerating career progression for 130 engineers through structured rotational assignments and targeted skill development.
* Mentor and develop high-potential leaders across engineering and technology teams, fostering collaboration and delivering measurable operational improvements.

Sr. Director of Engineering & Technology

Director of Engineering

Director of Carrier Relations

Engineering Manager

Maxwell Leadership

Provide coaching, training, and facilitation for professionals and leadership teams, leveraging Maxwell Leadership principles to enhance team performance, influence, and results.

Highlights:
* Designed and delivered leadership workshops for corporate teams
* Mentored emerging leaders into higher-impact roles
* Applied 20+ years of corporate leadership experience to real-world development programs

Certified Leadership Coach | Speaker | Trainer

John Brown University

Adjunct Professor of Statistics

ArcBest

Industrial Engineering and Economic Analysis

Senior Engineering Leader for Final Mile Services and E&T Development Program

I believe leadership is less about titles and more about influence, vision, and the ability to inspire others to perform at their best.

Over the past two decades, I’ve had the privilege of leading engineering and technology teams, mentoring emerging leaders, and guiding high-performing teams through complex challenges.

Alongside my corporate role, I’m a Maxwell Leadership Certified coach, speaker, and trainer, helping professionals and leadership teams sharpen their skills, expand their influence, and deliver stronger results.

My approach combines proven leadership frameworks with real-world application — whether it’s developing leadership presence, fostering collaboration, or creating a culture of continuous improvement.

I share insights here on LinkedIn to spark better conversations about leadership, growth, and career success.

📩 I enjoy connecting with people who are committed to growth — whether you’re an individual contributor, leading teams, or guiding an organization. If you’re interested in exchanging ideas on leadership, building high-performing teams, or personal development, feel free to connect and start the conversation here on LinkedIn.

I used to think good leadership was about keeping everyone comfortable.

Then I watched my team become frustrated because I waited too long to address a performance issue.

The silence didn't keep the peace. It bred resentment.

High performers got frustrated carrying the weight.
The underperformer never got a chance to improve.
And I lost credibility with everyone.

Here's what I learned:

Hard conversations aren't about being harsh.
They're about being honest before small problems become team-wide dysfunction.

The best leaders I know don't avoid conflict.

They address it early, directly, and with clarity.

Because teams don't grow in comfort.
They grow when someone cares enough to tell the truth.
—
I write about the power of authentic leadership every week: https://lnkd.in/gyH-3xm2

Tarek Taha

Senior Engineering Leader & Certified Coach | Helping leaders grow with confidence and clarity

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Most leaders don't learn leadership from great bosses.

They learn it from terrible ones.

People say toxic managers ruin careers.

I say they're the best teachers you'll ever have - if you're paying attention.

Years ago, I had a manager who micromanaged everything.

Every calculation? Checked.
Every decision? Required his approval first.
Every answer? Had to be precise to 10 decimal places.

I had zero agency.
Zero autonomy.
Zero trust.

It was suffocating.

70% of U.S. workers would leave a job due to a bad manager.

I understood why. I was one of them.

But here's what I didn't realize at the time:

He was giving me a masterclass in how NOT to lead.

Front row seat. Daily lessons. Crystal clear examples.

Every interaction showed me what happens when you:

• Treat employees like they can't think
• Value precision over progress
• Hoard decisions instead of building capability
• Create dependency instead of growth

I watched talented engineers become order-takers.
I felt my own confidence erode daily.
I saw how distrust destroys teams.

The lesson stuck.

When I finally led people, I did the opposite:

Trust first.
Give room to grow.
Care more about their growth than my control.

The worst leaders teach you exactly what matters.

They just do it backwards.

What did your worst boss teach you?

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I few weeks ago, I walked into a private dinner in Austin expecting business talk.

Justin Welsh and Jennifer Welsh were hosting.

The room was filled with people far more successful than me.
-A woman who’d run a podcast for eight years
-A former VP at Uber
-An accomplished speaker and author
-I could go on...

But here’s what surprised me:

No one talked about funnels.
No one pitched an offer.
No one tried to “network.”

They shared their stories.
They opened up.
They connected.

This wasn’t a tactical conversation.

It was fifteen real people with a desire to connect with other real people.

And in that moment, something clicked:

The most successful people aren’t chasing tactics.

They’re chasing connection.

Because you can automate content.
You can scale with AI.
You can build systems that run while you sleep.

But you can’t automate belonging.

The camaraderie in that room was something you can’t replicate online.

It was human.
It was warm.
It was real.

We spend so much time optimizing our lives that we forget this:
Real relationships still happen in real rooms.

Maybe the best strategy
is simply showing up as yourself
in the right room.
--
Adam Wright Daniel Layfield joel bein Katie Taylor,Kieron Monahan Marika Ponton Melissa Galt Natasha Gorodetsky

I dropped my YETI cup when Susanna screamed.

We were on a fishing boat on a perfect October morning when her fishing rod began to dance.

She had just caught her first fish EVER. 

By the end of that weekend, she'd caught eight. Named them all. Albert through Harry.

After 34 years of marriage, we had never gone fishing. 
That hit me harder than I expected.

It made me ask: What else have we never tried?

You're not tired of your life. 
You're tired of the loop you're in. 

And most of us don't notice when that loop starts:
Wake up. 
Coffee. 
Work. 
Dinner. 
Scroll. 
Sleep. 
Repeat.

Nothing's broken. But nothing's alive either.

I see it at work all the time.

People are going through the motions.
Not miserable.
Just asleep.
Anesthetized by comfort.

But your life isn't as fixed as it feels.

I wrote about that morning and the unexpected lesson it taught me in today's blog: https://lnkd.in/gGwnyNNh

Gen Z isn’t lazy. We are.

I’ve worked with enough people across generations to see this clearly: 
We’re getting Gen Z wrong.

They show up wanting guidance.
They want direction.
They want feedback.
They want someone to actually lead them.

Instead, we criticize them.
We compare them to who we were at 22.
We expect them to figure out alone what no one taught us either.

That’s not leadership.
That’s avoidance.

Here’s what they’re actually bringing to the workplace:
• They use AI to simplify what we overcomplicated
• They want meaningful work, not meaningless promotions
• They value flexibility because they watched us burn out
• They want to learn, not just execute

They’re not trying to work less.
They’re trying to work smarter.

The engagement problem isn’t Gen Z,
It’s our unwillingness to lead differently than we were led.

In 10 years, they’ll be the ones shaping culture and setting the standards.

We won’t be in the room forever.

Transfer leadership.
Or gatekeep it until they stop asking.

Your move.

7 reasons your annual review isn't leading to a promotion.

(and what to do about it)

1. You treat punctuality as optional.
 ↳ Showing up late signals unreliability.
 ↳ Arrive early, prepared, and ready to contribute.

2. You only focus on yourself.
 ↳ Look for ways to lighten the load for your team.
 ↳ Share credit generously so others want to work with you.

3. You wait to be told what to do.
 ↳ Anticipate needs and prepare solutions before they’re asked for.
 ↳ Take initiative on small problems. That’s how leaders test you.

4. You bring problems, not solutions.
 ↳ Never ask “What should I do?”
 ↳ Present three approaches and recommend the one you’d choose.

5. You stay quiet in the room.
 ↳ Ask smart, well-timed questions that push thinking forward.
 ↳ Offer insights that connect today’s discussion to the bigger picture.

6. You zone out in meetings.
 ↳ Put your phone away and engage fully.
 ↳ Take notes and follow up. People notice who remembers details.

7. You try too hard to impress.
 ↳ Don’t flatter the boss. Contribute real ideas.
 ↳ Focus on results and reliability, not appearances.

7 Reasons Your Annual Review Isn't Leading To A Promotion

The moment you realize you're enough is the moment you stop needing everyone else to confirm it.

According to Forbes, 66% of employees would quit their jobs if they didn't feel appreciated.

But here's what nobody talks about:

Maybe the problem isn't that others don't see your work.

Maybe it's that you're waiting for them to tell you it matters.

I spent years chasing validation from bosses, clients, and colleagues.

Every project became a test of my worth.

Every silence felt like rejection.

Until I realized something:

When you need others to recognize your value, you give them control over how you feel about yourself.

Recognition is nice. But making it the source of your worth will limit your impact on the world.

How would your life change if you stopped hustling for others' approval?

👉I wrote about it in my blog today:  https://lnkd.in/gvyUjMmf

Bad managers are great teachers.

They just don’t know it.
They show you exactly what not to do.

I’ve learned more from toxic leaders than good ones.

What they taught me:
• Micromanaging kills creativity
• Taking credit destroys trust
• Ignoring feedback breeds resentment
• Playing favorites splits teams

The irony?
They thought they were leading.
They were really just pushing people away.

Now I do the opposite.
I give autonomy, not control.
I share credit.
I ask questions.
I listen.

Every bad boss leaves a trail of lessons.
The best leaders just make sure they don’t repeat them.

What’s one you’ll never forget?

At 12 years old, I asked my mom a strange question:

“Mom…tell me what I want.”

I wasn’t looking for advice. I was looking for direction. And I spent years hoping someone else had the answer.

Benjamin Hardy says your brain is a prediction machine.
Every choice you make today is shaped by the future you believe you’re heading toward.

That explained a lot.

Because for most of my adult life, I wasn’t choosing based on a future I wanted.
I was choosing based on approval. Comparison. Fear.

No wonder I kept asking other people to define my path.

Everything shifted when I finally started asking a better question:
Who do I want to be?
Am I making choices that move me toward becoming that person?

That question matters more than your job title.
More than your past.
More than whatever people expect of you today.

Because no one else can tell you what you want.

At some point, you have to choose the person you want to be.

This came from today's newsletter: https://lnkd.in/g5jh9GgM

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I used to over-explain in every meeting.

More slides.
More data.
More justification.

I told myself it made me look prepared.

It didn’t. It made me look unsure.

Then I watched a senior leader present.

Three slides.
Ten minutes.
No defensiveness.

When challenged, she didn’t rush to prove herself.
She leaned back, listened, and answered like she’d already earned the room.

That’s when it clicked:
Over-explaining isn’t thoroughness.
It’s fear disguised as preparation.

You’ve already earned your seat.
Stop defending what you know.
Start trusting it.

Before your next meeting, don’t add another slide.

Spend that time getting clear on how you want to show up and confident in what you bring.

Most leaders have no place where they can be fully human.

Two weeks ago, I had lunch with my friend Ilyas in Austin, Texas.

We graduated from the same university 13 years apart.

He has had real success in both academia and business, but what stood out was his genuine heart.

As we were eating, he shared an idea that stuck with me.

A third space for leaders.

Not home.
Not work.
Something in between.

A place where the title doesn't matter.
Where you don't have to perform.
Where you can tell the truth without fear.

As we talked, it hit me how uncommon that really is.

Most leaders carry tremendous weight on their shoulders, yet they rarely have a space where they can speak openly about the decisions they must make.

Leaders need a place to connect with others who understand the pressure.
A place to slow down.
A place to be human first.

That conversation felt like the start of something meaningful.

I have a feeling this idea will grow in ways neither of us can predict.

👉If a third space for leaders existed, what would you want it to feel like?

I was scared, people pleasing, meek engineering leader…then I almost died (and it changed everything)

I was like most of you: the engineers.

The nerds.
The cautious ones.
The follow the directions to a tee people.

But that all happened when I was in the ICU at 2 am wondering if I would see the sunrise.

I was texting my best friend my bank logins to ensure my family was taken care of.

Thankfully, I survived.

But when I turned to work, I began to evolve.

Completely.

I stopped caring about stepping on toes.
I didn’t care what others thought about me.

I told the truth.

I began to realize that I was made for something more.

I stepped into myself there and then.

Too many of you (myself included) wait till it's too late to be who you are.

And I’m on a journey to show you that you can start today.

NOW.

Check out my Authentic Life Audit in my profile and see where you fall.

It could change your future.

I tried outsourcing my hope. It didn’t work.

I didn’t get the promotion I wanted.
Everything I had worked for fell through.
My confidence eroded.
My mood shifted.
My future felt dim.

But here is the truth:
Hope is not something others can give you.
Hope is something you build inside yourself.

I finally learned this when I invested in my own growth in 2019.
No one told me to do it.
I just reached a point where I was tired of waiting for circumstances to make me happy.

And once I committed to growing, everything shifted.

My hope grew.
My joy grew.
I felt more alive in the seat I was already sitting in.

If you are waiting for life to change first, I get it.
I tried that.
It does not work.

Hope expands as you do.
It is an internal decision before it becomes an external reality.

Real hope sounds like this:
“Yes, things are hard. And I am growing anyway.”
“Yes, I’m not sure what to do next, but I’m taking steps each day.”

Choose to grow when others are playing it safe.
Choose to create when others don’t understand.
Choose personal responsibility over waiting for things to change.

I write about hope each week: https://lnkd.in/gtHC-d5V

I stopped saying sorry for being human.

Not because I’m rude.
But because I realized I was apologizing for existing.

“Sorry, I didn’t respond.”
“Sorry, I was at lunch.”
“Sorry, I was on PTO.”

One day it hit me: I wasn’t being polite. I was making myself small.

Why do we treat our basic needs like disruptions?

Most professionals I coach aren’t burned out because of workload.
They’re burned out because they treat their boundaries like burdens.

Every time you say “sorry” for living your life, you reinforce the belief that your well-being is optional.

It’s not.

Here’s what I say now:
“I was with family.”
“I take lunch at noon.”
“I don’t check email after 6 PM.”

No apology. No justification. Just clarity.

Your boundaries are not rude.
They’re responsible.
And they’re not up for negotiation.

👉 If you want the exact boundary scripts I use, DM me “Boundaries” and I’ll send them to you privately.

9/26/18: My hands were shaking as I texted bank passwords to a friend from the ICU.

I remember thinking, “This might actually be it.”

2 AM.
Machines beeping.
Nurses in and out.
The smell of antiseptic in the air.

I did not think I would make it to morning.

Your priorities shift fast when you think your time might be up.

The career moves I had been chasing.
The people I wanted to impress.
The success I thought I needed.

None of it mattered.

That night pushed me into growth I did not ask for but definitely needed.

I am still learning.
Still figuring it out.
But I am paying attention now in a way I never did before.

It pushed me to ask a question I had pushed aside for years: What is my purpose?

If you are tired of playing small and know you were made for more, I have a tool that is helping my clients get clear on their purpose.

This is not another personality assessment you forget a day later.

It takes twenty minutes and cuts through the noise fast.

Comment or DM “Purpose” if you want to see what yours actually is.

Your idea got rejected in front of the whole team.

Senior engineer shut it down.

That's Cringe Mountain.

Most stay quiet after that.

You didn't.

You came back with data and a proof of concept.

Three months later, they implemented your solution.

The embarrassing moments aren't setbacks.

That's your setup.

Climb Cringe Mountain. They watch. You win.

Image credit: Greg Isenberg

li_at

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Everyone thinks AI will take their job.

My friend just proved them wrong.

He lost his last week.

But AI had nothing to do with it.

He was a manager at a large company for 6 years.

Good at his job. Reliable. Hit his targets.

Last week, they laid him off.

The reason? They decided they didn't need the role anymore.

Not because a robot could do it better.

Because they restructured and absorbed his work into other teams.

And he's not alone.

Amazon just announced they're cutting 14,000 middle management positions in 2025.

Here's what I'm realizing:

The conversation about AI taking our jobs is missing the bigger truth.

Most leaders won't lose their jobs to AI.

They'll lose them to the same forces that have always existed:

• Budget cuts
• Restructuring
• Mergers
• Leadership changes
• Economic downturns

AI might accelerate some of this, but it's not the core problem.

The core problem is the mindset that your company owes you stability.

They don't.

They can't.

Even the best employers make decisions based on their survival, not yours.

My friend is figuring that out now.

He spent six years building equity in someone else's vision.

Now he's building his own.

Learning skills that travel with him, not just within org charts.

Thinking about what he can control instead of what he can't.

Here's the shift:

Your company can give you a paycheck, benefits, even purpose for a while.

But they can't give you ownership of your future.

Only you can do that.

The best defense against job loss isn't fighting AI or hoping your company stays stable.

It's making yourself less dependent on any single employer's decisions about your career.

This changes how we lead too.

The leaders who matter most won't be the ones who promise security they can't guarantee.

They'll be the ones who help their people build skills and confidence that travel anywhere.

Because the real job security isn't in the org chart.

It's in owning your own future.

Most managers think their job is keeping great people on their team.

They're wrong.

A University of Chicago study of 200,000 workers found something counterintuitive:

The best managers moved their people 40% more often than average managers.

Not because they wanted to lose talent. Because they spotted strengths that didn't fit the current role.

Those employees earned 13% more seven years later. Their performance jumped 16%.

Top managers spent 19% more time in one-on-ones.

Not managing tasks. Understanding what made each person come alive.

Your best employee might be thriving somewhere else.

The question isn't whether you can afford to move them. It's whether you can afford not to.

If this resonates with how you want to lead, let's connect.

Most Managers Hold On to Their Best People. The Best Ones Move Them.

He'd already been driving for 6 hours before I got in his car.

Turns out, he wasn’t just an Uber driver. Jallal is a software engineer.

Did everything right: got the degree, moved to Austin, chased the startup dream.

His reality? $22/hr from 3–11 p.m.
Then, Uber from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. just to survive.

Can’t afford to marry his girlfriend.

We talked the whole ride. Real conversation.

He told me about the code he writes at night, the features no one notices.
The wedding he’s been postponing for two years.

I’ve been there: that moment when you realize the path you’re on isn’t taking you where you thought it would.

The question that stuck with me wasn’t about work. It was, "What am I actually building?"

How often do we stop long enough to ask ourselves that?

Your career will stall out if you are too good at your job.

I remember early in my journey, there was a guy named Jerry.

He was the only one who knew how the entire transportation network worked.

Routing, vendors, timelines. It all lived in his head.
When someone tried to pitch in, he got... territorial.

He thought he was protecting his position.

But really, he was locking himself in a box.

He became indispensable in a role he would never get promoted out of.

Because here’s the truth:
Managers don’t promote you for being reliable.
They promote you for making their job easier, and their boss’s job easier too.

If you're not solving problems above your pay grade, you're invisible to the people who can actually move you up.

Here’s how to make promotion inevitable:

Identify a problem costing the company time, money, or customers

Fix it (even if it’s not "your job")

Make the impact visible to people two levels above you

Don’t just be the go-to person for your current role. 

Become the obvious choice for the next one.

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