Bryan Gillette spent three decades in leadership roles at Franklin Templeton and Documentum before founding Summiting Group as an executive coach and leadership consultant. His view on leadership was shaped less by titles and more by the people he chose to work for.
One of the clearest lessons from Bryan Gillette's career is that who you work for matters more than where you work. Early on, he made a habit of choosing great leaders over great companies — a decision that repeatedly put him in rooms with mentors who bet on him before he'd proven himself, and accelerated his growth far faster than title-chasing would have.
That approach carried through some of the highest-pressure moments of his career, including leading one of the industry's largest systems integration projects and running a $300 million school bond campaign despite having no political campaign experience. In each case, the willingness to take on high-risk challenges — because the learning outweighed the fear — became a defining leadership trait.
Bryan's leadership philosophy ultimately extended beyond the organizations he led. After stepping away from corporate life at 43, he built Summiting Group to help other leaders define success on their own terms, and now teaches leadership at California State University. His core message to every leader he coaches: define success before someone else defines it for you.