Meet John Wierenga

“A leader is a dealer in hope.” –Napoleon Bonaparte

As the oldest of eight kids, I’ve pretty much been in a leadership role my whole life. I started working at 15, and even though I didn’t hold formal authority for the first decade of my career, I quickly earned my coworkers’ respect through a relentless work ethic and genuine passion for the team.

After graduating Magna Cum Laude with my associate degree, I landed my first official leadership position—though, in truth, I’d already earned more influence among my teammates than my title suggested. Along the way, I teamed up with a coworker and took on side projects, eventually becoming a full-time freelancer. When helping another company handle overflow work. , they called me “more of a project manager than a web developer,” I was initially offended, but I soon realized I loved guiding projects and helping people develop their skills more than cranking out code. Eventually I earned my bachelor’s degree in business and management (Summa Cum Laude). Classes like Business Leadership, General Management, and Human Resource Management confirmed what I already knew: I love helping others become their best.

Since then, I have applied those lessons in the workplace, mentored students in an online course, and even coach my son’s sports teams. Building this blog felt like the perfect way to share new leadership insights and keep challenging myself—after all, the best way to learn is to teach.

John Wierenga in Jamaica
Learn from my experiences

My Tenets of Leadership

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Greater Than the Sum

A leader should make a team better then the sum of the parts.

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Positioning Others for Success

A leader puts people in the best position for success.

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Motivating

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” — John Quincy Adams

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Leading by Example

If your team doesn’t respect your work ethic, they won’t willingly follow.