About Me

I spent the first part of my career in pastoral ministry. I saw first hand the joys, sorrows, crises, successes, and failures of people. More importantly, I realized that how I led and how they led made a significant difference in whether people discovered purpose and meaning in life and work.

I became intrigued with the power of good leaders and the devastation engendered in mediocre and bad leaders.

I shifted my focus during my mid-career graduate program to look at leadership in every venue in which people work. The focus has taken me into different industries to learn and test what I observed about leaders.

I became an executive coach and leadership development specialist. I have conducted social research for large and small organizations designed to explain why certain behaviors routinely occurred. I work with leaders in business and the non-profit world. Being in these different settings confirms how important it is to employee morale/engagement and organizational outputs to have good leadership.  I enjoy helping women and men leverage their strengths, discover the power of spirituality, expand their leadership capacity, and exercise awareness of how their personal style impacts those around them.

I am certified in coaching, the Birkman Method and iOpener Assessments (happiness at work). See more at raywheeler.com.

I lecture as an adjunct professor at LIFE Pacific College and have previously taught at Bethesda University and Azusa Pacific University in cross-cultural leadership, leadership development, servant leadership, leadership ethics, administration, church growth, church administration, and mission in today’s world.

I am the author of, Change the Paradigm: How to Lead Like Jesus in Today’s World (2015) which outlines how the Jesus changed the mold of leadership to service that transforms the leader and her organization and Lift: Five Practices Great Managers Do Consistently (2020) which outlines how managers raise performance and morale to see their employees thrive.

I conduct seminars on leadership – particularly servant leadership – for businesses, service organizations, local congregations, non-profit organizations; however, I really enjoy deep conversations with small groups of leaders.

My education includes a Master of Arts in intercultural studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California and a Doctor of Ministry in administration and leadership from Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California…and I am still learning.

Janice and I enjoy the cumulative wonder of 47 plus years of marriage and the delight of a growing number of grandchildren.

To talk about, a consultation, adjunct work, training seminars, or coaching. I am available to teach intensives or seminars worldwide. For more information see http://www.linkedin.com/in/drraywheeler.

Contact me at ray@raywheeler.com