Meet Quip Turner of Kevin Lane Turner & Turner Leadership Strategies in Addison

Today we’d like to introduce you to Quip Turner.

Quip, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Kevin (my father) started Turner Leadership Strategies (TLS) 20 years ago. We’re a leadership and executive development business; we help leaders and organizations implement long-term, sustainable behavioral and habit change through a proprietary process we refer to as “Training-Over-Time”.

Kevin started the company in 1997 because he saw how existing training and executive coaching didn’t produce long-term results that “stuck”. Just think: how many training companies today have specific processes, systems, and tools that actually entrench successful habits?

By 1997, Kevin had minted a behavioral change system in a previous company he owned. The process worked so well that executives asked him to apply it to their companies. So Kevin saw this deep need for a better ROI on training and he launched Turner Leadership Strategies.

He’s had tremendous success these 20 years, which means tremendous impact that changes people’s lives, careers, and businesses.

3 years ago, I came on board TLS. I’ve always done some form of Leadership Development. I was a youth pastor for Mansfield Bible Church while I attended a community college.

I then attended and graduated from Cornell University where I focused on Leadership Development, Business, and Strategy. After Cornell, I joined Teach For America in Tulsa, OK and used our leadership principles to help my kids pass a state-mandated test required for graduation. My students’ test scores were higher than the previous four years before I came.

Then I joined a successful Executive Leadership track at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, OH.

By 2014, I’d kept my eye on TLS for a while, admiring the impact Kevin made in companies – so I joined the company, quickly built strong relationships with our customers, and have loved our work ever since.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
For me, the greatest challenge has been learning the nuances of guiding people and companies through change. The process is simple for people and companies to follow, but incredibly complex to facilitate. It’s like a surgeon’s craft.

Kevin developed and honed this process and his skills for 30 years, so while its second nature for him, there’s a steep learning curve for me. So Kevin is like the surgeon and I’m in my residency.

I add my own skillsets, such as facilitating strategic business planning and mid-level manager coaching. But I have years of learning ahead of me, and that excites me.

Please tell us about Kevin Lane Turner & Turner Leadership Strategies.
We specialize in leadership and executive development, and we change the way training and development is done in our industry. We apply proprietary tools and systems that allow our customers’ executives to begin at the root of a habit, behavior issue, or goal, and ensure the transformation lasts. That’s something no other leadership development/training company can say.

We are proud of the breadth of clients we’ve served these past 20 years. From Fortune 500 companies, to Fortune “Best Places to Work” companies, to small entrepreneurs and start-ups.

We are most proud of our reputation. Our customers are always confident that our work produces compounding results long after we are “finished”, and that is highly unusual in our industry.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would work with TLS part-time while I was with Cornell, Teach For America, and Goodyear. These experiences set a crucial foundation for what I do now, and I could have made an even bigger impact in those organizations if I’d known what I know now.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My father, Kevin, deserves by far the most credit for where I am and where the company is. He started the company and spear-headed its success. More importantly, he’s mentored me all my life, through all the peaks and valleys.

My brother, George. He was born with a birth defect called spina bifida, and was supposed to be paralyzed from the waist-down for life, but he blew away expectations and taught himself how to walk. He now works for the University of Arkansas.

My sister, Maria. From her I’ve learned work ethic and sustained disciplined. She played NCAA Division I volleyball for Northwestern University, and she’s now an executive with The Ford Motor Company.

Contact Info:

• Address: 16479 Dallas Parkway, Suite 730
  Addison, TX 75001
• Website: www.KevinTurner.com
• Phone: 972-233-9998
• Email: quip.turner@kevinturner.com

Image Credit:
David Stana