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.

Tarek Taha

I didn’t realize I was making the best investment of my life.

Back in 2011, every Saturday followed the same rhythm.
I’d wake up early, let my wife sleep in, and take my daughter to our favorite coffee shop.

Black coffee for me.
Carminilla latte for her.

During that time, I was mostly pouring my energy into myself. Career, fitness, chasing productivity.

I thought that was growth.
Looking back, I was missing where it mattered most.

A new job and a move back home gave me a reset. 
Those Saturday mornings slowly became a ritual we rarely missed.

Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive.
Just time focused on my daughter.

Week after week, it turned into something bigger.

At her wedding last year, I shared this story.
I choked up. She did too.

Those mornings shaped our relationship in ways neither of us fully understood at the time.

She was home for Thanksgiving last week.

It reminded me that the return on the time you invest in the people you love keeps showing up long after the moment has passed.

Everything else we chase is temporary. 
But the time we give to the people we love lasts.

It is the greatest investment you will ever make.

Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gQWV2av9

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

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

li_at

JSESSIONID

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

I spent years believing my career would be defined by a shelf full of trophies.

Every mentor told me the same thing.
Polish your accomplishments.
Collect titles.
Stack achievements until no one can ignore you.

So I did.
I collected promotions.
I collected awards.
And for a while, it felt like winning.

But the higher I climbed, the more obvious it became.
Trophies do not create legacy.
People do.

This year, I promoted an employee into a leadership role.
She lifts her team the same way I've tried to lift her.

That is when it clicked. 
Your real impact is not what you achieve.
It is who you help become achievers.

Now I ask myself one question before taking on anything new:
"Will this help someone else win?"

If the answer is no, I pass.

My pay has grown 386.75% since my first job 32 years ago.

Before you stop scrolling, this isn't a humble brag.

The point is, that number would have boggled my mind 32 years ago.

Instead, when I looked at my pay stub last week, I felt...

...Nothing.

That's when I realized something I did not want to admit.

I have gotten comfortable in my comfort.

Each week in my blog, I encourage readers to:
- Step into their potential
- Stop playing small
- Take the risk

But here I was, living the same cycle I warn others about.

Dr. Myles Munroe said,
"The wealthiest place in the world is the cemetery. There lies companies that were never started, masterpieces that were never painted.  In the cemetery is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential."

Comfort itself is not the problem.

The problem starts when it replaces your sense of purpose.

So here is the question I'm thinking about:

What am I leaving on the table because comfort feels safer than becoming who I was meant to be?

Your dreams do not belong in the graveyard.

They belong here in the world where they can change lives.

I wrote more here: https://lnkd.in/gFbwsH5w

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?

I used to confuse authority with leadership.

I could not have been more wrong.

The person who stands at the top waiting for applause? That's not a leader.

That's just someone with authority.

The real leader:

1. Puts people before position.
↳ Your job is to make them better, not look better
↳ Influence comes from impact, not authority

2. Sees who others miss.
↳ The quiet ones often contribute the most
↳ Every voice matters when you're actually listening

3. Owns the losses and shares the wins.
↳ When it breaks, you take it
↳ When it works, they get the credit

4. Leads through action, not words.
↳ Show the standard you expect
↳ Your behavior sets the culture

5. Stays humble and open.
↳ Admit when you're wrong
↳ Ask for feedback like you mean it

6. Serves without keeping score.
↳ Their success is your success
↳ Lead with them, not above them

Your spotlight doesn't matter.

What matters is how many people you help find theirs.

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

The $10M Solopreneur | Helping 100,000+ experts turn their expertise into income.

Personal Finance Made Simple

Founder, Clarity Collective | CLEAR-EDGE Marketing Advantage | Never Waste Time & Money on Marketing Again

Product Managment

permanently liberating founders from self-doubt and mental blocks so they can create with freedom, not friction | negative belief gone forever in 10 minutes (like Santa isn’t real) 🎅 | Host of The Joel Bein Show 🎙️

Founder and Chief Executive Officer | Mission-Driven Health Tech Executive | Strategic Partnerships & Pediatric Innovation

I guide the C-Suite to create strategy the competition can't copy. | ex-W+K, TBWA\ and M&C Saatchi.

The Judgment-Free Profitability Coach • CPA, 400+ Audits • 3X Business Owner • 2X Exits → Transform your business with a Profit Mindset

Double Your Revenue in Half the Time ▪️ Business Coach for Luxury Design Firms ▪️ Design Business Freedom™ - Interior Design Success Without Limits or Sacrifice ▪️ Industry Speaker ▪️ Author of ‘Marketing Luxury Design’

Build what matters - I help small to medium-sized B2B companies scale through strategic product leadership and execution | AI strategy & launch | Founder, Product Pursuits | xSAP | WIP Chapter Founder | PM Women in AI

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

I didn’t realize how often I apologized for simply being human.

“Sorry I didn’t reply, I was sleeping.”
“Sorry I missed your call, I was at dinner with my family.”
“Sorry for the delay, I was on vacation.”

At some point, rest started feeling like a mistake.

Here’s what I finally understood:
 • Rest isn’t a disruption
 • Boundaries aren’t rude
 • Time off isn’t unprofessional
 • Being unavailable isn’t a personal flaw

I decided to stop saying sorry for living my life.

You deserve rest.
You deserve space.
You deserve moments where you’re unreachable.

Taking care of yourself is reason enough. 
No apology needed.

I didn’t realize how much my attention was shaping the person I was becoming.

There was a stretch in my life where I spent hours every day consuming the latest headlines and whatever the internet was furious about.

And it changed me.
 • I became more reactive
 • I became more cynical
 • I was “informed,” but nothing in my life was actually improving
 • I was absorbing emotions that weren’t mine

Then it hit me.
My inputs were building my identity.
Not my goals. Not my intentions.
My inputs.

So I made a shift.
 • I turned off the news
 • I chose what I wanted to learn
 • I paid attention to people who were building, not complaining
 • I focused my energy on adding value to others

And everything got better.

Choose your inputs.
Change your life.

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

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?

Chief Data Scientist | Distinguished AI Executive | Startup→Fortune 100 Exit | UT Austin Faculty | Venture Partner

I spent 6 months questioning my own competence.

My manager would give vague instructions, then act shocked when I didn't deliver what they "clearly" asked for.

It took me too long to realize: this wasn't about my performance.

This was gaslighting.

Here's the 4-step cycle I finally recognized:

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗩𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
They give unclear direction, then claim it was "obvious" what they meant.

What to do: Document everything. Send follow-up emails confirming what you understood. Create a paper trail.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
When things go wrong, suddenly it's all your fault. They rewrite history about what was agreed.

What to do: Reference your documentation. Stay calm. Don't get defensive—just point to the facts.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹
"I never said that." "You're remembering it wrong." They make you doubt your own memory.

What to do: Trust your records over their words. Your contemporaneous notes don't lie.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
"Maybe you're not cut out for this." They attack your abilities to keep you off-balance.

What to do: Seek external validation. Talk to trusted colleagues. Consider whether this environment serves your growth.

The pattern is the proof.

One incident might be miscommunication. Four steps on repeat? That's a system.

You're not crazy. You're not incompetent.

You're being manipulated.

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

Wynton Marsalis sat in the back row of his own concert.

My wife and I went to see him.
He was the reason everyone bought a ticket.

After the intermission, he handed the microphone to Chris Lewis, a young saxophonist sitting in the front row.

Then he did something he didn’t have to do.

He stepped back.
Sat in the last row.
Barely visible.
Just playing his part while Lewis led the band through the rest of the set.

The musicianship was incredible.
But what stayed with me was the joy on stage.

This wasn’t ego.
It wasn’t about showing he’s still the best.
It was about giving someone else the room to rise.

And that’s when it clicked for me:
Real leadership isn’t staying in front.
It’s knowing when to move back.

Sometimes it looks like:
 • Passing the baton when you could easily keep it
 • Adding value quietly instead of demanding attention
 • Creating space for the next generation to grow
 • Feeling proud of someone else’s win as if it were your own

Marsalis could’ve taken every solo.
The crowd would’ve cheered.

Instead, he chose to mentor.
He chose to elevate.
He chose to lead from behind.

The best leaders don’t need to be seen leading.
You can feel their impact in everyone around them.

I write about leadership and growth each week: https://lnkd.in/gPiEXnq4

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?

I used to think leadership meant being the loudest voice in the room.

So I tried to be that person.

Spoke up in every meeting.
Made bold declarations.
Projected unwavering confidence.

It felt fake.

Because it was.

I wasn't using my actual gifts. I was performing a version of leadership I thought people expected.

Then something shifted.

I stopped trying to be the most impressive person in the room.

I started asking: "What does my team actually need?"

Instead of leading every conversation, I listened more.
Instead of having all the answers, I asked better questions.
Instead of proving my worth, I focused on theirs.

It felt more natural.
Like I could finally breathe.

And something interesting happened:

My team felt more supported.
More understood.
More heard.

Engagement went up.
Trust went up.
Results went up.

When I stopped making leadership about me and started making it about them, everything changed.

Here's the thing no one talks about:

Serving first is what makes people want to follow.

Not your title.
Not your confidence.
Not your authority.

Your willingness to put their success before your ego.

That's what earns trust.
That's what builds loyalty.
That's what creates real impact.

Leadership isn't about being followed.

It's about making others feel capable of leading themselves.

Have you experienced this shift?

I wrote more here: https://lnkd.in/gkR7R96M

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.

Prime Retail Services, Inc.

Director of Construction

Brookshire Grocery Company

Director of Design And Construction

Walmart

Sr. Design and Construction Project Manager II

Construction Project Manager, Academy Facilities

Field Project Supervisor

KimLor Medical

Operations Manager

Self-Employed Consultant

Emergency Response/Management Consultant

Whelen Engineering/E-Com, Inc.

Senior District Sales Manager

City Of Bethel Heights

Planning Commissioner

Hunter Construction Company, Inc.

Owner

Hayden's Floors and More

Northwest Arkansas Community College

Developed new course for spring 1996 semester for instruction of students enrolled in the Fire Science associate degree program.  Assisted with accreditation with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.  Taught building construction course each semester.

Adjunct Faculty

Specialties: Training, curriculum development, course development, mentoring, budgeting, government liaison, conflict resolution, emergency response, disaster mitigation, residential and commercial construction, construction project management, construction special projects, residential and commercial flooring, professional development, retail and wholesale sales, presentations, planning, executive management, grant writing and performance, customer service, human resources, benefits administration, contract management.

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