About Tony Levitan
A three-time company founder (IPO, acquisition with Internet pioneer, Egreetings Network) and two-time Chief People Officer, I have spent decades focused on creating, building, and leading high-performance organizations. I am currently Founder and Principal of leadership coaching and consultancy, InWhack™, Inc. where clients and I work to build capacity and impact at the individual, team, and organization levels.
Complementing my InWhack coaching, I joined Leaders in Tech (LIT) as Founding Faculty in 2018. At LIT, I work with a generation of diverse leaders who embrace their own inner development as critical to building healthier, more successful organizations.
InWhack Engagements
Individuals I coach often are working their distinctive swirl at the nexus of developmental opportunities, strategic and interpersonal choice, and operational excellence. My approach uses the power of contextual inquiry — inquiry filtered through a career-full of operator experiences — to help clients see a broader array of choices.
With teams and organizations, I serve as guide, coach, counselor — and when needed, fractional Chief People Officer — on their journey from group, to team, to high-performance team. These client engagements typically focus on uncovering and pursuing considered choices, ones aligned with committed accountability to the outcome, undergirded by dexterous interpersonal effectiveness across the team or organization*.
Pre-InWhack
My pedagogical grounding around interpersonal dynamics, communications, and leadership has been influenced notably by decades of learning and leading as a senior facilitator in Stanford University Graduate School of Business’ storied Interpersonal Dynamics program — better known to business students and Executive Education participants as Touchy-Feely.
Experience facilitating Touchy-Feely; cultivation of organizational people dynamics during Chief People Officer stints; framed by my varied collection of teaching (Entrepreneurship at Cal’s Haas Business School), company founding and operating adventures, together shmergled** to create my vision for InWhack.
Prior to founding Egreetings, I earned my MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. I arrived at Stanford after serving an enviable array of blue-chip clients while launching direct marketing operations for Chicago-based global ad agency, Leo Burnett, first in Taipei, Taiwan and then in Tokyo, Japan.
My early direct marketing blooding came thanks to business-to-business publisher, Boardroom, Inc., which was preceded directly by a couple years of mixing play and work as Associate Editor and Columnist at RUGBY magazine. An affable golfer, I also presided over Clip-on Pro, LLC, a golf accessory company serving the seemingly-incurable affliction of mid-to-high handicap golfers (myself included).
Nifty Tidbit
*Achieving and sustaining group-level effectiveness amidst persisting states of interpersonal stress is impossible.
**Highly-technical term coined by venerated Touchy-Feely colleague, Mary Ann Huckabay, which means, simply, “combining” albeit usually as disparate components or in surprising ways.
How InWhack Works
Inquiry —> Insight —> Impact. As with most of our clients, you will come to appreciate this flow in how we work together and get tired of the repetition you’ll experience when I ask — repeatedly! — “Did you go to inquiry on that?” 🙂
Your individual coaching engagement will (often) focus at the nexus of developmental opportunities, interpersonal and strategic choice, and operational excellence. Team and organizational engagements tap those areas as well, recognizing that achieving and sustaining group-level effectiveness amidst persisting states of interpersonal stress is impossible. Cultivating connection, alignment, belonging, and trust at both interpersonal and group levels is a performative imperative in the drive for high-performance.
Our engagement approach is not to harmonize and/or sanitize interactions by working the inevitable differences of opinion and other potential sources of conflict out of interpersonal and team dynamics. Rather, the opportunity is to create robust conditions where diversity of thought is welcomed, alternative approaches are expected, where differences of opinion and conflict are managed with blended intellectual, functional, and interpersonal confidence.
Wouldn’t you want to work for a boss like that … with colleagues like that … in an organizational culture like that?
Their Words, Not Ours!
Tony’s ability to understand the unique challenges of my role are truly remarkable. His deep understanding of both organizational and operational dynamics originates insightful questions tailored to my specific needs..
Tony’s coaching style is both supportive and challenging, striking the perfect balance to push me beyond my comfort zone while ensuring I feel empowered to take ownership of my growth. His active listening skills and genuine empathy create a trusting environment where I feel safe to share my concerns, fears, and aspirations openly..
His expert guidance — including strategies and tools in addition to his insightful questions — have helped me enhance my communication skills, refine my decision-making processes, and become a more effective and inspirational leader.
Tony’s deep expertise, genuine care for his clients, and unwavering commitment to their success make him a true asset for any professional looking to excel in their career.
Regina Wallace-Jones
I’ve worked with very good executive coaches; Tony stands out at the top. His genuine listening and careful inquisition force me to really ponder the root of my issue and why I’m feeling or acting the way I am.
He draws on deep experience as an executive himself, owning his mistakes and hard-earned lessons; as a result, our coaching sessions feel like a true partnership where we’re working together to solve the company’s (or my) struggles.
Most importantly, Tony deeply cares about me; it’s not just his job, he’s truly passionate about helping to forge great (and balanced) leaders.
Zach Goldstein
Tony is a one-of-a-kind People-leader, executive coach, and overall genuine human being. We’ve worked together for over a year, and he’s had a transformational impact on me personally and professionally.
Most recently, Tony helped me create a highly‑tailored executive retreat for our newly formed team. His unique ability to create a welcoming, safe environment that explores interpersonal dynamics and challenges personal comfort zones ultimately deepened our collective trust and connection. I can’t think of a better way to invest in your team.
Richie Serna
“Why will they follow you?” Working with Tony is collaborative and authentic. His perspective and approach makes me feel seen, heard, and understood. He creates a safe environment that challenges me to reflect on my choices and explore new approaches as I grow as a leader, teammate and human.
I leave our sessions feeling confident and prepared for the unpredictable ups and downs of start-up life. I benefit from the decades of the breadth and depth of Tony’s experience as an executive, coach, and teacher.
He is always sharing practical tools, frameworks, and resources to translate abstract concepts into actions I can apply in my day-to-day activities. I am grateful for my growth as a person, and most of all, learning how to be a more authentic version of myself — and, as a result — a more effective version of me.
Amara Humphry
Co-founder, GiveThx
