Waldo Waldman
Known as “The Wingman,” Lt Col Waldo Waldman, MBA, CSP, CPAE is a highly decorated combat fighter pilot with 65 missions in Iraq and Serbia. A Hall of Fame Speaker, business consultant and executive coach, he is the author of the New York Times bestseller Never Fly Solo. Waldo helps organizations build collaborative cultures of trust, courage and commitment in highly competitive, rapidly changing business environments. In addition to his time in the military, Waldo has real world corporate sales and management experience and is an expert on change management, peak performance, and resilience – having broken through a lifelong fear of heights and overcoming claustrophobia as a fighter pilot.
A key message in his inspirational and high energy “Never Fly Solo” signature keynote is that you can’t reach your highest potential alone. You need wingmen - trusted partners – to help you win when adversity strikes. His compelling stories and techniques on overcoming obstacles, performing under pressure, earning trust, and servant-based leadership are extremely relevant to diverse organizations who seek to create a “One Team, One Mission” performance-focused culture of trust and collaboration.
Waldo is the author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Never Fly Solo and an inductee into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame, a prestigious award that has been bestowed on less than 190 speakers worldwide. A graduate of the U.S Air Force Academy, he also holds an MBA with a focus on Organizational Behavior and is the founder of The Wingman Foundation whose mission is to build funds and awareness for veterans in need. He’s been featured on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Inc. Magazine, and The Harvard Business Review, and his global clients include American Express, Hewlett Packard, Verizon, GE, The Denver Broncos, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and dozens of national associations.
Most Requested Programs
Never Fly Solo
In today’s highly competitive world of constant change, those who build trust, lead with courage, and collaborate with others will dodge the missiles of adversity and win. During his high energy, interactive keynote, decorated fighter pilot, New York Times bestselling author, executive coach, and Hall of Fame Speaker, Lt Col (ret.) Waldo Waldman will share tools to overcome obstacles, break performance barriers, and take charge of change during adverse times. You’ll discover how to re-commit yourself to excellence and collaborate with your partners, coworkers and customers with trust, courage, and mutual support.
Wingman Leadership
The key to building a high-performing organization that encourages innovative thinking, adaptability to change, effective communication, and a relentless commitment to excellence lies with its leadership. In this high-energy program, Waldo highlights the difference between managing others and leading them to be responsible, empowered and confident wingmen.
- Instill a “One Team-One Mission” climate of team ownership so that every leader feels fully accountable for the success of the mission. Transformational leaders never fly solo.
- Share tools that can motivate the members of your leadership team and their staff to collaborate more effectively, adapt to change, and face adversity and conflict with courage.
- Assess leadership strengths and weaknesses and learn tactics for personal and professional growth that will give additional leverage for building high-performance teams
Testimonials
“With recent changes in our leadership and organizational structure, Waldo’s “One Team, One Mission” message was a perfect way to emphasize collaboration between our territorial sales reps, managers, and account specialists. His focus on accountability, preparation and resisting complacency reinforced our focus on sustaining a high-performance culture.” - Adam Goess, Dir of Global Sales Training Boston Scientific
"It’s no small task to keep a 500 person sales and customer service audience from 23 countries engaged for 90 mins, but you did it! We’ve seen dozens of speakers over the years, but I’ve never seen anyone get a standing ovation on their close. I’ve received countless compliments about how impressed they were with your depth of understanding of their challenges and how inspired they were by your session.” - John Slater, VP of Sales United Airlines
“The three-hour seminar in Germany shot by and many commented how you were able to understand our world so well. We re-used much of your messaging throughout the rest of the week and I see elements permeating our daily work. Your session has had a long-term impact!” - Ian Eggs, Worldwide Director. Johnson & Johnson
“After delivering your leadership message to our Development Agents, I knew you would be perfect to open our 50th Anniversary Convention in front of 5,000 international franchisees and vendor partners. Not only was your industry knowledge of our franchise system commendable, but your ability to personalize the program was the best I’ve seen." - Michele DiNello, Director of Communications; Subway Franchise
Waldo’s knowledge of the company and ability to place our current challenges into context, showed how much time, research, and planning he put into his performance. He sounded like a seasoned UPS employee! His infectious attitude carried over to the audience and was undoubtedly the highlight of this year’s conference. - Curt Redden; Global Director of Talent Development, UPS