Who Taught You Human?

Anyone?

Personal and Collective Leadership Development

At work, we’re expected to understand people, but in school, all we got was algebra.

I help you solve for our humanity at work and in life to create better personal and collective results.

The Truth Is—No one taught you human. And that’s a problem.

One thing I wish I’d known before stepping into my first leadership role was how humans actually work—starting with myself.

Instead, we all accidentally learned patterns—ways of thinking, feeling, and acting shaped by the world around us.

We were taught algebra, history, and how to be economically viable.

But where was the much-needed human class?

Then, we entered the work world and discovered the error in our education: humans are “people-y.” We can be emotionally messy, confusing, complex, and often challenging to navigate.

But we are also remarkable, capable, profoundly connected, and endlessly “figure-out-able.”

Here’s why this matters: how you understand yourself—and others—determines everything. Your ability to build meaningful relationships, lead with purpose, and create lasting impact depends on it. When we get it right, we thrive—and we might even enjoy the process.

The good news? You don’t need fixing. But we all need more curiosity, compassion, and courage to rediscover how humans actually work.

And we don’t need to add anything. We need to subtract.

My work helps leaders, teams, and individuals peel back the layers of conditioning, reconnect with their natural way of being human, and intentionally create meaningful impact—in service to our collective success.

This isn’t about another canned program, framework, or shiny tool to “fix” what isn’t broken.

What we need is space—space to reflect, see clearly, and subtract what no longer serves us. To shed all the conditioning that gets in the way of being delightfully honest with ourselves and others.

Because so much of what weighs us down wasn’t ours to carry in the first place.

Layers of expectations, roles, and habits—piled on by family, education, society, and work—have obscured a simple truth: you are already enough.

We all could benefit from learning and practicing skillful ways to navigate our humanity, especially in the workplace.

This journey isn’t about doing more. It’s about rediscovering who we naturally are and what truly motivates us.

When we approach ourselves with curiosity, compassion, and courage, transformation happens—not because we’re adding anything, but because we’re finally seeing clearly.

Are you ready to reconnect with your natural way of being and leading? Let’s begin.

Some Corporate Clients I Work With

Humans Like You, Rediscovering Themselves

  • "Phillip is a phenomenal coach, mentor and teacher. I had the pleasure of working with him during a transformation effort. He has inspired me to become a better coach and a leader. Phillip has a unique way of seeing the world and human interactions. He sees the strength in people, creates and holds that space for individuals to thrive. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Phillip and I hope to have the opportunity to partner with Phillip in the future."

    Cynthia Ly, Head of Digital Solutions, Silicon Valley Bank

  • "I had the immense pleasure of working with, and getting to know, Phillip Cave through a year long executive coaching engagement. Simply put - "Coach Phil" as he became known around our office, and my house, created immense positive change in my life. He effortlessly switches between a coaching and mentoring role to help guide thinking through complex work & life challenges. His approach in-turn gave me the 'thinking frames' I needed to better understand why I was encountering challenges, feeling emotions, and how I could drive more effective responses & outcomes. Through a year of working together, I feel better equipped as a leader, partner, and friend, thanks to Coach Phil and his caring guidance. I could give no higher recommendation for Phil's work, demeanor, attitude, coaching, and friendship. Thank you for everything, Phil."

    Jeffrey McGregor, CEO, TruePic

  • "Phil was a huge help to me as a founder. He helped me navigate the dynamics of building a team while also teaching me how to cut myself some slack as I learned. Would highly recommend Phil to founders, especially technical founders."

    Andrew Kirpilani, CoFounder / CTO, WorkHound

  • "Phillip is an amazing executive coach, leader, mentor and teacher. He not only coaches executives but those around him learn a new way of thinking, leading and even living. He taught me to see things from a different perspective, he showed me to feel and listen to my inner thoughts because they matter, he shared with me how to bring out the best in others while keeping to my true self. Every time you see Phillip there is joy, he brightens a room, is a world of knowledge when it comes to leading from within and one you will look to for advice as well as mentoring. I hold so much respect for him and how he leads with constant integrity. Anyone looking for rare advice that will help you not only be a better leader but a better person, reach out to Phillip and he will bring to you wisdom beyond his years."

    Heather Mellegaard, Sr. Consultant, Accenture

  • "Phil's coaching has been instrumental in setting and pursuing my own leadership development goals, turning our organization's principles into actionable behavioral expectations, and equipping me to coach others with greater effectiveness and human connection."

    Kevin Saber, CEO, GoCheck Kids

  • "I worked with Phil on Starbucks' Unified Commerce Platform. Phil demonstrated a rare understanding and mastery of both the hard and soft skills required to establish a complex change and technology program and then bring it to fruition. He moves easily between executive-level discussions that set direction through execution and delivery with highly technical staff."

    Tony DiSalvo, Senior Consultant, Unify Consulting

  • "Phillip created an atmosphere of acceptance and visibility. He guided product management towards visibility with developing a roadmap and direction. He created a lot of color in the room with visibility of our work and team dynamics. Phil worked with leadership to focus the teams time on the most important work and improve our delivery patterns."

    Poonam Thawani, Principal Group Engineering Manager, Microsoft

  • "Phillip came into Starbucks at the start of a large transformational change. We were building a new team in Starbucks Technology as the vanguard in adopting a product-focused technology culture while building new customer-facing solutions. He was a part of my leadership team focusing on the human system - the people and the organizational structures they operate in - we were changing. Phil quickly developed strong relationships across the team allowing him to develop strong coaching relationships with key people in the Product, Engineering and Program teams. With all new teams, we experienced bumps in the road, however Phil's presence and coaching helped to reduce the impacts of challenges we encountered and accelerated the timeframe we were able to work through them. I've long been an advocate of a coach/leader role when pursuing transformational change goals. In my experience with Phil, he understands what that role looks like and how it should operate within the broader organizational dynamic."

    Tim Mooney, VP, Starbucks Technology

  • "Phillip has been a powerful mentor to me, both as a client of his, and later, as a co-worker. I have always valued our deep conversations - they make my mind consider other possibilities I would not have done so on my own. More recently, he has provided me with not only valuable career guidance, but also life guidance. I hope to work with him again some day."

    Tom Westervelt, Sr. Consultant, Accenture

  • "2019 was the most challenging year of my life. It was also the year I grew the most as a leader. The year brought immense personal challenges while I was simultaneously navigating rapid growth at OfferZen. On top of scaling the company, I realized I needed to make some tough decisions, including replacing several leaders on our team. Before I knew it, I had 19 direct reports and was juggling 12-16 hour workdays while trying to stay present amidst everything happening in my personal life. At times, it felt completely impossible. Amidst the chaos, I made a decision that changed everything: I invested in a leadership coach, Phillip Cave. Our sessions were a mix of tackling urgent challenges, exploring mental models, and diving into deep introspection. Through this process, I got to know myself better, built stronger relationships with my team, clarified my core values, and ultimately became a much more effective and authentic leader. I know coaching can feel expensive and even uncomfortable at times, but it’s one of the most impactful ways to level up as a leader."

    Philip Joubert, Co-Founder, OfferZen

  • "I wanted to thank you for leading an incredible session! The insight it brought was so meaningful. It was fun seeing how often the team called out someone’s number as a reminder for things (they’ll say “yes” when it should be “no” or I’ll point out the possible dangers ahead). You were the star of the company meeting for me, so thank you!"

    Jennifer Van Mater, Director, TAG Financial Services

How I Partner With You

Personal Leadership

Unlock clarity and purpose to lead yourself—and others—with greater fulfillment and impact.

  • Deepen self-awareness to identify and leverage your unique patterns and strengths.

  • Approach challenges with curiosity, compassion, and confidence.

  • Align your values with your actions to lead authentically and intentionally.

Collective Leadership

Achieve aligned results while fostering meaningful relationships through resiliency, adaptability, and a shared sense of purpose.

  • Align your team around a clear vision that integrates relationships and results.

  • Cultivate adaptability and trust to thrive in complexity.

  • Drive sustainable growth by honoring people and achieving results in harmony.

Team Harmony

Create a culture where collaboration thrives, trust deepens, and results flow naturally with purpose and passion.

  • Build mutual respect by strengthening alignment and communication.

  • Foster trust and psychological safety to unlock high performance.

  • Elevate collaboration by deeply connecting people to purpose.

Why This Might Be Exactly What You Need

If you’re tired of leadership advice that feels like it came out of a corporate vending machine, this might just hit differently. My approach is grounded in real experience, practical insight, and a touch of wonder to keep it all human.

Rediscovering Wholeness:
You’re already whole. My work helps you peel back all the layers—those roles, expectations, and habits that got slapped on you by life—so you can reconnect with your natural way of being and leading. Turns out, you don’t need fixing; you just need to subtract the noise.

Integrated Wisdom:
Through things like the Enneagram, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and the Leadership Circle Profile (fancy names, but they work), I help you uncover the patterns driving your thoughts, feelings, and actions. The goal? To help you use those patterns for good—like a superhero figuring out how their powers work, but without the spandex.

Lived Experience, Pragmatic Insight:
I’ve been in the trenches—literally, as a veteran, and figuratively, leading teams through chaos, confusion, and the occasional existential crisis. I’ve learned what works (and what’s just corporate fluff), and I bring that street-level wisdom to the table—along with a systems thinker’s brain and a sense of humor. Think of it as leadership coaching that gets real, fast.

Balancing Humanity and Results:
Leadership is like walking a tightrope between relationships and results. My job is to hand you the balancing pole (so to speak) so you can create authentic connections, deliver meaningful outcomes, and stop feeling like you’re one email away from losing it all.

Practical Insight for Lasting Change:
True transformation isn’t about doing more—it’s about seeing more clearly. Together, we’ll create the space to ditch what’s not working, focus on what is, and grow in a way that feels light, meaningful, and just a little bit badass.

Contact Me

Interested in exploring more?