higher echelon — Podcast — Intentional Leader

Today, I'm super pumped to bring you an interview I did with the first person to ever introduce me to the concept of high performance at West Point, Dr. Joe Ross (Retired, US Army). Joe has a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Walden University and a Masters of Education in Psychology and Athletic Counseling from Springfield College.

Today, I’m super pumped to bring you an interview I did with the first person to ever introduce me to the concept of high performance at West Point, Dr. Joe Ross (Retired, US Army). Joe has a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Walden University and a Masters of Education in Psychology and Athletic Counseling from Springfield College.

Dr. Ross is also a 1995 West Point graduate, where he was a three-year letter winner and co-captain of the 1994 Army Football team. As an Infantry Officer, Joe led 144 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division and deployed to Kosovo in 2001. The Secretary of the Army commended Joe’s unit for capturing two insurgents on the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) top ten most wanted list and bringing the Serbian and Albanian leadership together to start a dialogue of reconciliation. Joe also managed all logistics for over 1,000 personnel, directed human resources for over 4,000 personnel, and helped write the Soldier’s Creed.

In 2009, Joe joined the Army Football coaching staff as the Special Teams and Fullback Coach, where he helped lead Army Football to the 2010 Armed Forces Bowl victory. At West Point, Joe also served as the Director of the Military Enhancement Program and was asked to collaborate on a Presidential committee to review and design procedures for wounded warriors in transition.

Joe is now the President and Co-Founder of HigherEchelon, Inc., an Organizational Performance consulting firm with offerings in leadership, technology, and engineering to both public and private sector clients. Joe has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, college and professional sports teams, top tier Universities, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Defense. Joe led the creation of Higher Echelon’s flagship program, The Resilient and Adaptable Leader ©.

Dr. Ross and HigherEchelon’s success leading government and commercial programs has been recognized numerous times by industry. In 2019, HigherEchelon was named Contractor of the Year at the Madison County Small Business Awards and won the Program of the Year award at the D.C. GovCon award ceremony for their work piloting the VA Women’s Health Program, which was recently expanded by Congress.

Since 2012, Joe has also been the lead consultant for Army Game Studio in developing GoArmy Edge, a free software application adapted to help football athletes learn their team’s playbooks, make proper reads and play calls, and mentally practice their assignments in a virtual environment before taking the field. GoArmy Edge takes virtual coaching, simulation and training to a new level through unprecedented detail and customization, helping improve football team performance through more effective and safer player practice capabilities.

Additionally, Dr. Ross leads numerous government programs including the General and Flag Officer Transition courses for the Army and Navy, and a cognitive training pilot for the TSA.

On this interview, we discuss Joe’s influences growing up, his tips for high performance, having a mental edge, his keys to leadership, leading through change, transition advice he gives to military generals and flag officers, and many other exciting topics.

You can follow, or connect with, Joe on LinkedIn here.

Find out more about HigherEchelon at their website or on LinkedIn.

Below are books Joe recommended during the interview related to high performance and leadership (note: these are Amazon affiliate links so I receive a small percentage for each purchase made through these links):