Executive Coaching

Executive coaching focuses on the goals and priorities of both the executive and the institution. It is leader-driven and action-oriented.

Executive coaching is designed in a way that benefits both the leader and the institution. Therefore, Academic Search believes executive coaching should be approached from a systems perspective and in the context in which the leader is leading.

We believe that leadership is learned through ongoing practice, reflection, action and assessment. Thus, leadership always occurs in a particular context, leads to action, and has an impact to be evaluated.

Leading colleges and universities today is both noble and daunting work. We created our Executive Coaching Practice based on this philosophy so that presidents and senior leaders have professional and qualified leadership companions and guides on the leadership journey. We are committed to the effectiveness, sustainability and well-being of new and incumbent presidents and senior leaders. We believe that both the interiority of leaders and the exterior demands of institutional leadership are complementary.

LEADER-FIRST APPROACH

Executive Assessment

Executive Coaching

Executive Transition

Executive Team

ACADEMIC SEARCH ADVANTAGE

What distinguishes our Executive Coaching Practice is that all of our executive coaches:

Are seasoned higher education executives who have faced the gifts and tasks of institutional leadership;
Are trained executive coaches through either Academic Search’s unique and rigorous executive coach training program, an International Coach Federation approved coaching program, or both;
Adhere to the Professional Code of Ethics of the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching; and
Rely on the best available executive coaching research and practices of the Institute of Coaching affiliated with Harvard University.

A man in a suit holding floating wooden steps with a wood person silhouette walking.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

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Jack R. Ohle

Senior Executive Coach and Of Counsel
Jack.Ohle@academicsearch.org

Mr. Jack R. Ohle wasn’t always certain about which career he wanted to pursue, but he always knew that education would be crucial. With the support of his father, a lifelong Ohio steel mill worker who didn’t have the option of receiving a formal education, Mr. Ohle went into academia. Additionally, his father taught him the importance of giving back, helping others succeed, and learning people’s stories. With those principles guiding him, Mr. Ohle spent more than 40 years as a college president, executive coach, theologist, and chairman.

Mr. Ohle joined Academic Search as a Senior Consultant, combining his higher education experience with his father’s invaluable lessons. He recently transitioned to the role of Executive Coach.

In his search work, Mr. Ohle familiarized himself with the institution’s culture and studied the vacant position intently before working to assemble candidate pools filled with exceptional applicants. Mr. Ohle’s genuine interest in a person’s experiences and aspirations allowed him to find highly qualified candidates with the right intangible qualities that would make them excellent hires.

When Mr. Ohle entered higher education administration as the Alumni Director and Director of the Annual Fund at Ohio Northern University, he knew he’d found his calling. Other administrators quickly recognized his innate leadership skills, and it didn’t take long for him to become a rising star that other institutions heavily recruited.

Mr. Ohle held two vice president positions, first as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Nebraska Wesleyan University and then as Vice President and Secretary of the University at Drake University, for a combined 22 years. These positions gave him vital experience in university governance that continues to provide valuable insight in his work as a senior consultant.

For the last 16 years of his career, Mr. Ohle was president of two Evangelical Lutheran Church in America colleges before he retired in 2015—Wartburg College in Minnesota and Gustavas Adolphus College in Iowa. At both schools, Mr. Ohle was instrumental in strategic planning and building a culture of philanthropy through fundraising. By the time he closed out his executive-level work, he’d led fundraising programs that collected more than $650 million.

Additionally, Mr. Ohle has held committee and chair positions with the Council of Presidents of the ELCA, the Lutheran Educational Conference of North America, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education board, the NCAA Division III Presidents Council, and the Executive Committee of the NCAA.

Mr. Ohle received his bachelor’s degree from Ohio Northern University and master’s in Higher Education Administration from Bowling Green State University. He did additional graduate work at Hamma School of Theology in Springfield, Ohio, and holds honorary degrees from Wartburg Theological Seminary and his undergraduate alma mater, ONU.

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