Who leads it
What it’s like to work with me
I’m Mike Lee. I coach leaders one at a time, in a room small enough that the true thing can be said out loud.
Most people find this page at a turning point, and those moments are easier when you don’t face them alone. For 25 years I’ve seen that people do their best work when they’re working from who they really are, alongside people who see it. Find the path that sounds like you, and when you’re ready, I’d love to hear your story.
~ Mike Lee (Oct 26, 2026)
I ask before I advise. I’m wired to investigate. Expect more questions than you’re used to, and fewer fast answers. I want the history, the context, and the part you left out the first time. If you want a five-step plan by the end of session one, I’m the wrong coach.
I’ll give you the nuanced read. Most leadership problems aren’t simple, and I won’t pretend yours is. I’ll tell you what I see, including the part that’s harder to hear, and then we’ll work out what to do about it.
I look around the corner. I spent 25 years hiring leaders and running talent teams, at startups, at a major retailer, and inside a venture studio. I watched what happened after the hire: who thrived, who got run over, and which leaders kept repeating the same pattern with new people. I coach now because the fix is rarely a new hire. It’s usually upstream, with the leader.
I start with how you’re built. I use the Kolbe A Index to understand how you take action when you’re free to be yourself. Good leadership doesn’t come from copying someone else’s style. It comes from knowing your own instincts and leading from them.
You stay you. I’m not trying to sand you down into a generic executive. I want people to be seen, known, and unapologetically themselves. That’s the point of the work.
Who this fits, and who it doesn’t
Who this fits. Leaders who want a thinking partner, not a cheerleader. People willing to look at their own part in the problem. Owners and executives facing a decision that deserves more than a quick take.
Who it doesn’t. Anyone looking for validation, a script, or a shortcut.
Background
- Founder, Peregrine Leadership and Instinct for Impact.
- 25 years in talent and leadership across startups, venture capital and the Fortune 25.
- Founding Director of Talent & People Ops at a venture studio inside Menlo Ventures.
- Head of Talent for four startups acquired by The Home Depot (QuoteCenter, BlackLocus, Askuity, TechShed).
- Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA).
- A Kolbe Certified Coach (Performance Specialist), qualified to administer and interpret the Kolbe A Index, A-to-A comparisons and team distribution work.
- Completing ACC credentialing with the International Coaching Federation through SeattleCoach.
- I practice under the ICF Code of Ethics.
- Based in Vancouver, Washington. I work in person or by video.
Track record
Reorganizing a management team
A technology organization of 250 people inside a major retailer. After a reorganization, I ran a Kolbe read of its 30-person management team. The team named its own risks: analysis paralysis, caution toward experimentation, and trouble moving from the abstract to the tangible. The work was used to reorganize the management team and to help the 6-person leadership team reorient itself to lead.
Getting a business ready to run without its founder
A founder-owned specialty sales organization. The question was whether the business could run without its founder. I helped the owner define his successor’s role and find the right leader to lead the company into the next chapter. The successor now runs more than 90 percent of the business, and the owner no longer manages daily operations.
“Working with Mike since the early stages of building the team … has been incredibly helpful. He’s helped strategize early team composition and the tools he brings to the table are priceless when your team is growing. Working with Mike has been a total pleasure, and I would definitely recommend it to other founders!”
Devin Bhushan, CEO & Founder (SquintAI)
Want to see if we’re a fit?
Thirty minutes. A straight conversation, not a pitch.
Tell me what is in front of you. I will tell you whether I can help and which of these fits. If I am the wrong person, I will say so.