Transforming Leaders & Forging Excellence

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About Vanguard XXI

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From the President

Dr. Anthony Randall

Welcome to Vanguard XXI!


My passionate calling in life is to transform and forge leaders of excellence with passion, purpose, and precision. Thank you for investing a few minutes of your time to explore how the Vanguard XXI Team may provide you and your team with world class leadership development and coaching.

We are life long practitioners of leadership excellence. We seek to draw out potential and improve performance in leaders and organizations through character development, cultural alignment, and cultivating high performance climates.  We specialize in teaching, training, and coaching leaders to know who they are as trusted leaders of character, how to think morally, ethically, and critically, and how to lead with emotional intelligence.   


Vanguard XXI will dynamically transform you and your team of influential leaders to practice excellence personally and professionally aligning your passion, purpose, and precision. 


We look forward to meeting you and serving your team.


Transforming Leaders. Forging Excellence. Winning.

- Anthony


Vanguard XXI by the Numbers

17,000


Leaders taught, trained, and coached through Vanguard XXI's proprietary Transformational Moral Leadership curriculum and Vanguard Way coaching model approved by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

20+


Fortune 100, 500, Small & Medium size businesses, professional and college sports teams, local and federal law enforcement, and universities who trust Vanguard XXI with leadership development and executive coaching for their leaders and teams. 

12


Vanguard Teammates each with over 25 years of corporate, military, non-profit, and higher education leadership development and coaching experience.  Our coaches are ICF MCC, PCC, and ACC credentialed coaches with over 10,000 collective coaching client hours.  We have served and worked in some of the most high performance executive C-Suite, military special operations, and professional sports teams in the world.

During my graduate program at an Ivy League university, I took two coaching courses. Neither held a candle to this course. By far the best instruction and learning experience I have had in continuing to develop my passion for developing and coaching leaders.

Jeff Paine - Executive Program Manager at Silverthread, Inc.

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NOW AVAILABLE!

EXCITING NEWS!  Practicing Excellence recently won the International Impact Book Award winner for Social Change. It is also a Top #4 Amazon Best Seller.

PRACTICING EXCELLENCE: RESTORING CIVILITY, FAITH & TRUSTED LEADERSHIP IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE

In this book, Dr. Randall calls for decisive action to teach and empower leaders of strong moral character to serve as trusted professionals in their communities, marketplaces, and the public square. By doing so, he aims to restore civility, faith, and trusted leadership by fostering a growth mindset, cultivating moral and ethical decision-making, and promoting emotionally intelligent leadership that enhances human flourishing.

Practicing Excellence calls on readers to take action and reflect deeply on the principles shared through personal stories, historical lessons, research, and practical advice, then actively implement these insights to lead a more excellent life. 
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Schedule an introductory call to explore enrolling as a coaching client, or in one of our professional development courses.

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Blog Posts

By Phil McKinney August 11, 2025
Imagine being told that character isn’t something you’re taught once—like a formula in a textbook—but something you embody through consistent, deliberate action. In today’s fast-moving world, where soft skills and values are more critical than ever, our attention should turn toward what really shapes who we are—and who we can become. It’s not theories or lectures that build character—it’s the daily, deliberate repetitions that do. 1. The Fallacy of “Teaching” Character As leaders, we need to challenge the conventional notion that character is delivered through instruction alone. Character is shaped in the doing—the habits and practices we repeat when no one is looking. Real growth happens in the mundane, the moment-to-moment grind of getting things right—even when it’s hard or seemingly insignificant. 2. Practice → Permanent: The Power of Repetition “Practice makes permanent” reframes the old adage “practice makes perfect.” What we repeat becomes our default. Every handshake, every deadline met, every act of integrity reinforces who we are becoming—not in an instant, but over time. This aligns with current neuroscience about neuroplasticity—our brains literally wire themselves to repeat the patterns we practice habitually. This insight underscores that our ethical wiring is no different. 3. Shifting Mindsets: From Knowledge to Habits What if character development programs focused less on imparting wisdom and more on cultivating habits—rituals of honesty, respect, and resilience? We should shift from teaching principles alone to engineering micro-practices—tiny, consistent actions that eventually become part of our identity. For leaders and organizations, that’s gold. We should work to integrate values into our daily routines. Think pre-meeting rituals, feedback loops that reinforce trust, or recognition rituals that reward quiet integrity. 4. The Role of Accountability and Consistency Training for character isn’t a one-off—it’s a continual process. As leaders, we should emphasize the importance of structures: peers, mentors, trackers, and accountability systems that help sustain daily practice, especially when motivation dips. 5. Application: How to Train (Not Teach) Character Identify the micro-habits you want to instill—whether it’s speaking up with empathy, doing what you said you’d do, or pausing before reacting. Design rituals or prompts—lane-change reminders in Slack, morning reflection questions, or quick check-ins with peers. Track and reflect , not for criticism, but to reinforce self-awareness and celebrate consistency. Anchor practices to existing routines—like a moment of pause before dinner to intentionally reflect on how you showed up that day.  Conclusion We must reframe character development as active training, not passive instruction. It calls us to examine our daily actions, our routines, and the invisible patterns that define us. It’s a powerful reminder: if you want to lead with integrity, compassion, and resilience, start by practicing those traits—relentlessly and deliberately. Next Steps Do you or your organization need help with this? At Vanguard XXI, our “training” is more about practice than talk. Using intentional activities and experiential adult learning methods, we help individuals and organizations move beyond the information dump to practicing the habits of character we wish to model. Check out how we can help at vanguardxxi.com/services.
By Phil McKinney August 4, 2025
Why Leaders Who Don’t Get Coached Get Left Behind
By Phil McKinney July 14, 2025
Leadership is often defined by the decisions you make, the strategies you set, and the people you influence. But here’s a truth many leaders quietly carry: The higher you rise, the harder it becomes to find space for your own growth. Yet, one powerful, focused coaching conversation can shift your thinking, your strategy, and your leadership trajectory. The question is: Are you making space for it? Leadership Can Be Isolating You hold the vision. You solve the problems. You set the tone. And often, you’re expected to have the answers. But who do you get to process with? Who helps you explore what’s beneath the surface when you’re navigating complexity, doubt, or burnout? This is where coaching becomes more than a professional development tool. It has become an essential leadership practice. Coaching Isn’t for the “Fix” – It’s for the Future Coaching isn’t about correcting weaknesses. It’s about creating intentional space for reflection, clarity, and aligned action. For leaders, coaching can help: Recenter on purpose and values Break through decision fatigue and mental clutter Navigate relationships and influence more skillfully Stretch from operational to strategic thinking Avoid blind spots and reactive leadership Often, the insight that changes everything comes not from a book, a keynote, or a training—but from a coaching conversation where you are fully heard, challenged, and supported. Are You Making Space for Your Conversation? Leaders are quick to create space for others: team check-ins, one-on-ones, performance reviews. But too often, they delay or downplay their own development. Coaching requires just a few things: Time blocked for you A safe space without judgment or agenda A coach who listens deeply and challenges you gently A commitment to growth, not perfection This isn’t a luxury. It’s leadership hygiene. The Best Leaders Don’t Go It Alone Behind every great leader is a space where they aren’t leading. They’re reflecting. They’re stretching. They’re being coached. Because even the strongest leaders need a mirror. Even the most visionary thinkers need space to think. Even the most decisive decision-makers need clarity. One conversation can shift your trajectory. Are you making space for it?
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