About Grow Strong Leaders

Three Partners. One Enduring Commitment.

For more than three decades, we’ve helped organizations turn leadership principles into everyday behaviors.

Co-founder and CEO

Dennis "Denny" Coates, Ph.D.

The researcher and architect behind the learning.

Denny has devoted more than three decades to understanding how people learn, communicate, and turn effective behavior into habit. His work in brain science shapes GSL’s practical, practice-based approach to leadership development.

A West Point and Army Ranger School graduate, retired Army lieutenant colonel, and Duke Ph.D., Denny has served on the faculties of West Point, the Armed Forces Staff College, William & Mary, and the Center for Creative Leadership.

co-founder and president

Meredith Bell

The relationship builder and voice of the customer.

Meredith leads marketing and sales, bringing a teacher’s clarity and a genuine gift for building lasting relationships. She listens closely to what clients need and helps them see how GSL’s tools can support the leadership behaviors that matter most.

With a master’s degree in education from Virginia Tech, Meredith has spent her career helping organizations strengthen the people side of performance. Many GSL clients, resellers, and partners have chosen to work with her for more than 20 years.

co-founder and vice president

Paula Schlauch

The operations leader and support wizard.

Paula keeps the company—and its technology—working smoothly. She leads finance, administration, and customer support, combining careful systems thinking with the persistence to solve even the most complicated technical problem.

A graduate of William & Mary with more than 30 years of experience in banking and business management, Paula also brings her creative skills to GSL’s websites, videos, reports, and publishing projects.

A partnership built to last

Different Strengths.
Shared Values.

Meredith Bell, Denny Coates, and Paula Schlauch have worked together for more than 35 years. Each brings a different kind of expertise: relationships and teaching, research and content, technology and operations.

What holds the partnership together is just as important: mutual trust, respect, candor, and a shared belief that leadership development should create visible changes in how people work together.

what we believe

Values Matter Only When They Shape Behavior.

That belief guides everything we create. GSL 360 makes leadership behavior visible and measurable. SkillBuilder helps leaders practice the communication skills and character strengths that turn good intentions into reliable action.

SEE BUILD SUSTAIN

What clients can expect

Expert Tools. Personal Support.

We’ve never wanted Grow Strong Leaders to feel like a faceless software company. When you work with us, you get practical guidance, thoughtful customization, and responsive support from people who understand both the platform and the leadership work behind it.

Let’s talk

Ready to Put Principled Leadership into Practice?

Let’s discuss how Grow Strong Leaders can help your organization measure, develop, and sustain the leadership behaviors that matter most.

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