Leadership is Hard. Pretending it Isn't is Exhausting.
Right now, your team doesn't need more rah-rah. They need a leader who can stand in uncertainty without falling apart. I help executives build that capacity.
Meet Marc A. Pitman
Hi, I’m Marc A. Pitman
I’ve been coaching leaders for over 25 years — through the dot-com bust, the aftermath of 9/11, the 2008 crash, and COVID-19. Not from the sidelines. In real time, with real leaders making real decisions under real pressure.
What I’ve learned: the leaders who make it through aren’t the ones who pretend to have all the answers. They’re the ones who’ve done enough internal work to be honest about what they don’t know.
Most leadership coaching is aspirational. It assumes you just need better systems or stronger habits. But when your industry is disrupting, your board is panicking, or you’re managing a team that’s burned out, systems aren’t enough.
You need someone who’s seen leaders navigate this before. Someone who won’t give you toxic positivity when what you need is a clear-eyed assessment of what’s actually happening.
The Surprising Gift of Doubt
Use uncertainty to become the exceptional leader you are meant to be.
Leadership is hard. Doubt is normal. In fact, doubt can be a gift — when you know how to work with it.
This is the book I wrote after 25 years of coaching executives through crisis. It’s the Quadrant 3 Leadership framework in your hands.
Marc utilizes stories, research, and tools to help us take our leadership to the next level. He challenges leaders to engage in self-reflection to learn more about the stories we believe and the ways in which our life impacts our leadership style.
Marc is an AMAZING guy! The depth of his knowledge, humbleness, quirky humor, being present and personable will keep you coming back for more.
Not only was Marc an engaging presenter and a highlight of our event, he was so very easy to work with through all the planning stages. It made my role so much easier – and what more can you ask from your keynote? I’d work with Marc again in a heartbeat and hope I get to do so sooner rather than later.
I have benefitted from Marc's training and it helped me to recognize what style of leadership works best for me. If we can find what quadrant works best for us, it can transform us and our organizations' work. It did for me and my organization.
Marc's enthusiasm, inspiration and expert insight has motivated me to take on new life challenges and projects. I have appreciated his ability to ask the right questions and to provide thoughtful guidance on some of the toughest issues I have faced.
Work With Marc
Speaker & Emcee
Keynotes, trainings, and emcee engagements that send people back to work with tools they'll actually use.
Leadership Coaching & Advising
For CEOs, executives, and organizational leaders who want a thinking partner — not a cheerleader.
Nonprofit Fundraising
Coaching and training for nonprofit professionals who need to raise money without feeling like they're begging. Plus capital campaign coaching.
About MARC
Marc A. Pitman, CSP, is the founder of Concord Leadership Group, where he has coached more than 130 CEOs, C-suite executives, directors, and owners — through the dot-com bust, the aftermath of 9/11, the 2008 recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also the founder of FundraisingCoach.com, one of the longest-running blogs in the nonprofit sector, hailed by The Atlantic as “1 of 5 philanthropic blogs fundraisers need to read.” Marc has trained and inspired over 27,000 leaders across North America, Europe, Mexico, and New Zealand, and in the last few years has certified an additional 45 Quadrant 3 Leadership Coaches, who have gone on to coach and train more than 45,290 leaders in corporations, government, associations, and nonprofits. His practical, energizing style has made him a go-to resource for CEOs navigating organizational growth, boards who want fundraising to feel less like begging, and leaders at every stage who need a thinking partner, not a cheerleader.
He is a Certified Speaking Professional of the National Speakers Association, a Certified Franklin Covey Coach, and past-president of the South Carolina chapter of the International Coaching Federation. His expertise has been featured in Success magazine, Real Simple, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and on NBC, Fox News, and Al Jazeera. Marc is the author of Ask Without Fear!®, translated into Dutch, Polish, Spanish, and Mandarin, and The Surprising Gift of Doubt, which helps leaders harness uncertainty as a tool for growth. He serves as Executive Director of The Nonprofit Academy, offering affordable CFRE-accredited training to nonprofit professionals worldwide.
Known by many as the “Johnny Appleseed of fundraising,” Marc lives in South Carolina with his wife and is the proud dad of three grown kids. A craft beer enthusiast, he can often be found experimenting with brewing his own creations.