You carry what others can't see.
Execution, morale, and follow-through quietly run through you.
Coaching for COOs, Chiefs of Staff, VPs & Executive Directors
The world's strongest leaders never stand alone.
Backbone (noun): the unseen strength that holds an organization upright, and the leaders who provide it.
Behind every visionary leader stands the one who carries the weight: the second chair who turns vision into execution, absorbs the pressure, and keeps the whole organization upright. I help that leader lead with backbone.
7 principle scores · A radar profile · A measurable 90-day plan
Loyal to the vision, responsible for reality.
You translate big ideas into decisions people can act on.
Few people coach the second chair.
The top gets the spotlight. You get the responsibility.
Lead with a backbone.
Build the strength, clarity, and capacity the role demands.
The Seven Backbone Principles
Seven power principles. One complete backbone.
Each vertebra is a principle from the book. Select one to explore it, and the question it asks of your leadership right now.
Ways to Work Together
Choose where you need strength.
Five distinct engagements, each with a clear starting point.
The Backbone Assessment
For every second-chair leader
The free diagnostic that starts everything: seven scores, a report written to your role, and a measurable 90-day plan.
Start free →Executive Coaching
For COOs, Chiefs of Staff, VPs
Sharpen judgment, influence, and execution in the second-chair role. It begins with the Backbone Assessment and your Backbone Intensive, whose fee applies in full toward the engagement.
Start with the assessment →The Backbone of Leadership
For any leader who carries weight
The signature book behind the seven principles, the foundation everything else builds on.
See the book →We Is Greater Than Me
For leadership teams
With Eric Thomas, PhD and Carlas "CJ" Quinney Jr. Shift from individual grind to collective execution, build trust-based leadership, and leave a legacy that outlasts you.
Explore the program →Keynotes & Intensives
For events & organizations
Keynotes and leadership intensives that leave teams with clearer responsibility and stronger execution.
Invite to speak →
Meet L. David Harris
I coach the leader behind the leader.
For more than three decades, I've helped organizations strengthen the person who carries the weight behind the visionary: the COO, the Chief of Staff, the VP, the executive director, the ministry leader. My work equips them to carry responsibility with power, honor, and purpose.
I'm also the creator of Designed to Serve™, my foundational servant-leadership framework that has guided organizations for decades.
30+Years in leadership
AuthorThe Backbone of Leadership
CreatorDesigned to Serve™
The Signature Book
Leadership deserves a backbone.
The Backbone of Leadership equips mission-critical second-chair leaders to align teams, manage pressure, foster future leaders, and turn organizational vision into reality.
- Align your team's goals with the organization's mission.
- Manage crises with calm while maintaining momentum.
- Foster future leaders and a culture of continuous growth.
The world's strongest leaders never stand alone.
Speaking & Training
Talks that strengthen the leaders behind extraordinary organizations.
- Signature Keynote The world's strongest leaders never stand alone.
- Executive Session Leading with backbone from the second chair.
- Leadership Intensive The seven backbone principles, applied to your team.
- Ministry Training Carrying responsibility with power, honor, and purpose.
Start Here
Take the Backbone Assessment.
Seven scores. One clear picture of where your leadership is strong, where it needs support, and exactly what to do about it for the next quarter.
- Answer honestly about how you lead under pressure, in about 12–15 minutes.
- Get your Backbone profile, an overall index plus a score for each of the seven principles.
- Get your 30/60/90-day plan, a full quarter of concrete moves built from your lowest score and your role.
The Backbone Leadership Experience
A boardroom-grade leadership report.
Answer honestly and you'll get a multi-page report you can save as a PDF: your Backbone Leadership Index, a radar profile across all seven principles, an executive summary written to your role, deep-dive diagnostics on your strengths and priority, a measurable 30/60/90-day plan with metrics and milestones, a weekly scorecard, and a development curriculum sequenced by impact.
Launch the Assessment →About 12–15 minutes · Instant on-screen results · No cost