In June of 2020, I transitioned out of the military after spending 11 years active duty and 4 years at West Point. During my transition I sought out the advice and mentorship from friends who connected me with the COMMIT Foundation and Court Whitman. I think all veterans struggle to navigate the transition process to varying degree as you’re forced to rather quickly complete a myriad of “No Fail” tasks that can include any of the following and more: Out-process from your unit, out-process from the Army, create a resume, search for a job, support your family, conduct an internship, apply for school, finalize any last medical appointments and begin to research the complex health care system (compared to Tricare). The above list is daunting and it doesn’t even take into account the varying degrees to which macro events such as the current divisive political atmosphere, increasing racial tension and the current pandemic have had on those of us that are going through an already stress inducing process. As a Coach, Court Whitman helped me in numerous ways but the two biggest break throughs that I achieved with his help are below. 1. Helping me to create a framework that I could use to make a decisions regarding what path I wanted to follow after separating from the military. (Amongst the seemingly infinite employment opportunities in the world the military was all I had ever known. As such I had grown accustomed to not having as much input into the Who, What, Where, When and Why compared to someone who hasn’t served in the military for their entire adult career. Court was pivotal in helping me to achieve a paradigm shift that helped guide me to the path that I’m on right now. (I decided to go back to school, get my MBA and ultimately try my luck as an entrepreneur.) 2. Court coached me through on-line learning modules called Pursue Your Purpose (PYP) that the Commit Foundation uses to facilitate learning. These modules walked me through a linear process that allowed me to identify values that are important to me, combine them with unique experiences that I’ve had in my 11 year military career and craft a narrative that was honest, interesting and compelling. That narrative was the basis for my application to the Wharton MBA Program which I believe contributed heavily to my acceptance into the school. I’m thankful to Court for the time and energy that he invested into me during a stressful period of my life. The path that I’m on now, as well as all of my contingency plans, were heavily influenced by the conversations, lessons, tutelage and candid feedback that Court provided. I’ve never used a coach before and didn’t know what to expect but I’m happy I made the decision and would recommend Court to any of my peers, friends and co-workers who are retiring or separating in the future.
Court’s professionalism, ability to rapidly digest information, provide effective feedback, and his passion, have made for an amazing coaching experience. Working in the military for 23 years, I have mentored and developed, but have never been personally coached. Court immediately build rapport and understanding, and was able to provide me candid and valuable feedback from the first session. He was able to stretch my thought process and drove me to understand myself, and what I truly valued. From our coaching sessions I have gained so much insight and have already applied the practical lessons learned ,which has not only expanded a network of professionals but focused my passion for careers following the military. I would highly recommend Court for a coach in any setting. Whether its post military transition or just further developing yourself, the experience will drastically improve your performance and mind set.
Court’s coaching was immeasurably valuable to me during my transition out of the military. He helped me arrest circular thinking and face challenging realities with confidence. Court is a consummate professional who possesses contagious passion and unrivaled enthusiasm. For all who are navigating a transition or striving to achieve a higher level of performance, I can’t imagine a better resource than Court.
I think the most profound self-awareness area that I was surprised about was I perhaps resenting being in the shadows in my previous jobs. I realized I wanted to take pride or credit as the front leader or the decision maker. I want to be a senior executive. Court’s coaching and the assessments help provide this keen insight into what I really wanted in my next job.. Court also was very good at accountability and control measures. For example, at every session, he would go over the objectives of the session driven by my needs. At the end, we would recap and think through the next topic area. He would also follow-up with feedback or provide his analysis on my strengths and weaknesses. Very insightful.
Court is an expert coach and humble servant leader who is committed to helping his clients accomplish their goals and perform at a high level. Court was my executive coach during my transition to the civilian sector after my 20 year Army career. He helped me navigate this journey by finding my passion and purpose while making critical decisions that aligned with my values and goals. He challenged my assumptions and told me what I needed to hear vice what I wanted to hear. He was organized and thoughtful and made the very most out of ever session together. I can’t say enough enough how much I grew personally and professionally during our time working together that will certainly be long lasting and effective over time. As a result, I am well on my way towards careers in collegiate and professional athletics and management consulting. More importantly, Court modeled how I want to coach and engage my clients on a deep and personal level. I highly recommend him to help make you and your team better at what they do.
Court is an amazing Executive Coach. He exhibits the skills necessary to inspire, engage, and connect with his clients. He is an excellent listener and manages his ability to provide feedback and assistance very well.
I have had the honor of knowing and working with Court Whitman for ten years in both the government and private sectors. His ability to create and lead successful teams in the Special Operations community is matched by his skill adapting to new environments and diverse audiences in his coaching and human resources role. He is a key part of building and sustaining the right culture for a high-performance organization. I always knew that we could trust Court to lead or support the most sensitive and important missions at hand, while taking unequaled measures to care for and lead the team members around him. I would take Court back on my team any day.
Court Whitman was instrumental in helping me shape my thinking as I transition out of the Army following ten years of service. I connected with Court through the COMMIT Foundation, and before we connected, I struggled to find my new identity and purpose post-transition. For a period of almost 12 months, Court took the time to learn about my personal and professional life and translated my experiences into a custom-tailored blueprint for my future. Together, Court helped me discover my true passions and helped me realize which values were truly important to me. Before connecting with Court, I felt overwhelmed and worried I was going to make a terrible career decision once I left active duty. I no longer have these fears, and I look forward to what comes after the Army!
Court’s incredible character and genuine interest in helping people was very evident throughout our coaching session. I have gained tremendous headway as I navigate towards transitioning out of active military service. Court is extremely approachable and humbled (given his impressive military background). He helped me discover answers to questions about myself as I begin to step off to a new career. I highly recommend Court’s coaching services. He will provide much needed perspective to help ease the stress while enduring major life changes. Thank you again Court for serving and for continuing to serve those that serve!
I am so honored to have had the privilege of working with Court. A consummate professional, deeply passionate about what he does, Court gives the cheat codes to living a fulfilling life. He does this by creating an environment to uncover and look introspectively at your strengths, values and goals, and then create and align a “compass” to guide your life decisions. His impact was truly transformative for me both personally and professionally as I transitioned out of the Marine Corps. A must schedule for anyone at a transition point in life, or in need inspiration and education.
Court is a great listener, asks questions that are thoughtful and probing and always connected the conversation to a tangible point of action. With Court’s guidance, he helped peel back layers that targeted real issues that hindered real progress. At the conclusion of each session, not only had we addressed a nagging issue, but had developed a plan of action to address it. The coaching sessions helped reveal some subtle blind spots, that once exposed, provided fertile ground for personal growth. This is my first experience receiving one on one “coaching” and in my opinion, Court went above and beyond in his flexibility, punctuality, passion to help and desire for productive change. If I didn’t know, I would’ve assumed Court had been coaching clients for 15+ years.
I’ve felt more focused and disciplined since working with Court. I find myself continually evaluating my two main areas of weakness – lack of discipline and procrastination – and therefore positively impacting my productivity.
Learned different ways to structure my day/week. Really was able to talk through some ideas/struggles/ and move to an action plan for several areas of my life including time with my family and job/professional related. Court’s ability to bring different viewpoints, questions, and thoughts helped me learn a lot about myself. I think his curiosity has helped him have a great understanding of different tools/frameworks that makes it much more personable. This was my first coaching experience and the bar was set very high for any follow on. I could not have been more impressed with his professionalism and ability to create coaching sessions with empathy and understanding.
I was stricken by Court’s gentle leadership style. He was humble and deferential always, yet still found a way to inject his confidence and knowledge into the conversation while making me feel like those were my own. I’ve never spoken to someone in that way, so it made me uncomfortable at first, but I quickly learned to appreciate it and hope to emulate that style for situations where it is appropriate in my life.
My lucky break came when the COMMIT Foundation paired me up with Court Whitman to coach me through one of the most stressful periods of transition I have encountered: Military Retirement! And despite numerous exposures to mentorship and leadership courses, being professionally coached led to an entirely different and transformative experience. Literally all over the place in terms of where I needed and wanted to go, Court patiently guided my thoughts and attention to focus inwardly, and intently, towards my core values and strengths before embarking on weightier decisions. Court’s ability to actively listen, nudge, and inspire action is nothing less than extraordinary. And being the quiet and humble professional Court embodies, he would likely say that this growth was largely of my own making, but I beg to differ. Court was my catalyst to gaining confidence, clarity, and a sense of purpose for that impending second act in life!
Excellent executive coach. Court was extremely helpful in helping me focus and prepare for my second career after 27 years of naval service. His insights were spot on — much appreciated.
Court Whitman extracted more out of me than I knew I had – he is absolutely amazing! We were connected through the COMMIT Foundation, and I could not be more pleased with the results. Court coached me for about 8 months, and he changed my perspective on almost all aspects of life. Through his extraordinary listening skills, he helped me to organize my thoughts, identify my specific core values, and taught me how to take action what was most important to me. Court is one of the most selfless individuals I’ve ever met and genuinely cares about other people and their success. He is more than capable of you to the next level of performance. I would recommend Court’s coaching to anyone.
I wanted to provide testimony to Court’s ability to inspire transitioning service members. I am a recent recipient of his coaching and know I would not be where I am at without his devotion. He understood, communicated and selflessly dedicated himself to my transition personally. He took time to get to know me as a person and understand my desires and then masterly crafted a personal plan just for me. I can’t thank him enough and highly endorse and recommend him to anyone that needs a push or inspiration.
Not to sound cliche, but words seriously can’t describe how grateful I am to Court for his guidance during my transition from the military and into the civilian workforce. It is my opinion that while serving in the military rarely does one encounter a scenario where they didn’t receive direct training or at least complete a CBT on how to navigate a given scenario. That is not the case once you transition out of the service. Sure, there is the TAPs class to teach us how to set up our resumes or where to go to the VA and typically we know a few of folks that have made the transition before us that we can reach out to; but rarely do we have someone who can prepare us, individually, to learn how to leverage our own personal attributes, strengths, and weaknesses and discover how to forge them into a weapons system that will almost guarantee success. We all have accomplished incredible feats during our careers, been a part of operations that have had global impacts, received advanced training in this area or that, and I would venture to say most of us have our own set of internal core values and not just the ones issued to us when we swore the oath. Court asked me to look inward and focus on myself, he has a system that helped me capitalize on those experiences and values in order to leverage them for employment as I transitioned into the workplace. I can proudly say today that I have an incredible job at an incredible organization. Had I went with my first choice I can’t promise that I would have been fulfilled personally; but as Court taught me, there are three kinds of work: a job, a career, and a calling… Court, Thank You for helping me learn and leverage my leadership styles and qualities and most importantly, for helping me find my calling. I cannot endorse Court strongly enough… like I have told everyone who has asked about my success … just have one conversation with Court, you can thank me latter.
Court was an invaluable asset in my transition from the military; his positivity and drive are infectious. His coaching and guidance helped me to highlight my strengths, focus on my values and determine my ideal civilian career. I will undoubtedly leverage his teachings and mentorship in my future career. I would highly recommend Court to anyone in need of high performance coaching!
Court is an outstanding mentor. He’s been supportive, inspiring and provided great advice pertaining to my transition and finding my purpose. Court helped me realized my potential and provided relevant and valuable information that I had not previously considered. Additionally, His positivity and effectiveness in applying the power of coaching is certainly contagious!
Court is astonishingly professional, courteous, candid, deeply caring, and impressively tuned in to words and intent. Words mean something to him, and he uses them with intention, and deliberate skill. His listening skills are perhaps most impressive – he is quiet when necessary, articulates/reinforces what he’s just heard, and yet gently persistent to delve deeper when he detects some BS on the line. He was exceptionally well-prepared for every meeting, clearly communicated ahead/during/after, had tons of good material prepared, but was not personally married to using it, if he felt I needed something else. You could not ask for a more committed, caring person to coach you through a transition.
As I began my transition from military service, I was extremely fortunate to have been paired with Court Whitman as my executive coach through the COMMIT Foundation. Throughout our time together, Court proved to be both an incredible coach and mentor. His passion for identifying and cultivating the potential of others was evident in every session we conducted. Court helped guide me through identifying my purpose, while also challenging me to re-assess my assumptions and view my ideas from different perspectives. Court’s value driven approach helped me find not just my next job after leaving the military, but my future calling, all while reminding me to enjoy the journey. If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with him, you will gain an incredible coach, mentor, and life-long friend. I highly recommend Court as an executive coach to anyone seeking to transition out of the military or beginning a career switch.
I recently had the amazing experience working with Court Whitman as a Coach in my transition from military to civilian life. The entire experience with Court was a blessing in my life. He is a powerful motivator and allowed me to discover the great qualities and skills I have and better communicate them to the civilian world. He helped me define my core values of teamwork, ingenuity and positivity and guided me to develop SHARE stories to highlight each of them. Court shared some powerful personal examples and made me feel comfortable in being open with him in our pursuit of defining my goals and ambitions. He was flexible when I needed to change a time for our meeting and always displayed enthusiasm and genuine concern of me and my family’s transition from the military. I am eternally grateful to Court for the care guidance during my transition from military life to the corporate workforce . THANK YOU!!
His coaching skills were a large part of building my confidence as I transition from military life. His combined skills of active listening, insight, practical experience and creative inquiries are key areas that I observed which makes him a superb coach. Though there were some similarities but many differences in our experience, his feedback and guidance were practical, executable, and relevant to improving and teaching me skills to demonstrate my value to prospective employers and network contacts. If you are looking for a coach to help you on your journey, I highly recommend considering Court Whitman.
After serving 25 years in the United States Army, I felt I would be more than ready to navigate the transition process into the private sector independent of outside help. I quickly found myself struggling to identify my personal values and brand. I needed someone who could coach me through the transition journey and Court Whitman was absolutely the perfect person for this. From day one, Court was extremely personable which made it very easy for me to open up. Court walked me through the Pursue Your Purpose program which enabled me to prioritize my personal values, understand what to look for in corporate cultural fit, and most importantly…how to project my personal and professional acumen in an interview setting. Having an executive coach that could relate to every aspect of my career and family life, could help me weigh the risks and rewards associated with a major career change, and was open to sharing his own challenges and success stories was precisely what cultivated my new found confidence and excitement for a post-military career in the private sector. Court Whitman is hands down the absolute best executive coach that I could have asked for. I highly recommend his services not only for those making a career change, but to those who need to rekindle your profession drive.
I was connected to Court Whitman through the COMMIT Foundation as I am transitioning out of the Marine Corps. This was my first true coaching experience outside of sports and I did not know what to expect. I discovered from the beginning that Court doesn’t just talk about high performance; he lives it! Court inspired me with his high level of emotional intelligence and willingness to bring 110% to our every engagement. I routinely sent him questions ahead of our scheduled calls and he devoted hours to write down his answers so that I could have these to reflect upon later. He was deliberate during our sessions by challenging me to define our focus and empowering me to provide the content. This freed me up to think outside the box while he steered the conversation. He did not shy away from asking hard questions and enabled me to discover new perspectives about myself. In short, my six sessions with Court were more valuable to navigating my transition than anything else! Court has had a true impact on my life in a very pivotal time. Thanks, Court!
Court is a great listener and brings a different perspective to all situations. He will challenge you.
I had the pleasure of working with Court during my transition from the military to the corporate world. His insight, advice, and perspective have been invaluable to me during this next phase of my professional life. Court is able to quickly diagnose any self-limiting approaches to challenges, subtly re-orient, and leave you wondering how you ended up there. While Court’s military achievements are quite impressive, you can tell that he has found his calling in helping others find their “why” and relentlessly pursue it. If that isn’t enough, he has coined the phrase “Stay Focused” which is a constant reminder to keep the end in mind.
I had the opportunity of working with Court through the Commit Foundation. His coaching ability, perspective and advice have positively impacted me during this transition to a new career. Court is able to facilitate intentional conversations through the use of inquiry and effective feedback. The result of working with Court was an increased self-awareness and confidence to apply my strengths. Court has truly found his calling in providing professional coaching.
Court provided exceptional mentoring and support as I worked towards my transition out of the Army. His mindset and perspective resonated with me on so many levels. I highly recommend Court to anyone looking for assistance in finding their next professional or life objective; he will listen to you, challenge you, and hold you accountable to maximize your success in the next endeavor.
Court coached me through some really tough decisions during my transition from active duty to retired civilian life. He helped me to identify and understand my and my families values so we could choose a path forward that was truly the best for our situation. Having an unbiased, external confidant helped me to get through those time that I was really doubting myself. Court is very professional and extremely easy to communicate with. I am very thankful for the help during this stressful time. I highly recommend Court as a coach!
Court Whitman’s passion for success in others radiates from day one of working with him. As I began my transition out of the military I was connected with Court through the Commit foundation to help set myself up for success in my next journey. His enthusiasm and vitality not only drives you to do better, but provides you a higher level of self-worth and honest intensity in your transition. Court is a great coach/mentor and pairs that with his superior listening skills. He is excited to hear what you have to say, and pays careful attention while keeping an open mind. I am very thankful to have Court as a coach and a mentor as I am transitioning out, and in the future.
Working with Court has been one of the standout highlights of my transition into the civilian world. Court’s engagement and dedication to my progress and learning were remarkable; he helped me realize my own potential and gave me the tools to find my own definitions of success and the next steps in my journey. I cannot recommend Court’s coaching services enough — anyone can (and should!) benefit from his experience in leadership and mastery in this domain.
I had the opportunity to meet Court through the COMMIT foundation as I transition out of the Army after 24 years. My only regret is not learning about COMMIT sooner in the process. As a coach, he challenged me in ways that were productive and positive, forcing me to view events and my choices through a different lens than I normally would. He has great enthusiasm and is one of those rare individuals who is transparently passionate about helping transitioning military members and veterans better themselves. The advice and resources he provided me have been invaluable as I have worked through the transition process. I highly recommend Court to anyone who needs help cutting through the sea of transition resources and direct advice and feedback to be successful in the transition process and beyond.
I am thankful that I had the opportunity to work with Court as my executive coach for my transition/retirement from 21 years of Naval service. As a Coach, he challenged me with really understanding more about myself and what would make me happy once I left service. Many of the questions he would ask were things I had never really thought of before and it made me really take some self-reflection and figure out what my next steps should be. Additionally, the advice he gave has helped me be more confident in moving forward with certain decisions and I am seeing returns from what we put into practice. I would highly recommend Court to anyone who is needing help in making big career and life changing decisions. Thanks Court! I plan to keep in touch.
Court and I met through The COMMIT Foundation, where he served as my Executive Coach during my transition from Active Duty military service. The feedback, guidance and instruction that Court provided during this time were an invaluable asset to me both personally and professionally; helping me bridge the gap from the Army to civilian sector. I highly recommend Court to anyone transitioning from the military seeking to link their experiences and imagination together to enhance and enrich their next chapter as a civilian.
As a Green Beret, I’ve received a lot of informal mentorship and coaching, but Court stands out as one of the best I’ve ever met. Over the course of just a few sessions, we were able to identify personal and professional goals, develop a comprehensive transition plan, and craft a narrative that’s helped me articulate who I am to businesses and graduate programs alike. I started my sessions with Court unsure of what to expect from my transition out of the military, and ended feeling confident, more multifaceted, and optimistic about my future. I can’t recommend Court enough, and am extremely grateful to have him in my corner.
I worked with @Court Whitman during my transition from active duty into the civilian workforce over the critical few months when I decided what I wanted to do for my post-military career. Our sessions were extremely beneficial to me as he provided me with a “trusted agent” perspective on the myriad of questions I had when dealing with prospective employers. As a coach, he’s an expert at taking rambling thoughts, ideas, and questions and putting them into frameworks that align priorities and help you determine your goals and a game plan to achieve them. Court is a pleasure to work with and an easy person to trust. I highly recommend his services to anyone who wants a motivated coach in your corner truly dedicated to your success.
I worked with Court during my time with The COMMIT Foundation. I really enjoyed working with him because he is extremely organized and structured. He also really enjoys the work and his attitude and vigor are very contagious. He always went the extra mile for me when assisting me with my transition, by posing intellectual questions and new perspectives that really assisted me in discovering new ideas and thoughts. I highly recommend and encourage people in COMMIT to use Court as a coach!
When I began the transition out of the Army I was a little overwhelmed with the endless possibilities of what my career and life could look like. Like most military men, I was accustomed to the security and predictability of my career in the service. Court took a unique approach to coaching me through my options, which eventually led me to finding a position in a company that I’m extremely happy with. Throughout our time together, Court challenged me to lead the sessions which forced a lot of introspection and self discovery. Court clearly has a deep passion for not only helping veterans, but also wants to help others maximize their happiness and find their true passion in life. I’m extremely lucky to have been pair with Court through the COMMIT Foundation. He is a great man and friend who I know I can always reach out to.