Gordon is a management consultant and executive coach, who is now transitioning back to working with teenagers (and their adults). He has consulted with companies like P&G, GE Aircraft and Microsoft as well as communities like the Mohawk Nation and multiple school systems, youth service organizations and police departments.
His work with teenagers will be based on the website http://www.teenheroicjourney.org/, which looks at the 3 core challenges of being a teenager, what to expect on the teen journey and what to do about it. There are also special sections on making a difference, bullying, gaming, suicide, thriving and a lot of other resources.
Prior to corporate consulting, Gordon worked with young ex-cons, with teenagers in a large youth center in NYC, as Dean of a private high school and as director of outpatient services for a community mental health center.
His focus on the heroic journey began with the evolution of his model for leading change. He realized that the heroic journey is the fundamental story of change – whether individual, corporate or community. Almost every culture throughout time has used the heroic journey to teach its members how to create or reinvigorate a life or a community.
When he was designing the website for leading corporate change, he realized that the teenage years are – by definition – a heroic journey, but we don’t tell the teenagers. Or the adults that care about them.
So, his challenge is now to change the game. The challenge is to help teenagers see themselves as being on a noble journey and to manage that long and difficult journey. And to help adults in their roles as parents and professionals in supporting their teenagers on that journey.
Gordon is married and has 23 year-old twins.
