about Kinkou

Hi, I’m jason.

Most of the leaders I work with arrive at a similar place; not stuck, exactly, but sensing there’s a version of their leadership they haven’t fully stepped into yet. Some are taking on a bigger role and want to get ahead of what that will demand. Some lead high-performing groups of individuals who haven’t learned to truly think together as a team. Some have been running hard for a long time and need to slow down long enough to see what they’ve been missing.

The work looks different for each of them. What stays consistent is that at some point, the coaching stops being about fixing something – and starts being about becoming someone.

That’s usually when things get interesting.

Let’s work together

My Background

I’ve spent twenty-five years in the world of technology and risk, starting in a VC-backed startup, then years of consulting with firms like EY, eventually serving as Global Director of Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) at Starbucks. Along the way, I noticed a pattern that the hard problems were never really technical. They were always about people; how teams showed up together, how trust was built or broken, how smart people got stuck.

I kept gravitating toward the coaching and development side of my work. So in 2019, I made a deliberate shift. I trained with the Hudson Institute of Coaching, and launched Kinkou, which means “balance” in Japanese, not as an impossible destination, but as an intentional practice.

How I Work

I help you slow down enough to see what you’ve been moving too fast to notice.

That sounds simple, but it isn’t. My work draws on frameworks like Immunity to Change, Gestalt, and vertical development theory. They’re not intended as prescriptions, but as lenses we can use to do this work. Clients often say our sessions surface questions they didn’t know needed to be asked, raising a new or refreshed awareness that can be used for change that’s important to them.

I work especially well with:

  • Leaders in transition: stepping into bigger roles, different chapters, or entirely new challenges
  • Technical leaders ready to move beyond analytical and tactical excellence into greater relational depth in how they lead people
  • Teams with high-performing individuals who want to think and work together more effectively

Credentials

Outside of Work

I’m originally from Cleveland and have called Seattle home for the last 15 years. When I’m not coaching or consulting, you’ll find me cycling, on a golf course, or at a CrossFit gym. I’m forever learning about leadership, about people, and about myself.

If something here resonates, I’d love to talk.

Schedule a complimentary 30-minute call

testimonials

What clients say about us

  • “Coaching has completely changed my mindset on how I approach goals. Jason spent months guiding me toward a more self-aware version of myself. We spent weeks breaking down things that I want to achieve into bite-size pieces, helping identify my strengths, wants versus needs, and uncovering aspects about myself that I wouldn’t have otherwise considered useful. The best self-care I have done in some time was working with Jason on myself. He has opened my eyes to coaching as a tool, and there is nobody I trust more to guide me. I am a better version of myself because of him, and the work that he put into me.”

    Learn more about Leadership Coaching
    Sr. Technical Product Manager
    Seattle
  • “I worked with Jason as a member of a newly forming leadership team charged with transformational organizational change. Under Jason’s guidance, our team quickly became more vulnerable with each other, allowing us to more quickly build trust and cohesion. Jason coached us to establish our guiding principles for how we wanted to engage with each other and with our peers. Leveraging the framework we built together, we were able to disagree, have hard conversations, and cheer on each other’s accomplishments. This work would have taken years without Jason’s ability to supercharge and maximize the team conversations early on.”

    Learn more about Team Coaching
    Sr. Director
    Boulder
  • “Learning from Jason was a privilege. His sincere approach helped me to better understand my own challenges and strengths. There were obstacles sitting in my way that I hadn’t realized were there, and Jason helped me identify what those were so I could take them on one by one.
    Not only have I had the privilege of one-on-one coaching with Jason, but also the great experience of being with a cohort of learners for the Multiplier’s Program. This was one of the best learning experiences I have had. Much of that had to do with the group of professionals that Jason put together. Each member was thoughtful, engaged, and full of lessons that were readily applicable in my own work. Needless to say, I use the techniques I learned from that course in my work every day and have become a more thoughtful and considerate leader because of it.”
    Learn more about the “Multipliers” Leadership Coaching Program
    Privacy Manager
    Toronto
  • “Jason helped me magnify the attention I placed on some desired changes. Over the course of working together, I was able to let go of a long-standing desire for certainty and embrace the unfolding present in my career. This has had a subtle but important impact: it frees up mental space previously used for worry and self-judgement, allowing me to be more present in my work.”
    Sr. Talent Development Manager
    Maryland
  • “Being a working mother and in the cybersecurity profession, times can get quite stressful. Jason helped me to understand how I turn that stress into energy and build out critical plans for my own self-care. Having these new frameworks in my toolbox, it has helped me show up in a way that has been transformational for me as a leader. His empathy, compassion, and grit throughout our journey is something special, I would recommend anyone to work with him.”
    SVP & Chief Information Security Officer
    Seattle
  • “Before working with Jason, I had always been sceptical of coaching, viewing it more as a buzzword industry rather than a necessity. After working with Jason, my entire perspective of my leadership, my role, my ability to lead and influence others, and focus on what is truly important has transformed completely for the better. Jason pushed me in ways that I had not been before and often times I ended our sessions with more questions than answers and a desire to apply what we had covered that week. It became almost therapeutic, leaving me wanting to learn and grow more from each session. I entered our coaching agreement expecting to be guided and taught, but through Jason’s guidance and coaching I ended up teaching and guiding myself, a skill that will continue to have many benefits throughout my career. If you truly want to be challenged, grow as a leader, professional, and a person…Jason will help you achieve that. My time with him has fundamentally changed how I approach and view not just my career but also as a person, friend, and spouse and I’m positive it will have a lasting positive impact on me for many years to come. Jason is a highly valuable resource for anyone looking to reinvent or grow themselves in whatever aspect they require.”
    Sr. Manager
    Denver