Chester Elton Bio

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Chester Elton

Bestselling author, motivational speaker, respected researcher

Executive coach and leadership guru Chester Elton helps exceptional leaders identify opportunity gaps so they can make their strongest contribution to the growth of their organizations.


As a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Leadership (SCL) Certified Executive Coach, Chester uses a proven methodology of one-on-one sessions, report-outs and frequent assessment to enhance an individual’s leadership skills and effectiveness. Improvement is gauged through surveys and 360s with pre-selected colleagues, and other stakeholders.


Chester provides real solutions to help leaders develop robust cultures, increase their employee engagement, and lead high-performance teams.


His work is supported by research with more than one million working adults, revealing the proven secrets of breakthrough leaders (and those who don’t). He is the author of award-winning New York Times and Wall Street Journal best selling leadership books All In, The Carrot Principle, Leading with Gratitude, and Anxiety at Work. His books have been translated into 30 languages and have sold almost 2 million copies.


In 2023, the Global Gurus research organization ranked him among the world’s top ten leadership and organizational culture experts. He is a Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches member, and Thinkers50 Coaching Award winner. Elton is co-founder of The Culture Works and a board member of Camp Corral, a non-profit for the children of wounded and fallen military heroes. He serves as a leadership consultant and coach to high-performing executives at American Express, The World Bank, Zoox, momofuku, and MetroHealth


He is proud to be the father of four exceptional children, three delightful grandchildren, and has been married to the amazing Heidi Elton for 40 years.