Phillip Cave
Author, Facilitator, Advisor
Most people arrive at human and leadership development the same way I did—after competence stopped being enough. I was good at my work. I'd led teams, built systems, and delivered results. But I kept running into the same problem…
Technical skill doesn't teach you how to be human under pressure.
For years, I watched well-intended people—myself included—create unintended harm. Not because they lacked intelligence or effort, but because no one had ever taught us how to process reality, navigate relationships, or lead from self-awareness instead of reaction.
That gap never let go of me.
How I got here
I started as a software engineer. Built my technical foundation at EDS, then was one of six to build a tech startup from the ground up, where I learned what it meant to lead under uncertainty. Those years taught me that strategy is easy compared to the human side of work.
I spent a decade in consulting—at Microsoft, Starbucks, Accenture—helping organizations adopt agility. I taught teams how to collaborate, deliver, and pivot. But the real work was always underneath the processes…
How do people see themselves?
How do they relate to pressure?
What patterns run them when things get difficult?
Eventually, I stopped teaching frameworks and started helping people see what drives their choices.
That's when everything shifted.
I began studying what most of us are never taught… how to work with our internal patterns, how to lead from awareness rather than automation, and how to balance relationships and results without sacrificing one for the other.
I trained in the Enneagram, Internal Family Systems, the Leadership Circle Profile, Co-Active Coaching and Leadership, and relational systems work—not as certifications to display, but as practices for understanding what it means to be human. If anything, I’m “certified in Life,” which is to say… lived experiences trump certifications every day. We live in a world, however, that likes to know I have both.
Over the past ten years, I've worked with leaders across industries—biotech, tech, construction, logistics, legal—helping them see the patterns that shape their leadership and strengthen their capacity to choose differently.
What guides this work
My philosophy didn't come from books alone. It came from lived experience—leading teams, making mistakes, cleaning up messes I'd created, and doing my own inner work when external success wasn't enough.
I've studied broadly… Taoism, Zen, Adlerian psychology, Internal Family Systems, developmental frameworks, and systems thinking. But my real teachers have been clients, teams, and my own unexamined (at the time) impact on others.
Here is what I’ve learned…
Competence without awareness creates damage.
Good intentions don't equal good impact. The gap between what we intend and what we create is where the real work lives.
People are already whole.
Most suffering comes from unexamined survival strategies, not from being broken. Leadership and human development aren't about adding skills—they are about seeing patterns clearly enough to choose differently.
Relationships and results aren't separate.
We're taught to optimize for outcomes, but outcomes depend on how we relate… to ourselves, to others, to the systems we're part of. You can't separate the two.
No one taught us how to be human.
We learn math, science, and how to deliver results. But who teaches us to process our experiences… our emotions, how to navigate conflict, or lead from a place of self-awareness? We're expected to figure it out on our own. That's the gap I work in.
What I believe about humans and leadership
You can't change what you can't see. Most leadership development adds skills without addressing the patterns underneath. That's why it doesn't last.
We weren't taught how to be human. We learned to optimize for results, not relationships. That gap creates most of the pain we experience at work—and in life.
The gap between what you intend and what you create is where the real work lives. Closing that gap requires honesty, not self-judgment.
The leader's way of being is the primary instrument of impact. How you show up under pressure matters more than what you know.
You can't deliver sustainable outcomes without healthy relationships. And you can't build trust without taking responsibility for your impact.
How I Work
I work with several human-centered frameworks—the Enneagram, Internal Family Systems, the Leadership Circle Profile, and relational systems work.
But I don't use them as assessments to interpret once and move on.
I use them as practices for noticing patterns, impact, and choice.
These aren't tools to "fix" you. They're lenses to help you see yourself more clearly—how you react under pressure, what drives your choices, and how your internal patterns show up in your leadership.
The goal isn't understanding for its own sake. It's translating insight into action—experiments you can try immediately, in real situations, with real stakes.
This work takes different forms depending on what's needed
Individual leadership development
One-to-one work where we examine your patterns, clarify your impact, and strengthen your capacity to lead from awareness.
Leadership & team effectiveness
Helping teams surface what's unspoken, build trust, and develop the relational skills needed to navigate complexity together.
Leadership development journeys
Multi-month engagements that blend individual coaching, group facilitation, and reflective practices—designed to create sustained change over time.
Regardless of the format, the work is…
→ Thoughtful, not rushed
→ Grounded in real situations, not abstractions
→ Honest, not polite
→ Focused on integration, not information
We go at a pace that allows insight to actually land.
Why I do this now
I do this work because I believe we can be more human savvy—not by becoming someone new, but by seeing ourselves more clearly. Because I noticed that every single “problem” I encountered as a leader, consultant, advisor, parent, teammate, or in any role… always involved not understanding humans or how we operate.
I wanted to understand what was happening inside my and others’ humanity. What really motivated us as humans? What were we so afraid of, ashamed of, and angry about?
We did not get the human class after maths. And then we go to work and practice our humanity every moment, but not very skillfully.
In my lived experience of myself, that bothered me. Why did I get the technical skills to make money, but not the human skills to do so more effectively?
Leadership and being human aren't a set of techniques. They are a way of being. And the leader's way of being is the primary instrument of impact.
When you can see the patterns that drive your choices, you have the option to shift from automatic reactions to intentional action. That's where real change happens—not in workshops or frameworks, but in moments of choice.
This work isn't about motivation or inspiration. It's about awareness, responsibility, and the courage to look inward without self-attack.
If that resonates, I'd be honored to work together.
This work is for you if:
This work is not for you if:
Training & Certifications
My work is informed by formal training in frameworks I use as practices, not credentials. Some people like to know I have these.
These frameworks shape how I work, but the real credential is 20+ years of lived experience helping people see themselves more clearly.
Interested in working together?
Let's explore what's possible for you or your organization.
We have a conversation. We look at what's actually needed. And we decide together whether it makes sense to work together.
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