Chosen for Greatness Leadership Network
Founded in August 2024 by William J. Makell Jr., the Chosen for Greatness Leadership Network emerged as a declaration of war against the limiting systems that keep leaders—especially Black executives and professionals—trapped beneath glass ceilings of both external bias and internal belief.
Brand Origin Story
Systems Failure
The systems designed to develop leaders have failed us. They've created frameworks that value conformity over authenticity, technical competence over emotional intelligence, and individual achievement over collective transformation.
Personal Struggle
For William, this truth wasn't academic—it was visceral. As a military officer fighting to prove his worth in flight school, he found himself waging two battles simultaneously: one against the rigorous demands of the program and another against the insidious voice of doubt that whispered he didn't belong there.
The Revelation
The turning point came not through another training manual or technical certification, but through a profound personal revelation: the gap between his potential and his performance wasn't a matter of capability but of internal alignment.
Movement Born
Chosen for Greatness Leadership Network emerged from this crucible not as a business venture but as a declaration of war against the limiting systems that keep leaders—especially Black executives and professionals—trapped beneath glass ceilings of both external bias and internal belief.
Core Mission
Liberation of Potential
Liberating extraordinary leadership potential trapped beneath layers of limitation
Empowering 10,000 Leaders
By 2030, empowering 10,000 leaders to break through barriers
Transforming Organizations
Creating leaders who transform organizations, industries, and communities
Revolutionary Approach
Integrating mindset mastery, emotional intelligence, and authentic skill acquisition
Chosen for Greatness Leadership Network exists to liberate the extraordinary leadership potential trapped beneath layers of systemic limitation, cultural conditioning, and self-doubt. We are creating a new paradigm where leadership development begins not with external strategies but with internal transformation—where authentic self-expression becomes the foundation rather than the casualty of professional advancement.
Traditional leadership development has catastrophically failed underrepresented professionals by focusing exclusively on external skills while ignoring the unique internal and systemic challenges they face. Corporate America continues to promote leadership models that require Black professionals to fragment their identity—to leave crucial parts of themselves at the door in exchange for advancement.
This isn't professional development. This is a liberation strategy disguised as leadership training.
About The Founder
Military Experience
As a military officer navigating the demanding world of flight school, and ascending the officer ranks as an African American, William experienced firsthand the gap between traditional leadership training and the real barriers to advancement.
Overcoming Obstacles
Having been passed over for promotion five times before finally attaining the rank of Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard, his journey became a masterclass in what leadership development should be but rarely is.
Personal Development
After years of intensive study in personal development and earning his coaching certification, William experienced a profound revelation: the most significant barriers to leadership advancement aren't technical but psychological and cultural.
Revolutionary Approach
Today, William has engineered a revolutionary approach to leadership development that doesn't just acknowledge the unique challenges faced by underrepresented executives but transforms those very challenges into sources of unparalleled strength and competitive advantage.
Brand Values
Authentic Power Over Performative Excellence
We reject the false choice between being our true selves and achieving professional success. Your greatest leadership power flows precisely from the aspects of yourself you've been told to minimize.
Internal Mastery Before External Strategy
We recognize that sustainable transformation begins within. We address the root before the branch, cultivating internal clarity and confidence that makes external success not just possible but inevitable.
Holistic Integration Over Fragmented Achievement
We reject the destructive myth that professional success requires sacrificing personal wellbeing, cultural identity, or spiritual fulfillment.
Collective Elevation Beyond Individual Advancement
Your greatest legacy comes not from how high you climb alone but how many you bring with you.
Truth-Speaking Over Comfortable Silence
We cultivate leaders with the discernment to recognize when truth must be spoken and the courage to break comfortable silences that maintain dysfunctional systems.
Purposeful Action Over Reactive Response
We develop leaders who operate from clear vision rather than external pressure, who create circumstances rather than merely responding to them.
Legacy Consciousness Beyond Quarterly Results
True leadership considers not just the next quarter but the next generation—not just shareholder value but stakeholder transformation.
Who We Serve
High-Achieving Professionals
High-achieving African American professionals who have reached senior positions yet still battle the tension between authentic self-expression and organizational expectations
Executives and senior managers who find themselves isolated as "the only one" in leadership circles, carrying both the opportunity and burden of representation
Accomplished professionals who have mastered the external game but now seek deeper alignment between their professional path and personal purpose
Change-Makers
Leaders who feel called to create meaningful change in their organizations and industries, not just achieve individual success
Corporate warriors who have developed exceptional resilience through navigating both visible and invisible barriers
Professionals seeking to build wealth and influence that creates legacy and opportunity beyond themselves
Visionaries
Visionaries who refuse to accept the false choice between cultural authenticity and professional advancement
We serve the leader who stands at the threshold of their next evolution—ready to transform success into significance by bringing your full, authentic self to your leadership and creating pathways for others to do the same.
You've mastered the art of excellence in environments never designed for your success. You've navigated the corporate landscape with remarkable skill, achieving positions that place you among the top professionals in your field. Yet beneath the polished exterior of your professional achievements lies an exhausting reality: the constant calculation required to present the "right" version of yourself in spaces where authentic self-expression feels risky.
You are more than your impressive title and credentials. You are a pathfinder walking between worlds—demonstrating exceptional leadership in predominantly white spaces while carrying the weight of representing your community. You've learned to translate between cultures, to anticipate and navigate bias, to work twice as hard for recognition that comes automatically to others.
Why We Serve
13.6%
U.S. Population
Black Americans representation
3.2%
Executive Positions
Black professionals in leadership
<1%
CEO Roles
In Fortune 500 companies
The data tells a stark story: Despite representing 13.6% of the U.S. population, Black professionals hold just 3.2% of executive positions and less than 1% of CEO roles in Fortune 500 companies. These numbers aren't just statistics—they represent systemic barriers that waste extraordinary talent and perpetuate patterns of exclusion that diminish our collective potential.
Traditional leadership development has fundamentally failed underrepresented professionals by focusing exclusively on universal skills while ignoring the unique challenges faced by those navigating both external bias and internalized limitation. Corporate programs teach the "what" of leadership while ignoring the "how" for those who must simultaneously manage additional layers of complexity—from code-switching to stereotype threat to isolation.
The cost of this failure extends far beyond individual careers. Organizations lose the innovative perspectives that authentic diversity brings. Industries miss opportunities for transformation that only come through truly diverse leadership. Communities lose the economic impact of equitable advancement. And talented professionals carry the burden of untapped potential, forced to choose between authentic self-expression and professional advancement.
Chosen for Greatness Leadership Network exists because this status quo is both morally unacceptable and strategically unsustainable. We serve because the world needs leaders who bring their full, authentic selves to positions of influence—not just to achieve individual success but to transform the very systems that have historically limited the rise of underrepresented talent.
Our Vision for the Future
Authentic Leadership as the Norm
We are creating a world where authentic leadership isn't the exception but the expectation—where professionals from every background can bring their full, brilliant selves to positions of genuine influence without sacrificing their identity, wellbeing, or values in the process.
Transformed Organizations
Imagine organizations led by executives who have integrated rather than fragmented their identities, who draw strength from their diverse perspectives rather than minimizing them to fit outdated leadership molds. Picture industries transformed by leaders who have mastered both the internal and external dimensions of authentic influence.
Measurable Impact by 2030
By 2030, the ripple effects of our work will be unmistakable. The 10,000 leaders we've empowered will have advanced to positions where they're transforming hiring practices, leadership development approaches, and organizational cultures. They'll be mentoring the next generation, creating new pathways, and dismantling the barriers they once had to navigate.
Your Leadership Revolution
This isn't just about your success. This is about your significance. Join us in creating a leadership revolution where authenticity becomes the source of your greatest influence, not the price you pay for advancement.
ROCK WITH 10,000 BLACK EXECUTIVES & BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS READY TO EXCEL AT THE NEXT LEVEL
You Can Fly Higher Than You Ever Dreamed Possible…You Were Chosen for Greatness
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