Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Neal.
Hi Kevin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story’s foundation is that I became a minister as a teenager. Even as a teenager, people seemed to seek me out for advice or my perspective on things. I would try to steer them in a direction that would make them better. My heart was always to listen to others, hear their story, and bring out the best in people. I joined the military at 23 and served our country in the Desert Storm War. Even as I was in the Desert Storm War, others sought me out for words of encouragement and advice. After my service in the military, I became a Firefighter/EMT with the Dekalb County Fire Rescue in Atlanta, GA.
My path seemed to always gravitate toward helping and serving others. I left the fire department after about 5 years and began working in the telecommunications field with AT&T. I served in various departments, ultimately ending in engineering. I spent 20 years with AT&T from 1998 to 2018 before retiring and moving to Greenville, SC, to take on another engineering position with Windstream Communications. In 2016, I was certified through the John C. Maxwell Leadership Company as a Speaker, Trainer, and Coach, but didn’t start my own business full-time until 2022. My career path always pointed me toward helping, strengthening, and developing others.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My path has by no means been easy or smooth. Some of my struggles included raising a family at an early age. My wife and I married when I was barely out of high school. We began a family just over a year afterwards. We raised four children, three girls and a boy. Raising four children, moving frequently with the Army, and maintaining a balanced family life was difficult. I decided to work on my college degree during that time, which made the balancing act even more challenging.
Another challenge was being away from my network of family and friends at an early age. The power of a loving and encouraging community cannot be overstated. I had to start new communities each time I moved with the military. However, it helped me to break out of my comfort zone.
We’ve been impressed with Building Bridges 2 Better,LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Building Bridges 2 Better, LLC provides personal and professional leadership coaching and training to small and medium-sized businesses, organizations, individuals, and schools to develop better leadership, communication, and personal skills to become more productive in their businesses, schools, communities, and families. We provide half-day and full-day workshops/seminars, keynote speaking, group coaching, training, and DISC assessments to provide a full-service personal and professional growth environment for businesses, associations, schools, and churches. The target audience for Building Bridges 2 Better, LLC is entrepreneurs, business professionals, professional groups, aspiring professionals, and individuals wanting to grow personally or professionally.
The professional training programs offered by Building Bridges 2 Better are designed to enhance the skills and competencies of individuals and organizations. Whether it’s leadership development, team building, or communication skills, our training programs are designed to deliver measurable results.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I believe we’re standing in the middle of a shift right now, and over the next 5 to 10 years, the leadership coaching and training industry will evolve in significant ways. We will see more moving away from one-size-fits-all models. AI, data analytics, and behavioral assessments make delivering highly customized coaching experiences tailored to personality, learning styles, and even real-time emotional states easier. The coaches who thrive will be those who can interpret and apply data without losing the human touch. I also believe that organizations are waking up to the fact that everyone leads—whether it’s self-leadership, thought leadership, or team influence. Coaching is no longer reserved for the C-suite executives. I think that companies will begin to require their managers to go through coaching programs so they will have the tools to develop their people, increase productivity, and have the ability to measure KPIs for their teams.
Ultimately, leadership coaching is shifting from a “nice-to-have” to a “must-have.” The future belongs to the coach who blends heart, skill, and strategy—who can help people lead from the inside out while adapting to a rapidly changing world. Building Bridges 2 Better is poised to do just that!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://drkdneal.com
- Instagram: @coachkd63
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachkd63
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/90489863/admin/dashboard/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@coachkd63
