Academy Leadership

Strong strategies set direction, but success comes from leaders who know themselves, understand their people and excel in execution. At Academy Leadership, this philosophy has been the guiding compass. It combines military-tested principles with practical business strategies to help leaders apply the right approach across their organizations.

Academy Leadership was founded in 2000 by Dennis Haley, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who led one of Delaware Valley’s largest HVAC companies. Drawing on leadership lessons from his midshipman years and the Navy’s Command Excellence Program, he developed programs that combined personal reflection, values-based leadership and practical business strategies. Today, the company equips organizations with tools for self-awareness, communication and trust building. Refined over 25 years, its programs remain anchored in the same principles that have developed successful and capable military leaders.

“Our work enables clients to move beyond surface fixes. We identify the root causes and provide the appropriate tools that facilitate change and deliver tangible results,” says Sean Haley, director of leadership programs.

Its programs range from single-day sessions to extended engagements, along with tailored initiatives for specific organizational needs. The team comprises veterans and former military officers who blend service experience with business expertise to effectively tackle systemic challenges. For clients facing growth, turnover or succession planning, they analyze and design programs centered on goal setting, vision alignment and communication, creating a strong foundation for advanced leadership development and ultimate success.

Academy Leadership caters to Fortune 500 clients like Northrop Grumman and Moody’s, military clients like the US Air Force Third Wing and the administrative teams of UC San Diego and municipalities in Hillsborough and Fulton Counties. It also excels at delivering results for small and medium-sized enterprises that understand their business model but struggle with growth, vision alignment and developing leadership capacity beyond the C-suite.

Its leadership programs rest on three pillars—knowing yourself, your people and your stuff. Most leaders understand their operations but lack clarity about who they are as leaders and how to best communicate with their respective teams. The personal leadership philosophy module, adapted from the Navy’s Command Excellence Program, helps participants define who they are as leaders, what they expect and what their teams can expect from them in return.
This reflection-driven exercise emphasizes five principles—effective planning, maintaining standards, clear communication, building a motivational climate and developing subordinates. These principles create alignment and reshape how leaders engage with their teams.

Its methodology applies the adult learning cycle, including experience, observation, conceptualization and experimentation with focused facilitation. Participants learn from peers and instructors alike, improving retention and lesson application. Each program is grounded in character-based leadership, where authenticity, integrity and ‘walking the talk’ align actions with values to build trust and reinforce accountability.

The Energize2Lead^® profile sets Academy Leadership apart from competitors. Built on the understanding that 75 percent of people process information differently, it reveals how individuals behave and communicate in routine settings and under stress. For many organizations, the eye-opening exercise breaks assumptions, clears miscommunication and strengthens collaboration.

Academy Leadership has published influential works, including The Leader’s Compass and introduced experiential programs like the Gettysburg and Normandy leadership experiences. It also offers sessions at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, highlighting lessons from aviation history, and at the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington. Through its franchise model, it delivers programs internationally, in Canada, Europe and South America.

These initiatives have delivered measurable business outcomes for client organizations. In one instance, Geiger Ready Mix, a concrete and cement provider in Kansas City, increased sales by 50 percent within a year of completing the program. Organizations like John Burns Construction in Chicago, RAND Logistics and Sandia Labs reported similar gains. With action plans and follow-up coaching, progress is sustained over time.

Academy Leadership’s mission to help leaders understand themselves, connect with their people and apply proven principles to guide their teams continues to shape leadership development today. By blending military-tested practices with business application, the company remains a trusted partner that builds character-based leaders capable of achieving measurable results.