Meet Tim Spiker: Leadership Advisor and Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tim Spiker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tim, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Some of the data and conclusions I share with people is out of the traditional river of leadership ideas. Given that, I was having trouble finding opportunities to speak and teach freely from the research I’d been involved in. There were always limitations due to certain personalities or organizational dynamics and politics. I decided that I didn’t want to hit 50 years of age without having at least tried to create space where I could more thoroughly share from this research. So, with my wife, a 4-year old, a 2-year old, and a newborn, we took the leap and started this adventure called The Aperio.   

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Our work is based off of research that revealed that 77% of your effectiveness as a leader comes from who you are, not what you do. It is a unique message but, most importantly, it comes from data. I am so excited to be able to help leaders understand this research and then apply themselves to it. It is challenging work. It is far from mere skill-building. But the stories we get to hear of leadership improvement are so encouraging. We get to watch leaders take meaningful steps forward in their careers and see bottom line results impacted because of it. We also get to hear many, many stories of improvement in life at home for these leaders. We are privileged to get to support leaders who are doing this challenging and results-producing work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a really tough question for me to answer. My schedule is pretty full with 4 kids under 12 years old and most of our clientele being overseas. I don’t get out much when I am home. COVID has basically eliminated travel for the time being, and going out and about is still rather unusual. With that as a preamble (and pretending we are not in COVID times), I think a day trip to apple country in the North Georgia mountains with dinner at Marlow’s or Two Urban Licks would be great. An Atlanta United game would also be in order. Finally, whether it is soccer, dance, baseball, or playing on a swing set, getting to watch my kids do their thing is a blast. So I’d probably try to talk my friend into engaging in those kinds of family activities with our crew. 

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My goodness. Almost too many to list. My parents never put limits on my dreams. They encouraged me to pursue whatever God put in my heart to go after. That no-limits encouragement has impacted me from my youth until today. My wife, Sarah, is not a risk-taker. So my starting a company with 3 very young children at home—and we now have 4—was particularly scary for her. I’m appreciative that she is willing to live in the tension that comes along with my leading a small business. Finally, I would say Mike Kane. Mike has been, by far, the most important person in my life professionally . . . and his influence certainly hasn’t only been professional (as is the case with all great leaders). He has invested in my life in countless ways, opened more doors for me than I could count, and, at times, even put his own professional credibility in my hands. I will be thankful for his influence in my life forever. There are others, of course—friends, educators, and athletic coaches along the way—but my parents, my wife, and Mike are the top three.

Website: TheAperio.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timspiker/