Independent coaching for founders, owners & leaders
Because who you are becoming impacts what you are building.
- You've built a business and are pursuing your dreams.
- You lead a team, work alongside partners and investors, and work with people you genuinely love.
- You are known in your community and your industry. You serve as much as you lead.
- You carry the weight of every decision.
- You show up even when others wouldn't.
- You haven't been asked how you are doing in years.
Big bluestem, the native tallgrass of the prairie, grows its roots deeper than it grows tall.
Your guide
I understand.
I've built businesses in three different industries, scaled businesses to seven and eight figures, walked away from a venture that failed, and I'm still leading and building today.
Too often, I determined my worth by my own and the company's performance, and I couldn't always tell the difference between the two.
What I needed was someone with nothing to gain or lose from my business, but who was there for me. I needed a coach, a mentor, an advisor who would work with me and walk beside me asking "how are you doing?"
Now, I work with leaders exactly like I was then.
Mark Rushing, Founder
Why Bluestem
Most leaders invest in what they're building. Very few invest in who they're becoming.
Leaders spend most of their energy on what they're building: the business, the team, the next goal. Very little goes to who they're becoming while they build it. It shows up in different ways.
- IsolationNo one to be fully unguarded with.
- BurnoutWorn out from fighting battles alone.
- A quiet plateauGrowth has stalled, and you can feel it.
- Something missingEven though it all looks like success.
Most leadership development focuses on the org chart: systems, strategy, execution. Bluestem starts somewhere else, with the person doing the leading.
Bluestem Advisors is independent coaching and mentoring for founders, owners, and leaders who want to grow as people, not just as operators. The work may eventually reach your team and your business. That's just not where it starts.
Everyone wins when a leader gets better.
Who this is for
From a founder building a first team to a leader taking a large organization to its next level.
A good fit if you
- Want to become the kind of leader people are eager to follow, without losing yourself in the process.
- Are willing to examine yourself honestly.
- Take responsibility for your own growth, for your sake and your organization's.
- Want an integrated life, not just a better quarter.
Not a fit if you
- Want a quick fix.
- Are looking for a tactics playbook.
- Want speed more than growth.
How it works
Two steps. No pitch in between.
Book an Initial Consultation
Not a pitch. You experience an actual coaching conversation.
Begin the work
If we both know it's the right fit.
From leaders I've worked with
Mark's real gift is helping leaders think at a higher level. He's good at pulling you up out of the day-to-day weeds so you can actually look at the bigger picture, and he pushes you to grow as a person, not only in how you run things. Honestly some of the most valuable conversations I had while we worked together were the ones where he got me thinking about the "who you're becoming" side of leadership, which most business advisors just don't get into.
Working with Mark has led to some of the most impactful course corrections in my business and life. He has a unique talent for stepping into your context with a personal, deeply thoughtful lens, offering the kind of contrarian insights that help you reset priorities and reframe decisions. Mark doesn't just help you build a better company; he helps you become a better leader while you do it.
What's at stake
Two ways this can go.
Keep going alone
Keep leading alone. Let your business tell you what you are worth. Build something people admire but live with the same questions.
Do the work
A leader who knows who they are as well as they know their business. A person their team would follow even if they didn't have to. An integrated life where value is who you are as well as the work you do.
Start here
How are you doing? Let's talk about it.
Not a pitch. You experience an actual coaching conversation.
Book an Initial Consultationmark@bluestemadvisors.com