Testimonial Index

“Working with Michael was one of the best things I've done for my personal and professional development. Michael's approach is grounded in mindfulness, empathy, and self-inquiry. I rely daily on the tools and techniques that Michael taught me and would be lost without them.”

"I began working with Michael more than a year ago, after finding myself in an extremely stimulating, exciting, and overwhelming role as a research lead at Anthropic. The pace of change in the AI industry is breathtaking, and I was tasked with producing research and guiding my team in an environment where model capabilities shift every month, internal workflows are constantly changing, and the company is growing 3x per year. Michael's counsel has been invaluable. He has an extremely broad set of skills and approaches that adapt to what I need each week. We've covered research strategy, prepped for difficult conversations, diagnosed dynamics in my group, and identified key factors that shape my productivity. It often turns out that I know what to do but have trouble accessing that knowledge because of assumptions, emotions, and the like. Michael listens closely, then asks the questions that help me figure out what to do or where to go. When operating with smart and highly competent colleagues, a lot of issues come down to interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics—how each person relates to others and to themselves. Once those are cleared away, people can shine. Michael helps me do this for myself every week, and often we end up going back to basics: What are my values? What am I trying to do here? What do I know is true? Then we build from that. I keep coming back because every week I come in stressed about something, and after our session I leave feeling calm, oriented, and excited for what's next."

“Michael's coaching has helped me make decisions that have saved our company many months of time and many millions of dollars. He has many super powers, but the two I've been most impressed with are 1) his ability to ask questions that allow people to realize where they are getting in the way of their own decision making, and 2) his ability to coach people through difficult conversations. He's a pleasure to work with.”

“Michael is a wonderful coach - his depth of knowledge is expansive and always has the perfect resource to share or point me to in the right moments. He is a master communicator and as a perfect blend of frank and empathic himself, he is exceptional at teaching tactical ways to convey candor with care. Though he is keenly attuned to the emotional art of leadership, he is also rigorously quantitative and scientific in his approach, bringing validated scales, tools, and methods into our sessions for tangible, measurable change.”

“I've worked with Michael Langer at both Heap and Affinity. His ability to work with executive teams—especially in high-growth environments—enabled us to build a higher performing Executive Team. Specifically, Michael’s support with the Harrison Assessment gave us a deeper understanding of our team dynamics that was both easy to grasp and immediately applicable to our day-to-day operations. The impact was significant: better collaboration, more open communication, and a stronger, more aligned team. We were able to leverage each other’s strengths and make decisions with greater cohesion and confidence. This was more than a 'team-building exercise'; rather it transformed how our execs support and challenge one another. If you're looking to enhance your team’s performance and alignment, I highly recommend working with Michael.”

“Through working with Michael, I’ve learned to manage my team with confidence through my own vision, I’ve stepped out of fighting everyday fires, and - most concretely - I’ve pivoted my business to reprioritize profitability. Michael’s approach is both direct and supportive. He provides frank, thoughtful feedback that challenges me to embrace paradox: rethinking my assumptions while trusting my intuition. He’s helped me get out of my own way, points it out when I’m overthinking, and keeps me focused on high-level results.”

“Michael’s brilliance lies not just in his wisdom, but in the depth of his attunement, his disarming sense of humor, and his unwavering care for clients. He’s not just helping leaders reach goals—he’s guiding them toward new possibilities they hadn’t imagined. His work integrates strategic clarity with the healing power of being truly seen and understood. Michael honors the full humanity of every leader he works with, and his presence is nothing less than profoundly transformative.”

“As a Chinese-American coach working across cultures, I often find myself navigating complex dynamics that don’t fit neatly into one framework. Michael has been an incredible and trusted resource — not just as a coaching supervisor, but as someone who brings decades of lived, cross-cultural experience into every conversation. His ability to hold nuance, name what’s unspoken, and offer insight with both breadth and depth is rare. He draws from a deep well — forged through years of working across Asia and supporting senior leaders. I’m an MCC, and I still walk away from our conversations with fresh perspective and grounded clarity. Michael doesn’t just support my practice — he sharpens it.”

“Working with Michael was eye-opening and fruitful. Using mindfulness and self-inquiry, he helped me step out of comparison-based thinking and see cultural behaviors on their own terms. As someone navigating both Eastern and Western leadership expectations, I often defaulted to frameworks that valued one over the other. Michael introduced me to deeper ways of understanding difference—without judgment—and helped me shift from frustration to insight. He once referenced the phrase 人比人气死人 (“comparison with others only brings frustration”), and it stuck with me. That mindset shift allowed me to lead with greater clarity, presence, and authenticity across cultural boundaries. Michael also led me towards self-awareness so that I became more perceptive about presence rather than ungrounded anxieties, especially when I am facing uncertainty in exploring strategic opportunities. His encouragement helped me make the decision to pursue adventurous executive opportunities in China after working in the US for 15 years. Michael has rich experience in both Western and Eastern cultures, and his insights and instruction were pivotal in how I reconcile them and become a better self. I highly recommend Michael to any leader navigating complex cross-cultural dynamics who wants to move beyond surface-level adaptation and lead with clarity, presence, and deep cultural respect.”

“Michael was an excellent resource and partner while we worked together. Throughout our time Michael provided thoughtful and actionable advice as well as resources to dig deeper. I grew as a leader, and use techniques I learned from Michael on a daily basis. Our leadership team grew as well, as we learned to communicate more effectively. If you and/or your team have the opportunity to learn from him, and you're willing to put in the work, you will find Michael invaluable.”

“Michael is a seasoned exec coach who brings tons of ideas and strategies to the table to help execs come up with a customized, robust and actionable development plan. Michael is result-oriented and his ability to pick up on finer details is extraordinary. What I love most about Michael is his candor which makes difficult topics super easy to discuss. To sum it up, Michael is an asset to any executive and he gets my strongest endorsement.”

“I’m continually impressed at how quickly Michael can unpack complex situations down to the underlying behavioral drivers. Juxtaposing that against his thorough knowledge of different behavioral concepts, always resulting in him talking me through a tactic or framework that will resonate with me and I’ll be able to successfully operationalize. Exec coaching can seem like a high cost (for us it did), but it’s worth every penny and has more than paid for itself in revenue impact against bad decisions prevented.”

“Michael has been an incredible supporter and champion of me as a leader. As CEO, you often have only your own company’s experiences to rely on, an n-size of 1. As an accomplished coach who has worked across industries & stages, Michael brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience which help pre-empt many challenges before they arise. Whether tactically working through a management issue or more broadly philosophizing on startup culture, Michael has been a great resource & friend with whom to share the realities of scaling a company and team.”

“Michael gave our team the tools to communicate mindfully and with impact. His training stuck because it was deeply customized and immediately useful.”

“Michael has been crucial to my growth as a leader. His holistic approach has time and again helped me to see where my default ways of engaging with challenges is limiting me, and how to move beyond them. Our sessions have consistently gone deeper and been more impactful than any coaching I’ve had in the past because he sees beyond what skills to build into how core parts of your psychology are related to your work strengths and weaknesses. If you want to move past superficial leadership coaching and really improve how you lead, I can’t recommend Michael enough.”

“I am truly grateful for the ground breaking leadership progress I made working with Michael. He has fine tuned my direct form of communication and facilitated a pragmatic approach to deal with conflict and difficult communications which I will continue to use. His outstanding listening skills and framework to empathize with others facilitates engagement and mutual understanding in the most difficult times. I would recommend Michael to any leader wanting to further enhance their communication skills. I now have a more collaborative mindset and the requisite skills to align expectations in any situation, whether personal or professional.”

“Michael has been instrumental in helping me grow as a manager and leader within my organization. He has an uncanny ability to listen to complex scenarios and decompose them at a variety of levels. Our sessions are extremely productive as he is able to weave past sessions into current and provide a holistic view on everything that is happening at a given time. If we aren’t going deep on a live issue then we go back and check-in on past areas of improvement. He is not shy to be forward with me when I’m bringing back old habits! If you are a leader / manager and are looking for someone outside your company who can provide perspective and direction around the ongoing interpersonal communications in your life, Michael would be my choice.”

“I had the pleasure of working with Michael and benefiting from his consultation in a professional coaching capacity. I really appreciated the unique approach Michael took by tailoring the engagement to fit my specific needs and style. He’s a talented, next-level professional with a flexible approach, while also connecting on a calming personal level. I highly recommend Michael if you’re looking for a professional with deep knowledge in multiple techniques and approaches to fit a variety of areas you’re looking to grow into.”

“Michael’s advice, methods and the way he made me look at various aspects of leadership, management, handling challenging situations were transformational for me. He provided extremely personalized and engaged consultation sessions on the topics that was important for me. Besides the fact that these sessions made me feel more confident and good, the results were visible through my teams and feedback I received. The conversations with Michael connected on professional and personal levels. He gave right amount of information and exercises in a relaxed conversational form which allowed me to retain and internalize new learnings. Where needed he provided guidance and suggested approaches, where possible he helped me to find solutions within myself. I deeply appreciate his contribution to my development and his help in me understanding the way I operate, think and behave deeper.”

“The one constant is change and the ability to adapt quickly and successfully to new situations, new colleagues, new roles, and new leaders is what makes great leaders. My organization enlisted Michael to help guide my leadership approach and further my own development. Michael creates a comfortable environment for open communication, is an active listener, and trust comes easily to allow immediate deep dives into situations, discussion and reflection, and positive constructive perspective. He is able to synthesize information and situations quickly and provides support and feedback while you navigate complex business and personnel situations together. His pragmatic tools for managing conflict, difficult conversations, and negotiations deliver immediate results and I’ve been honing the skills I am learning and refining in my daily interactions. My experience with Michael has been invaluable to my growth as a leader.”

“Michael helped me become a better leader. I especially thank him for helping me understand how important it is to stay true to yourself. Michael taught me how to focus on enhancing my strengths and leveraging others to compensate for my weaknesses to fully realize my capabilities as a leader. His on-target, compassionate, direct approach helped me see myself more clearly and be more effective.”

“Genuine expert and inspirational coach is how I would describe Michael. Michael motivated and challenged me with an impactful delivery method that felt like it was tailored to me. Michael worked with me as a personal coach for 6 months. My initial goal was to develop a set of specific tools to boost my skill in facilitating challenging conversations and negotiations. Michael guided me to develop a mental model and framework for any situation. With his guidance, I was able to integrate a new way of thinking by taking action each week. I have moved away from a focus on communication tactics to a completely different mindset enabling confidence regardless of the situation.”

“I first met Michael in 2007 while managing the Braun Oral-B plant in Shanghai. I wanted to accelerate our Lean Transformation, but there was a significant gap between me and my management team in how we interpreted Excellence. I needed an extraordinary facilitator—someone with deep knowledge, creative ways to engage people, and a good sense of humor. After searching, I was fortunate to find Michael. Our offsite workshop was an outstanding success. We spent the weekend aligning around Excellence in six key areas. The results were exceptional: our Lean Transformation took off like fire, and within a year we were recognized as the outstanding Lean Factory in China. He’s an outstanding coach for both individuals and teams. I recommend him highly.”

“Thanks to Michael’s targeted coaching, I have enhanced leadership skills and an expanded mindset. Michael established trust quickly, enabling us to explore uncomfortable areas without me feeling exposed. I am eternally grateful to Michael for helping me self-reflect and seek improvement. I am now more skilled at noticing and managing my emotional triggers, which has given me stronger confidence in managing conflict and collaborating effectively—both professionally and personally. These lessons will empower me forever.”

“I was a client of Michael’s for more than 6 months while working at Citadel. Michael brings focus and insight, helping navigate complex internal threads while ensuring each session delivers something tangible. Michael creates trust beyond confidentiality, allowing risk-taking with support. He is a sounding board, a mirror shining light on what might otherwise be missed. If introspection is like white water rafting, you would be lucky to have Michael as an experienced and trusted guide.”

“As someone who has trained as a coach and studied with hundreds of coaches, I have a strong sense of who is gifted. Michael is absolutely one of them. He is tremendously talented, patient, and deeply committed to helping you become your most authentic self. I cannot recommend him strongly enough.”

“Working with Michael was the single best thing I’ve done from a self-development perspective. What started as executive presence coaching became something far more profound. His mindfulness-based approach helped me manage fear and anger, transforming how I experience life. I’m happier, more confident, and more grounded in who I am.”

“Michael is a wonderful person and a great professional. He is customer-focused, results-oriented, and possesses strong business acumen. He brought passion, sincerity, humor, and deep expertise to his work.”

“Put simply, Michael knows what he's doing. The insights I gained from our negotiations coaching resulted in a marked improvement in both my confidence and skills in areas I previously thought were out of my control.”

“Michael has helped me identify my career aspirations and leadership attributes. His training enhanced my understanding of team effectiveness and professional performance, helping me achieve my best.”

“Thank you, Michael, for your extraordinary coaching and consulting work. You have provided invaluable support in helping us realign people and processes to harness cultural differences. Through your services, we have gained new and enlightening perspectives on how to better achieve our strategic objectives.”