Meet Max Cohen
Founder and Principal at Crosswind Leadership
Before I launched Crosswind Leadership, I reached out to twenty-seven of my closest friends, colleagues, and collaborators for their perspectives on me as a professional and as a person. From a list of options, I asked them to select three strengths, three virtues, and three brand identities. Fourteen of them selected ‘authenticity’ as a top strength, thirteen selected ‘honesty’ as a top virtue, and twenty-one of them selected ‘explorer’ as a top brand identity. While I've always known that I show up somewhat differently depending on the context, it was deeply meaningful to feel seen by those I care most about and whose insight I value highly.
Honest exploration of how I can show up authentically in all that I do is core to who I am as a person and as a professional. I am privileged to be able to channel that passion into supporting professionals exploring how to take the next steps forward in their leadership and to do so with their own honest authenticity.
Education and Teaching
My coaching approach draws heavily on my academic training in philosophy at Duke University. I continually strive to make philosophical thinking both highly practical and tangible for my clients.
Philosophy has four branches of study: metaphysics, logic, ethics, and epistemology (the study of how we know what we know). Many coaching conversations include questions like: What is a sensible assessment of cause and effect in this situation? How do I determine what is the right thing to do? How can I be confident what I think I know about this situation is actually the truth? As I’ve navigated my own professional journey and supported those of my clients, having the mental tools and frameworks of philosophy has often proved invaluable in excavating clarity.
Drawn to environments centered on growth and curiosity, I decided to become a high school teacher after university. My experiences in the classroom were deeply challenging, rewarding, and eyeopening. The challenge of keeping the attention of and encouraging the group and individualized growth of my students forced me to grow in my leadership skills, especially in terms of communication and presence. It was deeply rewarding to form authentic relationships with my students, earning their trust over time and putting in the work to discover what uniquely motivated and inspired them. And given that the vast majority of the students in my classroom were Black, Latino, Caribbean, or Asian, it was eye opening to viscerally experience what it was like to be the minority in a space while at the same time taking responsibility for my outsized power given my role as the teacher and my identity as a white man.
Consulting and Facilitating
After two years of teaching high school, I made the difficult decision to leave the profession. My favorite aspect of teaching was less the content of the classroom and more the challenge of building a classroom culture conducive to growth. Building on my experiences in the classroom, I began my career in culture consulting for organizations. You might be surprised by how much overlap there is between what motivates a student in a classroom and what inspires a professional in a workplace.
As a part of the Governance, Culture, and Leadership Advisory Team at LRN, I had the privilege of working with leaders around the world aiming to further strengthen the culture and trust within their organizations and ecosystems, including organizations such as Ingersoll-Rand, the 92nd Street Y, the Church of England, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Minnesota Department of Education.
While consulting was extremely intellectually enriching, after four years, I was feeling a hunger for more of the longterm relationship building I cherished from my teaching days and began to invest more time designing and facilitating extended leadership development programming. I would go on to serve as the Founding Director of the NXT-GEN Fellowship for Moral Leadership at The HOW Institute for Society, where I designed, facilitated, and scaled a 15-week virtual leadership development fellowship. During my tenure the Fellowship cultivated moral leadership mindsets and capabilities for some 650 leaders from 40 countries and 30 organizations. I’m proud to say the Fellowship has now reached over 1,000 leaders from 50 countries. In 2026, it won NovoEd's Leadership Development Excellence Award and the Brandon Hall Group’s Gold Award for Best Leadership Development Program. But more important than awards are the life long connections I’ve made around the globe.
Coaching
For many years, coaching was at the heart of my work as a teacher, consultant, and fellowship director. In my fifth year of directing the NXT-GEN Fellowship I decided to go back to school and become formally trained as a coach. The Georgetown University coach training program was a fantastic opportunity for me to embrace a learning mindset amongst a group of classmates who were inspiring to grow with and from. The coaching techniques and personal discovery I unlocked during this time continue to shape my coaching, but most importantly I continue to enjoy the robust network of coaches I kindled through the program. Since graduating, I have earned my International Coaching Federation certification and continue to be inspired by the journey I am on to be the best coach for my clients that I can be.
When I’m not coaching, you can find me enjoying activities like reading, biking, hiking, doing Thai Chi or yoga, meditating, playing board games, listening to music, tutoring English, drinking bubble tea, planning my next adventure, or hanging out with friends and family.
