Sharilyn D. Franklin, Ph.D.
The Leadership Doctor®
Five Callings.
One Mission.
One Mission.
Scholar · Practitioner · Leader · Coach · Servant
Meet Dr. Franklin
One Calling at a Time.
One Calling at a Time.
The
Scholar
Scholar
The
Leader
Leader
The
Coach
Coach
The
Servant
Servant
The Scholar
For Dr. Franklin, knowledge is never the destination; it’s the raw material for transformation.
The degrees, however, are only the foundation.
- Ph.D. in Management from Walden University (Specialties: Leadership & Organizational Development)
- MBA from Fontbonne University
- B.A. from Indiana University (Political Science, Communications, French, Afro-American Studies)
What drives her is the discipline of staying abreast of emerging research and then converting that knowledge into something usable: wisdom that produces a better outcome, a stronger decision, a changed trajectory.
What drives her is the discipline of staying abreast of emerging research and then converting that knowledge into something usable: wisdom that produces a better outcome, a stronger decision, a changed trajectory.
That commitment to transformation through knowledge shows up in more than a dozen published works spanning decades, from Leadership Origins and Organizational Effectiveness Handbook to The Influence of Spirituality on Servant Leadership.
Publishing, however, is only half the equation. Dr. Franklin is equally devoted to the transfer of knowledge, imparting it to students, advisees, mentees, and coaching clients so that what she has learned becomes what they can use.
Her academic reach extends across 3 continents and 9 campuses.
- Executive-in-Residence, Webster University Walker School of Business
- Directs 3 academic programs, 25+ courses
- Leads a 35-person global team across 9 campuses, 4 continents
- Visiting professor: Shanghai, Chengdu, Accra, Ghana
- Leif J. Sverdrup Global Teaching Fellowship Award recipient (launched G.P.S., Global Positioning for Success)
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The Leader
Leadership, for Dr. Franklin, is never abstract.
She defines it as the discipline of:
- Knowing and developing oneself
- Having vision
- Using good judgment
- Building trust
- Getting results
- Taking purposeful action to encourage and empower others
It begins with awareness: the leader's willingness to challenge themselves, keep learning, keep growing, and keep being shaped. It is sustained by the same throughline that runs through everything she does: transformation, measured in results.
As a leader who develops leaders, she has built and led organizations across industries:
- Media
- Real estate
- Advertising
- Education
Proving that leadership isn't a single skill set but a transferable discipline grounded in continuous learning.
That philosophy has guided her through co-founding and leading half a dozen organizations, including:
- Franklin Enterprises
- Consortium for Leadership Development
And through directing global academic teams whose success she measures in the people who grow under her watch
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The Practitioner & Consultant
Theory means little to Dr. Franklin without application.
As a practitioner and consultant, she has spent over a decade advising leaders and managers inside corporations, bringing breadth of industry exposure, depth of expertise, and a relentless focus on application to every engagement.
Her entrepreneurial track record includes:
- Founding and directing three multimillion-dollar corporations
- Building one of the largest independently owned African American advertising agencies in the country, from the ground up
Through FUSE, Inc., she served as agency of record for Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, and partnered with brands including:
- Goldman Sachs
- Gillette
- AB InBev
- CNN
- Adobe
Collecting more than 200 industry awards along the way.
Her instinct for what actually works in organizations shapes everything she brings into the classroom and the boardroom:
- Human capital strategy
- Talent calibration
- Diversity and inclusion
- Performance management built on evidence, not assumption
Every engagement is anchored to the same outcome: transformation. Not insight for its own sake, but insight applied until it changes how a leader, a team, or an organization performs.
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The Coach
Board-certified through the Center for Credentials & Education and credentialed by:
- International Coach Federation
- Global Team Coaching Institute
Dr. Franklin has personally coached and trained more than 2,000 individuals across industries.
Through the Consortium for Leadership Development, she guided 30 high-potential professionals annually through an intensive 10-month executive development program, with more than 55% advancing to new levels of leadership as a direct result.
Whether she's coaching a C-suite executive or mentoring a first-generation college student, her approach is the same: meet people where they are and build the skills, confidence, and clarity that move them forward.
What sets her coaching apart is a singular focus on passion, which indicates purpose and fuels performance.
If the goal is to do more, better, she believes the path runs through helping people tap into what they're genuinely passionate about, and then channeling that energy into results.
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The Servant
Beneath the titles and the accolades is a throughline of service.
Dr. Franklin's God-given purpose, one she has discovered and now lives out deliberately, is to encourage and empower excellence in others.
That purpose shows up everywhere she sits, including the boardroom. She has served on the boards of:
- The Salvation Army
- Grace Hill Settlement House
- Girls Inc. (current)
Alongside her work with:
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation
- The Links, Incorporated
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
The organizations differ, but the work is the same: pouring into people, particularly women, girls, and the underrepresented navigating competitive environments.
This calling finds its fullest expression through His Purpose Ministries, the platform she has built to help people discover their God-given purpose, and then walk in it.
Licensed in gospel ministry and currently pursuing ordination, Dr. Franklin is an Associate Minister at Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. She also hosts weekly prayer calls for those seeking to understand and operate in the purpose and power they've been given.
It is the same transformation she pursues everywhere else in her work, applied at its deepest level: helping people move from knowing who they are to living it out fully.
Book Your Collaboration Call with Dr. Franklin
Book Your Collaboration Call
with Dr. Franklin
Copyright Sharilyn Franklin PhD
