Matthew Taylor

About Matt Taylor

Educator and executive coach Matt Taylor is in the business of developing leaders “below the surface.” This work has been his calling since becoming aware of what he calls the brick wall phenomenon. Every leader experiences it when they have been working to grow a technical leadership skill and just can’t perform. Matt’s Emotional Intelligence (EI) training helped him understand that these brick wall obstacles are hidden below the surface of observable behavior. Doubling down on knowledge and skills without figuring out the emotions and internal narratives at play is like riding a merry-go-round that never stops.

Matt has operationalized the EI theory of Daniel Goleman to create a language and road map for developing leaders below the surface. Leaders who use Matt’s 5-Square framework have experienced significant growth in areas they often believed were fixed traits. This personal growth has reduced suffering, sparked hope, increased equity and inclusion, and helped leaders and the people they lead thrive in their work and their lives. It’s social-emotional learning (SEL) for adults. Matt calls it social-emotional leadership.

Matt grew up in Springfield, Illinois, attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and then became a teacher. He taught elementary and middle school for ten years in urban neighborhood, magnet and charter schools as well as international and private schools. During that time he earned masters degrees in elementary education from Barry University and education leadership, policy and planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He then became the principal of Amistad Academy Middle School, the flagship school of the Achievement First (AF) charter network. During Matt’s tenure as principal, Amistad distinguished itself as the #1 middle school in the state of Connecticut for African American student achievement.

Matt went on to found AF’s Residency Program for School Leadership in partnership with New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport CT Public Schools—a unique district-charter, intensive year-long principal training program. Then, as AF’s Senior Director of Adaptive Leadership, Matt coached and trained AF’s school and network leaders using his evolving EI 5-Square approach.

In 2017 Matt founded the Noble Story Group, a consulting organization whose mission is to leverage EI to unleash leadership potential and promote sustainable, thriving and equitable communities. This work includes 1-1 coaching, team coaching, ICF-certified coach training, and organizational development consulting. In the last four years Noble Story Group has supported hundreds of leaders in over 60 education and non-profit organizations across the country, including KIPP, Achievement First, Baltimore Public Schools, ActBlue, and Yale University.

Matt has contributed to several education publications, including School Administrator Magazine and the Fordham Institute’s Education Gadfly. Matt’s work has also been featured in social science and professional coaching publications, including Daniel Goleman’s Building Blocks of Emotional Intelligence primer series, Goleman’s Keystep Media blog and podcast series, the International Coaching Federation’s Coaching World, and choice magazine of professional coaching. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two teenagers. For more information, please visit www.noblestorygroup.com.