Our Founder

Dr. John (J.R.) Flatter, Ph.D. (Major, USMC, Ret.) is a leadership practitioner, scholar, professor, coach, and consultant for government and commercial organizations across the globe.  

As the founding owner, J.R. serves as Flatter, Inc.’s Chairman, as he has since its beginning in 2002. In this position, he leads Flatter’s global operations from the front – visiting each program personally to ensure his teams are motivated and performing up to Flatter’s standards of excellence. Concurrently, as Flatter’s Chief Learning Officer, J.R. leads all leadership development and coaching projects and programs. Flatter DoD customers during its 19-year tenure include but are not limited to the National Defense University; the Department of the Air Force, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Naval Sea Systems Command; Naval Air Systems Command; Marine Corps Systems Command, Marine Corps Training & Education Command; the Army War College, and the Defense Logistics Agency. Additionally, J.R. is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with additional certifications with the Hogan Assessments and the Leadership Circle Profile. 

Prior to founding Flatter, Inc., J.R. served 22 years of active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps – rising from Private to Staff Sergeant before receiving a Commission as a Second Lieutenant and eventually retiring as a Major. His leadership positions during this career included serving as a Platoon Sergeant, Drill Instructor, Platoon Commander, and Company Commander. His staff assignments include a tour at HQMC as a Manpower Planning Analyst, Manpower & Reserve Affairs Think Tank Fellow, and Chief of Naval Operations Anti-Terrorism / Force Protection Program Manager. His overseas deployments included multiple assignments- to include service in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia – during which time he conducted both humanitarian relief and combat operations. Immediately prior to his retirement, J.R.’s final assignment was at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. 

Goals For Our Clients

We take our commitment to our clients’ successes as seriously as we take commitment to our own – Excellence is our Baseline. Each and every one of our leadership training programs, lectures, and keynotes specially blends a combination of universal experiential, and situational leader training methods to foster empathy, the best team-building ideas, innovation, ambition, collaboration, leadership, and inclusion. We see these ideals as touchstones of any prosperous work or social environment and the roots of equity. 

Two Roads Leadership’s solutions balance our design, delivery, and integration across the Art and Science of Management and Leadership for our clients. Our tried and tested development approach, successfully delivered to DoD and civilian customers for many years, resides at the intersection of Scholarship, Method, & Practice. 

Adult Learning considerations are baked into our leadership training offerings. It is critical to integrate these principles into the design, development, and implementation steps of each course. Each of our facilitators is well-versed and highly experienced in leveraging the participants’ expectations and motivations.

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