Ezra Holland, SVHS ’88 reflects on discipline, leadership and fun

Ezra Holland’s path to becoming the founder of The Holland Group, a successful leadership training and consulting business based in Boston, actually started on the gridiron at Sonoma Valley High School.

“My parents are former hippies,” Holland remembered. “And while that was great for a number of reasons, one of the things I discovered is that I would need to find my own way when it came to any kind of structure or discipline. And I found a lot of that playing football in Sonoma.” Holland started out playing Pop Warner ball in sixth grade, and it became a way of life for him.

“Coach Jody Scott ran a great football program and for my first three years of high school, that is what kept me coming back,” Holland said. “I was a good kid but I wasn’t always the best student, and football was a lot of why I showed up. Looking back, it makes sense – I needed the structure and discipline sports provided. I was part of a team, surrounded by great people, and we were working together towards a goal.”

A knee injury sidelined him during his senior year, but that was OK because Holland benefited not only from football, but also from one teacher in particular who recognized his talents and empowered him in ways that made him feel good about himself and his work.

“I excelled in drafting, partly because I like to draw but also because my teacher, Mr. Trekkell, saw potential in me,” Holland said. “During my sophomore year, he asked me to help other kids in class, and during my junior and senior years, he would leave me in charge of the class if he had to run to the office. I really felt empowered by the responsibility and I also made straight A’s in that class.” Applying that to his work today, Holland says that a lot of what he teaches in leadership and management skills development has to do with empowering employees.

After a gap year to work and save money for college, Holland pursued a bachelor’s degree in outdoor recreation, and eventually a master’s degree in recreation administration, both from San Francisco State University. His career path took him from leading people on high adventures such as rafting, canoeing, snowboarding and climbing, to what he does today, which is coaching and lecturing on leadership, communication, management skills and teamwork.

And then there are the times when it all comes together, when he takes a team – whether it be high schoolers from an under-served area or corporate executives on a retreat – out into nature to test personal limits or improve teamwork. Through ropes courses, trust falls, and zip lines, participants experience personal growth that impacts all areas of their lives.

“A lot of problems in life – whether they’re personal or professional – are the result of poor communication, not building trust, and not having healthy relationships,” Holland said. “If you learn early on how to communicate and build healthy relationships, you will be prepared to deal with conflict and emotional stress that inevitably comes in life.”

In addition to his work with The Holland Group, Holland serves as an adjunct professor at a small, elite private college outside of Boston, and also makes an annual pilgrimage to Walton’s Grizzly Lodge, a leadership camp for affluent kids located in the Sierras, where he helps train new staff as they ready themselves to coach a new generation of leaders.

The common thread throughout it all is helping people to discover and growth their own potential, something that brings him full circle back to Sonoma and his high school days.

When asked if he could go back and give his 15-year-old self advice on navigating high school, Holland laughed and quickly said, “You are going to be OK!”

“Seriously,” Holland continued. “High school is just the beginning. I’d tell myself to keep doing what I was doing – surrounding myself with good people, setting good goals for myself and keep working hard.”

Will that full circle ever bring Holland back to Sonoma for good? “I’d love eventually make it back to Sonoma, to have my kids (now 4 and 6 years old) experience the place that was so grounding for me.”

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Lisa Lilienthal is a Bay Area public relations consultant. She has a BS in journalism and an MBA in marketing from Georgia State University. She lives in Sonoma and has a daughter at SVHS and a son at Adele Harrison.

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