Hi, I'm Sam Donica.
I believe in leadership development because I believe in the potential of people and the power of relationships.
My Story
Before founding The Donica Practice, I spent ten years serving in local church leadership as Adult Discipleship Pastor, Youth & Family Pastor, Pastor of Community Life, and Executive Pastor. Those roles gave me a front-row seat to the complexity of human behavior, relationships, and organizational life: helping individuals grow, guiding people through conflict and change, and shaping a culture designed to transform a community.
In that setting, developing people is called discipleship: mentoring them toward maturity and alignment between belief and behavior. Small groups and ministry volunteers function like teams: places where people learn to collaborate, resolve conflict, and support one another toward a common goal. Preaching and teaching is a form of organizational communication: crafted, careful communication that connects vision to everyday action, helping people see where they fit in a larger story. A church staff is the equivalent of a corporate C-suite: key leaders whose leadership and relationships shape the direction, culture, and effectiveness of an organization.
Over time, I realized the same principles apply far beyond the church. Healthy organizations thrive when people understand themselves and one another, communicate clearly, and have shared standards for how to resolve conflict and navigate differences. Today, through The Donica Practice, I help leaders and teams cultivate those same dynamics in their workplaces. My work integrates behavioral data from the Birkman Method with real-world leadership experience to help people understand how they’re wired, how they relate to others, and how to align their actions with a clear, objective framework. In the church, that framework was the Bible, an external standard guiding how we understand ourselves and relate to others. In organizational life, tools like Birkman serve a similar function, offering a shared language and objective insights that help people see themselves more clearly and work together more effectively.
At its core, the raw materials of my work have always been the same: people and relationships. My passion is to help people live and lead with greater self-awareness and authenticity in healthier, more effective relationships, whether in a congregation or a company.
Connect
I'd love to talk with you about how we can work together to discover the untapped potential of your people and unlock the power of relationships in your organization.
580-220-4102
Services
1
Executive Coaching
Leaders face a myriad of challenges and decision every day – the common factor among them all is you. Executive coaching is an opportunity to learn more about yourself: your inner motivations, strengths and potential stress behaviors. Invest in yourself to grow in self-awareness, improved communication, and more effective relationships both personally and professionally.
2
Team Development
Leadership is a team sport, and what makes good teams great are their diversity and adaptability. Team development allows teams to understand and appreciate each member’s unique personality. Teams experience facilitated discussions and individual and team feedback sessions. Invest in your team to improve communication and team dynamics, enabling them to work more effectively together.
3
Organizational Development
People are every organizations's most valuable asset, regardless of industry. Organizational development is for organizations looking to develop and improve workplace culture across their workforce to drive employee engagement and team effectiveness. Invest in your organization to build trust and develop a culture that makes your organization a place that people want to stay.