Forging Leaders Who Stand Strong When Pressure Peaks
Executive Snapshot
Todd Scott Miller is an executive leadership practitioner, crisis leadership researcher, certified master coach, and veteran of 35 years in industrial automation and controls.
He has led teams, turned around troubled projects, navigated volatile environments in oil & gas and refining, and guided organizations through high-pressure challenges.
Today, Todd brings together real-world leadership experience, advanced academic research, and a coaching background to help leaders excel in high-stakes environments and crises.
The Founder’s Story
For more than three decades, I’ve worked in industrial automation and controls fields where pressure, deadlines, and risk are part of everyday life. My career began in complex, volatile environments such as oil & gas, refining, and chemical plants. In 2001, I stepped into leadership as a project manager, eventually serving in a series of management roles including Director of Engineering and Proposals.
Throughout my career, I became the person organizations called when the situation was tough:
Rogue projects
High-stakes clients
Failing teams
Crisis-level turnarounds
Between 2006 and 2009, I spearheaded a full business turnaround in a turbulent market—an experience that shaped my understanding of leadership under pressure.
My path has always been marked by one truth: when the stakes rise, leaders must rise faster.
Why i built elite forge
During the 2025 Fourth of July floods in Texas, I saw firsthand how unprepared many leaders were for crisis conditions—not because they lacked intelligence or commitment, but because they lacked training in crisis leadership, not crisis management.
My academic research confirmed what I had experienced in the field:
Crisis leadership is dramatically understudied. No unified theory exists. Leaders are left to figure it out on their own in the moment when it matters most.
Elite Forge Leadership Coaching was built to close that gap—by forging leaders who are prepared not only to respond to crisis, but to anticipate, prevent, and transform their organizations through it.
Leadership Philosophy &
Coaching Approach
I believe leadership is like boxing:
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
Pressure reveals character. Crisis amplifies it.
My leadership foundation is servant leadership, but my experience has taught me that no single style fits every situation. Leaders must adapt to the person, the moment, and the environment not force the environment to fit their preferred style.
My coaching focuses on:
Building emotional resilience
Strengthening clarity under pressure
Developing adaptive leadership
Making better decisions in uncertainty
Leading teams with trust and confidence
Responding decisively when crises arise
Rebuilding culture, morale, and clarity after disruption
The goal is simple:
Forge leaders who remain steady, capable, and courageous under pressure.
A Scholar-Practitioner Approach to Crisis Leadership
My academic work mirrors my professional journey. I hold a bachelor’s in Operations Management, an MBA, and an MA in Theology, and I am currently completing my Doctor of Business Administration with a research concentration in crisis leadership.
As part of that work, I authored a crisis leadership paper accepted for presentation at the Southwest Academy of Management Conference, and I co-authored a second paper on AI and the emerging digital divide also accepted for the same conference.
I serve as a Management Adjunct Professor at Houston Christian University, teaching courses including:
Business Statistics (BUSA 2311)
Business Ethics (BUSA 3320)
Principles of Management (MGMT 3302)
Business Stewardship (MGMT 3308)
Innovation & New Offering Development (MGMT 3316)
Human Resource Management (MGMT 3322)
Organizational Theory (MGMT 3336)
Spirituality at Work I, II, III (MGMT 6131, 6132, 6133)
Teaching has sharpened my understanding of leadership theory while reinforcing what I’ve seen in the field:
Crisis leadership is drastically underdeveloped in research, and most organizations lack the frameworks needed to prepare their leaders before the storm hits.
On a More Personal Note
Leadership is professional, but connection is personal.
I’ve been married for 32 years and have three grown, successful children—two of them married. I’m based in the Houston, Texas area, where I enjoy physical and mental challenges: working out, pushing my limits, and training both my mind and body.
I’m also an actor—another discipline that sharpens presence, emotional intelligence, and communication under pressure.