About Matt Drayton
Sergeant Major Matthew R. Drayton grew up in an underprivileged neighborhood in Georgia. Now retired from the service, Matt joined to leave his environment and become financially independent–and his military career spanned nearly three decades.
He spent 20+ years in the US Army, sixteen of those years working with elite Special Operations forces. He is a decorated combat veteran who has led and mentored hundreds of people. Today, he is an author, corporate speaker, consultant, voice actor, certified personal trainer, and leadership expert with business experience in government and commercial commerce.
Matt has been a senior analyst for the Northrop Grumman Corporation and an on-air personality and station manager at radio station WFSS in North Carolina. He also has worked as a senior Department of Defense civilian for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
As a national speaker and consultant on leadership and productivity, Matt has been employed by commercial businesses, academic institutions, law enforcement, and other government agencies. He has also served as an executive director and board member of multiple youth non-profit organizations.
He is the founder of Drayton Communications, where he shares his life story, experiences, and leadership knowledge with others. He is a contributor to Newsweek and has been featured on HuffPost and the Los Angeles Times. Matt is a member of the National Speakers Association.
Leading While Black is Drayton’s second book. He is also the author of Succeeding While Black.
Leading While Black: Leadership Strategies and Lessons for Today’s Black Professional
Challenges, Hard Truths and Effective Strategies for African American Leaders Author and Retired US Army Sergeant Major Matt Drayton is back with another “While Black” Title “Leading While Black”.
Matt once again turns the negative connotations associated with the “while black” phrase and turns it on its head.
Leadership or the lack thereof are the primary causes of most of the world’s troubles. From Financial crisis to pandemics, environmental concerns and corruption, and the political chaos in America and abroad, leadership plays a crucial part in everything that influences our way of life.
Matt’s leadership journey took him from a poor troubled youth to multiple distinguished careers. Matt candidly shares his struggles, triumphs, and lessons learned from his many travels around the world and his relations with government, corporate and foreign leaders.
Leading While Black was written to help African American leaders better understand the challenges they face and provide them strategies to help them better navigate through their leadership journeys and succeed.
Matt had tremendous access to and worked for many great leaders (corporate and military) over the years. Those corporate, military, and government careers allowed him to learn from leaders from many backgrounds and ethnicities.
Matt had personal access to senior Military, Government, and Corporate leaders that many of his African American peers and subordinates did not have access to. They shared information, leadership strategies, and experiences with Matt that changed his life. That is why Matt is uniquely qualified to write about black leadership.
Matt Drayton draws from decades as an African American leader in the Military, Corporate, DoD Civilian, and Non-Profit sectors to provide candid thought-provoking and essential advice and strategies for leadership success. Many of the lessons and strategies in this book applies to anyone in leadership positions regardless of race or gender.