Patrick Cowden: Leading Beyond the Expected

Patrick Cowden’s path to leadership began with discipline and duty, moving from third-generation military service to technology and corporate leadership. He became an executive leader in Fortune 500 companies, pioneered a new school of leadership thought, and is now deploying a kindness engine at scale. I met Patrick about three years ago via introduction when we were both based in Germany and aligned on management styles. Recently, while interviewing people for Investing in Kindness, two separate individuals suggested I meet Patrick—before realizing we were already connected. This speaks volumes about the impression he leaves. During our interview, he shared powerful insights on human connection, loyalty, and respect.

Patrick was born in Frankfurt, Germany, while his father served in the United States Army. He moved 37 times, living in more than 20 cities around the world. Over his career, he worked on three continents, held over 20 jobs at a dozen organizations, and now resides back in Germany. “I think the one thing you start to realize as you go from country to country is that there's a foundational layer of humanity that's the same everywhere we go—the deep-seated desire to be truly seen, heard, and valued as a human being,” he said. “From the tiniest baby to our oldest, oldest age, it is so important not to be alone, to have someone be there for us. I grew up in the military, where we were building teams on that principle—that we would give everything for each other. We give our life for each other. That type of bond, that type of connection, is truly essential in many parts of the world.”

He emphasizes the essential nature of these bonds and the ingredients of how to build them—through kindness. “Whether you're an older person in Japan, or a young person in Rio, a rich person in Munich, or a very poor person in Vancouver, they share one thing deeply, and that desire can only be fulfilled through an act of kindness.”

Patrick spent years in executive roles across Europe, including leading a high-growth tech company through IPO. That experience gave him a view into what works and what does not. His insights became the foundation for his leadership framework: Beyond Leadership. He has led this work across industries and cultures, from schools to banks to hospitals. “It’s human interaction, or human connection protocols.” Patrick’s vision is to design and develop operational improvements and enhance team performance by activating connection, trust, and engagement within teams—in minutes, in any setting, language, or culture. Over his career, he has deployed 2,000+ Beyond Leadership sessions to 100+ organizations in dozens of countries and delivered keynotes at universities, business schools, and large-scale events around the world.

Now, inspired to share this journey, Patrick is bringing Beyond to the world through the platform Warmspace. It is the same process to connect and collaborate together as teams, now digitized. “It’s not transactional, it’s relational.” It is designed so anyone can use it—even children. Patrick spoke about how his son shares the methods with others and understands the underlying message: to give people space and to be kind.

“Kindness is a very foundational component of everything that we have ever built as a civilization on this planet,” he said. “Especially in the first hundreds of thousands of years of our existence, our base instinct—we needed everyone to survive.”

“Kindness is the fastest trigger of connection—true, deep, authentic, instantaneous trust of another person—and it articulates itself through gratitude.”

Patrick Cowden is a former Fortune 500 executive, leadership pioneer, author, and speaker working to build a kindness engine at scale. Keep an eye out for more interviews.