Rick Bommelje is a listening and leadership educator and Professor Emeritus of Communication at Rollins College whose work has helped establish listening as a leadership discipline.

As Founder and Chief Listening Officer of Listen and Lead, LLC, he works with leaders, teams, and organizations to strengthen performance through strategic listening. He is internationally recognized as a pioneer of Listening Leadership and developer of the Strategic Listening System.

Rick earned his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida. He also holds an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership and an M.S.M. degree from the Crummer Graduate School of Business, along with a B.S. in Business Administration from Rollins College.

At Rollins College, Rick created the College’s first listening course in 1992, helping establish listening as a serious area of academic and leadership study. The Princeton Review recognized him as one of the Top 300 Professors in America. Rick is one of only a small group of Certified Listening Professionals worldwide, a credential awarded by the International Listening Association that recognizes advanced expertise in listening research and practice. He was inducted into the Listening Hall of Fame in 2011.

Rick is the author of Listening Pays: Achieve Significance through the Power of Listening and coauthor of Listening Leaders: The Ten Golden Rules to Listen, Lead & Succeed with Dr. Lyman K. Steil, who introduced listening into corporate America in the 1970s..

Drawing on decades of teaching, research, and consulting, Rick developed the Strategic Listening System, a practical framework that helps leaders and organizations turn listening into coordinated action and measurable results. He also created the Listening Behavior Perception Inventory (LBPI), an assessment instrument used to evaluate listening behavior and support leadership development.

Rick has worked with leaders in many organizations, including Walt Disney World, Lockheed Martin, Coca-Cola Bottling, Whirlpool, AT&T, Marriott, Hong Kong Broadband Network, Western Digital, and the University of Florida. His work focuses on helping leadership teams create cultures where listening leads to clarity, alignment, accountability, and measurable results.

A U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam and Thailand, Rick credits that experience with shaping his commitment to presence, purpose, and service.

He is inspired daily by his wife Quin, a world champion ballroom dancer and America’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer recipient, who reminds him that leadership, like dance, begins with presence, grace, and disciplined practice.