Serve to Lead, Lead to Serve
Leadership.
Perspective.
Practical Problem-Solving.
Balcony View Leadership is a specialized coaching and advisory practice that brings decades of real-world experience to help leaders step back, see the whole system, and navigate their most consequential decisions.
Sometimes that work looks like coaching or leadership development.
Sometimes it involves strategic planning, training, assessment, or organizational problem-solving.
At other times, the need is simply an experienced additional perspective and another capable set of hands in the room.
Full practice launch December 2026
Where I can add value
I work with people and organizations in different ways, depending on the challenge, context, and desired outcome.
Develop People
Coaching, mentoring, promotional preparation, and leadership development for emerging, newly promoted, and experienced leaders.
Strengthen Organizations
Strategic planning, culture, leadership-team development, succession, communication, and organizational improvement.
Support Decisions and Projects
Experienced perspective on complex decisions, important projects, service delivery, technology, facilities, and organizational transitions.
Collaborate, Contribute & Connect
Collaborative work with public and private organizations, training groups, and other teams seeking experienced perspective and partnership.
The Balcony View
Good leadership requires the ability to step away from the immediate problem, see the larger system, and understand how people, decisions, culture, and consequences connect.
Listen before advising.
Develop judgment, not dependence.
Understand the whole system.
Leave people and organizations stronger.
Serve to Lead, Lead to Serve
Who I work with
My experience developed in public service, but many leadership challenges cross sectors. I work with individuals, organizations, and professional partners where my experience can add meaningful value.
Individual Leaders
Public and Mission-Driven Organizations
Professional Partners
Emerging leaders, newly promoted supervisors, managers, executives, and others seeking to strengthen how they lead, communicate, develop people, and take on greater responsibility.
Cities, public-safety agencies, government organizations, nonprofits, and leadership teams working through leadership, culture, strategy, transition, or complex organizational questions.
Training firms, universities, recruiters, consultants, technology providers, and other organizations seeking experienced practitioner perspective, collaboration, and connection.
About Dave
Dave Norris has spent more than three decades in public service, including executive leadership as a police chief and municipal leader. Throughout that career, much of the work he found most meaningful centered on developing people, strengthening organizations, solving problems, and helping others prepare for greater responsibility.
Balcony View Leadership carries that work into its next chapter through coaching, training, advising, and collaborative work across public service and selected private-sector and nonprofit settings.
His approach is information-driven, people-centered, and founded on principle, service, and authenticity.
Police Chief & Municipal Executive
Leadership Developer, Coach & Mentor
National Thought Leader & Research Contributor
Some needs fit neatly into coaching or consulting. Others start with a question. Either way, this is a good place to begin.
San Mateo, CA
Tel. 650-766-4578