Company culture is no longer jargon; it's a business imperative. One Houston CEO is proving that the most meaningful change starts at the top, and that the hardestrebrands don't happen online. They happen within.
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After experiencing a personal low that forced him to reassess both his identity and leadership style, Jeremy Jenson, CEO of Encore Search Partners, began a professional and personal reset. The result: a culture-first company that climbed to the top of its industry.
Encore Search's new approach heavily integrates its core values to drive performance, communication, and internal alignment. This transformation reflects a growing trend among leadership wellness and workplace culture as retention, burnout, and disengagement continue to challenge companies nationwide. Jenson's story offers a different blueprint, which is to lead yourself first.
Encore Search Partners, recently named one of the top Largest Executive Recruiting Firms in Houston by the Houston Business Journal, credits its performance-driven, clarity-focused culture to a crucial move-Jeremy's decision to hire an executive life coach for himself, and later, a dedicated on-site performance & mindset coach for the entire team.
In 2021, Jenson hit personal rock bottom. Though his business was thriving and breaking revenue records, his personal life was unraveling. He was sleeping on an air mattress in his younger brother's home, relying on alcohol, social media, and external validation to mask a growing sense of emptiness.
He admits that instead of facing the root of the problem, he camouflaged his life with distractions. “Rather than focusing on becoming a better version of myself, I took the easy way out, focusing on buying access to what I thought being happy was all about.”
The constant praise from clients, colleagues, and even competitors became a shield that covered just how lost he felt outside the spotlight. “My self-image was that I was happy and winning in life, and my professional image only reinforced that. But professional respect and admiration only masked the reality of my personal life. It was functioning as a crutch and enabling my gluttonous behavior.”
That realization led him to hire an executive life coach and begin repairing the eight most important relationships in his life including his executive team, his family, and himself. He restructured his life with discipline, then brought that same mindset to the company he built.
Jenson's transformation wasn't just personal, but it also became organizational. Recognizing the power of personal responsibility, he introduced a performance & mindset coach for Encore Search's employees. Combined with the firm's EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) model, the move shifted the firm's culture to high-performance clarity.
His top-down leadership philosophy led to better alignment and stronger accountability within his team that balances high expectations with high support.
It's obvious that it's working. Encore Search Partners competes with much larger firms even with a lean, 40-person team that shares clear goals and values.
As the conversation around workplace culture intensifies, Jeremy Jenson is leading by example. His story resonates with entrepreneurs, executives, and employees, especially those navigating growth or reinvention. Through his vulnerability and ambition, he has earned respect throughout the Houston community and beyond.
Today, Encore Search's success is built on developing top performers from within. Jeremy Jenson is living proof that the most meaningful sign of an authentic transformation is the peaceful confidence that comes when people no longer feel the need to post every achievement online.
And if he could speak to the old version of himself?
“I am proud of you.”
It's something we don't say enough, and it's something many people have never heard at all. But if transformation teaches us anything, it's this: Everyone deserves to hear that they are worthy of love, especially from themselves.
About Jeremy Jenson and Encore Search PartnersJeremy Jenson is the Founder and CEO of Encore Search Partners, a 40 person Houston-based executive search firm known for headhunting top-tier talent across the nation. With over a decade of success in placing high-impact professionals, he's now added one more role to his resume: fiancé to the love of his life. Under Jeremy's leadership, Encore has earned a reputation for delivering elite talent through a precision headhunting process that blends data, strategy, and human insight.
To learn more, visit www.encoresearch.com.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Lauren.Lacson@EncoreSearch.com
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SOURCE Encore Search Partners
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