From the Pentagon on 9/11 to the Boardroom: Third Source Releases Gabe Smith’s Book Congruent

Charlotte, NC, Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Third Source, LLC, the company through which executive advisor and leadership coach Gabe Smith works with leaders, today released Congruent: Align Who You Are, What You Value, and How You Lead into a Life that Flows, Smith’s new book on leading without losing yourself. Drawing on Smith’s experience as a Pentagon first responder on September 11, a combat leader in Mosul, Iraq, and an advisor to executives, the book gives leaders practical tools to close the gap between who they are, what they value, and how they live and lead. Published by Thought Leaders Press, Congruent is available beginning today in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats.

Congruent: Align Who You Are, What You Value, and How You Lead into a Life that Flows | By Gabe Smith

He’s led soldiers in combat, responded to the Pentagon on September 11, built an international nonprofit, and advised executives navigating some of life’s most demanding leadership challenges. But after decades of leading others, Gabe Smith discovered that one of the hardest people to lead is yourself.

At its heart is a question many accomplished leaders quietly wrestle with: What happens when you’ve achieved everything you thought you wanted, but the life you’ve built no longer feels like your own?

Smith calls this disconnect incongruence—the gap between who we are, what we value, and how we actually live and lead.

His message is simple: You don’t necessarily need to accomplish more. You may need to live differently.

Lessons From the Battlefield to the Boardroom

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Ranger-qualified Army officer, Smith served eight years in the U.S. Army. He was a first responder at the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and later led soldiers through a year of combat operations in Mosul, Iraq.

These experiences shaped his understanding of responsibility, courage, decision-making, and the importance of leading with conviction when the stakes are high.

Following his military service, Smith founded and led an international leadership-development nonprofit in Cape Town, South Africa, where he invested in developing emerging leaders. He later held leadership roles in established organizations and technology startups before dedicating his work to advising executives and coaching leaders.

Yet his journey also included a deeply personal struggle.

Despite his accomplishments, Smith experienced a season of profound disconnection from himself. He eventually sought coaching of his own, confronting the distance between the life he was living and the person he wanted to become.

That experience became foundational to his approach to leadership.

Rather than simply teaching people to perform better, Smith began helping leaders examine the deeper questions behind their decisions: Who am I? What do I truly value? And does the way I live reflect those answers?

Why Success Isn’t Always Enough

In Congruent, Smith explores how even capable, successful leaders can gradually become disconnected from their identity and values.

The disconnect often develops quietly. A career advances while important relationships deteriorate. Calendars fill with obligations that no longer reflect personal priorities. Leaders become skilled at meeting expectations while losing sight of what matters most.

Over time, the gap between outward achievement and inner conviction can become difficult to ignore.

Smith argues that this isn’t simply a problem of time management, productivity, or motivation. It’s a problem of alignment.

And its consequences extend beyond individuals.

When leaders’ stated values conflict with their behavior, the disconnect can spread throughout an organization, affecting trust, culture, decision-making, and ultimately performance.

A Practical Framework for Living and Leading in Alignment

Rather than offering another collection of leadership theories, Congruent provides readers with the practical tools Smith uses in his work with executives and leadership teams.

Among them are the Life Map, an exercise for understanding the experiences and patterns that shape identity; the Incongruence Audit, a method for identifying where actions and priorities have drifted from personal values; and the CLEAR Path, a framework for translating greater self-awareness into intentional decisions and lasting change.

The book also explores faith, hope, and love as foundational anchors, and applies the principles of congruence to professional life, relationships, personal resources, and organizational leadership.

Smith’s central premise is that meaningful leadership doesn’t begin with a title, position, or set of skills. It begins with understanding who you are and allowing that identity to shape how you lead.

The result is a book that speaks not only to executives and entrepreneurs, but to anyone questioning whether the life they’re building reflects the person they want to be.

Praise From Respected Leadership Voices

Early endorsements reflect the book’s relevance across military leadership, executive development, and personal transformation.

“Gabe Smith is the real deal: a warrior who learned to lead from the inside out,” says Tim Storey, bestselling author of The Miracle Mentality and coach to world champions.

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Milford H. Beagle Jr., author of When the Map Runs Out, adds:

“Titles come and go. Purpose stays. Gabe Smith has led people where the stakes were real, and Congruent turns that experience into something a leader can practice on Monday.”

Together, these perspectives underscore what distinguishes Smith’s approach: leadership principles grounded not only in professional experience, but in the personal work of living them.

A New Definition of Leadership Success

As organizations continue to navigate change, uncertainty, and increasing demands on their leaders, Smith believes the conversation about leadership must extend beyond strategy, performance, and results.

The question is no longer simply whether someone can lead effectively, but whether they can do so without losing themselves in the process.

Through Congruent, Smith invites readers to reconsider what success looks like when identity, values, and behavior begin telling the same story.

Because the ultimate measure of a successful life may not be everything we’ve accomplished, but whether the way we’ve lived reflects what matters most.

About Gabe Smith

Gabe Smith is an executive advisor, leadership coach, speaker, and author who helps leaders align how they lead with who they are.

A West Point graduate and Ranger-qualified former Army officer, Smith served eight years in the U.S. military, including as a first responder at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and leading soldiers through combat operations in Mosul, Iraq.

His career spans military leadership, international nonprofit development, organizational leadership, and executive advisory work. He founded and led an international leadership-development nonprofit in Cape Town, South Africa, and has held leadership positions in established organizations and technology startups.

Today, Smith works with C-suite executives, emerging leaders, and leadership teams to strengthen alignment between personal identity, values, and organizational leadership.

He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his family.

Learn more at https://gabesmith.work.

About Congruent

Congruent: Align Who You Are, What You Value, and How You Lead into a Life that Flows is published by Thought Leaders Press and is available beginning November 10, 2026, in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and other eBook formats through Amazon and participating retailers.

Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9984593-0-6
Hardcover ISBN: 979-8-9984593-1-3
eBook ISBN: 979-8-9984593-2-0

Book information: https://gabesmith.work/congruent

Media Interviews and Speaking Opportunities

Gabe Smith is available for television, radio, podcast, print, and digital media interviews on topics including:

• Leadership lessons from combat and crisis
• Why successful leaders can feel personally unfulfilled
• The hidden cost of misalignment in organizational culture
• Authentic leadership versus congruent leadership
• How executives can reconnect their values with everyday decisions
• Building teams and organizations that practice what they believe

Gabe Smith, executive advisor, leadership coach, speaker, and author of Congruent: Align Who You Are, What You Value, and How You Lead into a Life that Flows

Press Inquiries

Kyle Smith
kyle [at] gabesmith.work
https://www.gabesmith.work/