About Lower Light Leadership
We believe the way people see themselves, their circumstances, and the people around them shapes how they respond, what they believe is possible, and the influence they have on what comes next. Leadership begins there, before title, position, or authority ever enters the picture.
Our mission
Our mission is to inspire individuals to do more, be more, and lead others to become more, regardless of role or position.
More does not mean producing more, proving more, or becoming more valuable. It means recognizing more of the choice available, becoming more fully aligned with who you are, and using your influence to help others rise.
Our vision
The meaning of our name
Maritime navigation has long depended on more than one prominent light. Smaller, strategically placed lights helped sailors align their course and recognize a safe way forward.
Lower lights represent the importance of focused guidance and support. They help make the way forward clearer when conditions are difficult, uncertainty is high, or the path is hard to see. We believe leadership can serve much the same purpose. It can provide direction, create confidence, open perspective, and help people navigate the challenges and opportunities in front of them. At Lower Light Leadership, we hope to be that kind of light for the people and organizations we serve, while helping them become lower lights for others in turn.
Our values
These values are stated plainly here. Their evidence should be found throughout the character and quality of the work.
We believe meaningful progress often requires moving forward before every answer is known. Faith is the willingness to act with conviction amid uncertainty, trusting what we know while remaining open to what we may still need to learn. It asks us to move with courage, humility, and hope rather than waiting for perfect clarity before taking the next step.
We believe family comes before business. Strong families strengthen individuals and communities, and some of the most important leadership happens within the home. We believe professional work should support people in fulfilling the relationships and responsibilities that matter most rather than require them to neglect those responsibilities in pursuit of success.
We believe people are capable of meaningful change. Growth begins with seeing more clearly, taking ownership, considering another perspective, making necessary adjustments, and choosing again. We are not defined by a single mistake or success, failure or victory. Because people can learn, adapt, and correct their course, they remain capable of becoming and contributing far more than any one outcome can reveal.
We believe love is foundational to true leadership. Love recognizes the inherent worth of every person and directs our influence toward service rather than selfishness, manipulation, or control. It pairs compassion with truth, seeks to understand rather than judge or diminish, and remembers that every person carries experiences, challenges, and potential we cannot fully see.
The founders
Lower Light Leadership has been shaped through the ongoing collaboration of co-founders Clel Zeigler and Derek Zierenberg, whose different backgrounds, perspectives, and strengths inform the company’s philosophy, learning experiences, and direction.
Clel Zeigler lives in southern Utah with his wife and five children. He is co-founder of Lower Light Leadership and a Certified Professional Coach. His path to this work has been shaped by experience across healthcare, administration, leadership, and coaching.
Clel’s background spans direct patient care, healthcare administration, and organizational leadership. He holds a Master of Health Leadership from Western Governors University and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Health Administration from Utah Tech University. His coaching credentials include Certified Professional Coach, Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, and Certified Life Coach | COR.E Transitions Dynamics Specialist through iPEC.
Across those experiences, Clel became especially interested in how people see themselves, respond to pressure, and make decisions about what they are capable of. Clel has seen capable, talented people live beneath their potential and leave meaningful contributions unrealized because they underestimate themselves and hold back from what they are capable of. That experience has become a driving force behind his work: helping people reduce the influence of self-doubt, trust their own judgment more fully, and step more confidently into what they are capable of becoming and contributing.
Derek Zierenberg lives in the Salt Lake City area of Utah with his wife and seven children. Family is one of the most important parts of his life and a central part of who he is. Derek is also co-founder and CEO of Lower Light Leadership.
Throughout his career, Derek has held leadership roles in complex enterprise environments where the stakes are high, relationships matter, and trust can determine the outcome. He has led teams, developed people, helped organizations navigate difficult problems, and coached others to build stronger relationships and grow into leaders themselves.
Derek’s experience also includes coaching youth soccer and other athletic teams. That work has reinforced a pattern he has seen across leadership settings: people develop when someone believes in their potential, sets clear expectations, and invests in them consistently.
Derek’s experience serving as an ecclesiastical leader in his community has also shaped how he thinks about leadership. Through that service, he has learned that some of the most meaningful leadership happens quietly, one person at a time. Whether at work or in his community, the lesson has been much the same: the best leaders are often the steady lights that others can steer by.
