Financial Architect · Coaching · Advisory · High Performance
Become a Higher-Performing
Leader to Grow Your
Career, Business & Income
Coaching is my calling. Forged by military excellence, professional athletics, and three decades shaping financial leaders across the country — I give back one conversation at a time. Every client deserves a coach who has lived what they are asking you to become.
Coaching services
Three coaching tracks.
One standard of excellence.
Each track is designed for a specific phase of a leader’s journey. All three share the same foundation: rigorous questioning, deep listening, and an unwavering commitment to outcomes that change how you show up — at work, at home, and everywhere that matters.
Underlying every track
Jon Gordon’s MLT Framework
MINDSET
Positive energy fuels the work
LEADERSHIP
Culture multiplies the results
TEAMWORK
Connection sustains the growth
High Performance Coaching
Built for driven individuals ready to perform at their highest level across every domain — energy, focus, influence, and purpose. Grounded in the six proven areas of high performance: clarity, energy, necessity, productivity, influence, and courage. For executives, financial professionals, and anyone ready to stop managing their life and start engineering it.
High Performance Coach · MLT-Trained
Executive Coaching
For C-suite leaders, senior executives, and high-potential leaders navigating complex organisations. Coaching covers leadership presence, decision-making under pressure, stakeholder influence, and the mindset shifts that separate good executives from exceptional ones. Built around the CEC framework, ICF-aligned, and informed by 30 years of leading at the executive level across banking and financial services.
CEC Certified · ICF-Aligned · Executive Track
Business Coaching
For entrepreneurs, business owners, and financial professionals building or scaling a practice. Coaching covers revenue model clarity, team performance, business structure, and the strategic decisions that determine whether a business grows intentionally or by accident. Grounded in 35 years of watching what separates businesses that scale from those that stall.
CEC Certified · ICF-Aligned · Business Track
Not sure which track is right for you? The discovery call is where we figure that out together.
Book a Free Discovery CallWho coaches you matters
A coach who has
lived the work
I attended Kansas State University, but who I was when I got there was shaped long before I set foot on campus. Serving in the U.S. Army — excelling with military honours in the Infantry and Ranger program — gave me something you can’t get in a classroom: discipline that becomes identity. I learned that the standard doesn’t move because you’re tired. It doesn’t move because it’s convenient. You show up, you do the work, and you find out who you are in the process. That discipline is what carried me onto the athletic field. I didn’t become a professional athlete by accident — I became one because the Army had already taught me how to compete against the version of myself that wanted to quit. Kansas State is where that discipline found its expression in sports and academics, but the foundation was already there. It still is. That is not a credential I list. It is who I am today — in how I coach, how I lead, and how I show up for the people who trust me with their growth.
In the martial arts world, I earned three Black Belts in three different disciplines and trained alongside some of the top martial artists in the world. Championship competition required a quality of discipline and dedication that I still draw on every single day — and carry into every coaching conversation.
Over 30-plus years, I served as an executive leader across multiple banks and independent mortgage banks (IMBs) — building teams, driving production, and navigating the kind of complexity that only comes from sitting at the table where real decisions are made. I have led loan officers to their best years, mentored managers into executives, and watched good people become great leaders.
I share all of this not to impress you — but because I understand the pressure you are under as a leader, a business owner, a husband, and a father. I have carried those responsibilities. I know what it costs to perform at a high level across every area of your life. And I am deeply grateful to now sit across from people who are ready to grow.
- Military excellence — U.S. Army Infantry & Ranger honors, and Kansas State University; the discipline and standard that anchors everything
- Professional athlete — the competitive fire and coachability that define high performance
- 3 Black Belts with championship honours — trained alongside the world’s top martial artists
- Executive leader at multiple banks and IMBs over 30+ years in financial services
- Board Member · Builders Association of South Florida
- 5 professional coaching certifications · ICF-aligned · Kansas State University
“I have coached loan officers, executives, leaders, husbands, and fathers to become better versions of themselves. Not because I have all the answers — because I have done the work, lived the discipline, and earned the right to ask the questions that matter.”
— Steve Vargem, Financial Architect
Who I coach
Executives navigating complexity. Financial professionals scaling a practice. Loan officers who want to perform at a higher level. Leaders who want to show up better at work and at home. Husbands and fathers who understand that who you are privately determines how far you go publicly. If any of that is you — we should talk.
Mentors & influences
The voices I have lived by
These are not books I read. These are mentors whose teachings I have applied, tested, and built my life and coaching practice around. Their principles are woven into every conversation I have with a client.
Jon Gordon
Jon Gordon MLT Certified Speaker & Trainer
What I live by
Jon Gordon’s Mindset · Leadership · Teamwork (MLT) framework is the philosophy I train my coaching clients and teams on directly. Mindset is the fuel, Leadership is the multiplier, Teamwork is what sustains it. I use this framework in coaching sessions, team trainings, and public speaking — it is the clearest system I have found for building leaders and teams that last.
“Positive leadership is not just a nice way to lead. It’s the way to lead if you want to build a great culture, develop a connected team, and achieve superior results.”
Jim Rohn
America’s Foremost Business Philosopher
What I live by
Jim Rohn taught me that success is not something you pursue — it is something you attract by the person you become. His philosophy shaped how I think about discipline, personal development, and the non-negotiable daily habits that separate those who achieve from those who merely aspire. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. That principle has guided every mentoring and coaching relationship I have built.
“Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.”
John Maxwell
Leadership Expert & Bestselling Author
What I live by
John Maxwell’s conviction that everything rises and falls on leadership has been the backbone of how I have led teams across 30 years of financial services. His principle-centered approach to influence, character, and servant leadership is not theory for me — it is the operating system I have run on through every bank, every team, and every executive role I have held. I trained with the John Maxwell Team as both a credential and a commitment.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
Brendon Burchard
High Performance Coach & Researcher
What I live by
Brendon Burchard’s research on high performance validated what I had experienced as an athlete and military leader: sustained excellence is not accidental, it is engineered. His six areas — clarity, energy, necessity, productivity, influence, and courage — gave me the framework to translate my own high performance experience into a rigorous coaching methodology.
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
“The most valuable thing I bring to a coaching client is not 30 years of financial leadership. It is the discipline to ask the question that reveals what they actually need — and then work beside them until they build the answer.”
— Steve Vargem, Financial Architect
Credentials & certifications
Certified to coach at the highest level
Steve Vargem holds six professional coaching and training credentials — led by his Jon Gordon MLT certification — built on a foundation of military excellence, professional athletics, martial arts mastery, and three decades of executive leadership in financial services.
The Jon Gordon Companies
Jon Gordon MLT Certified
Speaker & Trainer
Certified to speak and train on Jon Gordon’s core Mindset · Leadership · Teamwork (MLT) principles — drawn from The Energy Bus, The Power of Positive Leadership, and The Power of a Positive Team. Steve’s primary credential for coaching teams, public speaking, and leadership training engagements.
High Performance Institute
High Performance
Coach
The High Performance curriculum covers the six proven areas of high performance — clarity, energy, necessity, productivity, influence, and courage — with a methodology for sustained excellence at the highest levels of personal and professional life. Directly aligned with Steve’s experience as a professional athlete and military leader.
John Maxwell Team
John Maxwell Team
Trained Coach
Trained through the John Maxwell Team in coaching, speaking, and leadership development. The Maxwell Method is built on the conviction that everything rises and falls on leadership — and that leaders are made, not born. This training represents both a credential and a personal commitment to principle-centered leadership that Steve has lived by for decades.
Center for Executive Coaching
Executive Coaching
Certification
Designed for professionals coaching C-suite executives and senior leaders. Covers leadership assessment, executive presence, organisational systems thinking, and high-stakes decision coaching. Directly informed by Steve’s own experience as an executive leader across multiple financial institutions.
Center for Executive Coaching
Business Coaching
Certification
Bridges coaching methodology with business strategy — revenue growth, team performance, entrepreneurial decision-making, and business structure. For Steve’s clients building or scaling a financial practice, this credential underpins every strategic conversation about growth and execution.
Military · Athletics · Martial Arts
A Foundation of Discipline
& Character
U.S. Army Infantry and Ranger honors. Professional athletic competition. Three Black Belts earned across three martial arts disciplines — with training alongside the world’s top martial artists and championship-level competition. These are not credentials you list on a resume. They are the foundation of a coaching practice built on trust, earned authority, and the deep belief that character is forged through consistent daily practice.
Primary credentials
Jon Gordon MLT Certified Speaker & Trainer · High Performance Coach · John Maxwell Team Trained · CEC Executive · Business Coaching
Military & athletics
U.S. Army Infantry & Ranger Honors · Professional Athlete
The discipline that anchors every coaching framework and conversation.
Executive leadership
Multiple Banks & IMBs · 30+ Years
Board Member · Builders Association of South Florida
Standards
International Coaching Federation (ICF) aligned
John Maxwell Team · High Performance Institute
How we work
From first conversation
to lasting change
Discovery Call
A 30-minute confidential conversation to understand where you are, where you want to go, and whether coaching is the right tool to close that gap. No obligation. No pitch. Just a real conversation between two people who take this seriously.
Coaching Design
Together we define the focus, the cadence, and the outcomes that matter most. The engagement is structured around your goals — your leadership, your business, your life — not a standardised programme.
Active Coaching
Regular sessions using co-active methodology and evidence-based questioning frameworks. Every session produces clarity, a shift in perspective, or a concrete next action. Real work. Real results.
Sustained Results
The measure of coaching is what happens after the engagement ends. We build accountability structures and thinking habits that continue producing results long after the final session. Lasting change, not temporary momentum.
Begin the conversation
Book your
discovery call
The discovery call is 30 minutes, completely confidential, and carries no obligation. It is simply a conversation to explore whether coaching is right for you, right now — and whether we are the right fit for each other.
Steve takes a limited number of new coaching clients each quarter. If you are ready to have a different kind of conversation about your performance, your leadership, or your next chapter — this is where it starts.
What to expect
- → 30 minutes, via Zoom or phone
- → Completely confidential — always
- → No pitch, no pressure, no obligation
- → Steve responds personally within one business day
“Every great coach I ever had believed in me before I believed in myself. That is the standard I hold myself to, every conversation, every client, every day.”
— Steve Vargem, Financial Architect
All enquiries are strictly confidential. Steve responds personally.
[email protected] · 949.678.0178
Financial Architect · Coaching & Advisory · High Performance
Coached by life.
Built to serve you.
I spent 30 years leading financial teams across the country, competed as a professional athlete, served with military honors, and earned three Black Belts — all shaped by mentors and coaches who cared about more than my performance. They cared about who I was becoming. I am grateful every day for that. Now I get to be that person for someone else. If you are ready, I am here.