Who Do You Aspire To Be?

As we reflect on Women’s History month I look back on the women who have inspired me, day to day, throughout my life. Not every hero is standing in the spotlight but standing in the background women everywhere are creating opportunities for future generations. Watch my latest vlog to see how women throughout history have paved the … Read more

Be The Example Others Want To Follow

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we honor and recognize the many women who have given so much to provide opportunity for American women today.  We often recall the significant, defining accomplishments in our history….Women’s Suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement, the Equal Rights Amendment.  We owe so much to the women who paved the way. … Read more

When did you last consider your ‘How’?

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Dangerously Unaware I was starting a new position and had heard about the General Manager’s reputation. He had grown up in his career running manufacturing facilities and had a tough-guy type of approach to leadership. In his new General Manager role, he was leading a corporate function, which required a different leadership style. I remember … Read more

Leading through transitions

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Even though unemployment is low, companies are still restructuring. Companies are facing uncertainty in healthcare, new business models in grocery retail, and new competition in other industries. In order to remain competitive and take out cost, companies turn to restructuring their workforce with approaches such as layoffs or early retirement offers. My husband’s employer offered … Read more

7 Steps To Strengthen Your Leadership Pipeline

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What usually happens when you leave something to the last minute? It never turns out as good as it could. The same goes for your leadership talent readiness. Leave it to the last minute, and your company’s leadership talent is not as good as it needs to be. The problem is that companies wait to … Read more

4 Practices to Hack Your Experience Gap

Hack Your Experience Gap

One of the biggest challenges for professionals is gaining the experience needed to land the next position in their career. This mirrors one of the biggest challenges for companies – a pipeline of experienced professionals ready for the leadership positions they are hired into.  A recent Deloitte study* confirms this ‘readiness gap’, with twenty-eight percent … Read more

10 Practices To Help Your Employees Shine During High-Pressure Times

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As a leader, you’ve lived through it before — the final push at the end of the quarter or year. It’s all hands on deck to make the numbers in what seems like a wild frenzy to meet customer needs and financial commitments. And don’t forget, the regular work doesn’t stop during this time; you still have … Read more

4 Misperceptions Ruining Your Leadership Potential

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As you move up into leadership roles, more is demanded of you.  There’s so much flying at you each day. And, the demands on you are different than they were as an individual contributor.  In the leadership development training I facilitate, I hear rising leaders talk about the challenges of balancing these demands. Once these … Read more

Manage Your Productivity By Delegating The Right Way

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We’ve all had them — the times we’ve tried to delegate and things turned out all wrong. I recently had three days to turn around a focus group report for the executives of a client. I hired a virtual assistant to transcribe the discussion. The report I got back was missing segments of the meeting … Read more

7 Steps You Can Take Now to Retain Millennial Talent

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“I work to live.”  You’ve probably heard that phrase uttered among millennials you know.  For this generation, working is a means to be able to live the lifestyle they want, which means, they will move to the job that supports their lifestyle. Big jobs and big pay are lesser priorities for many in this generation. … Read more

Copyright 2023 Vivian Blade