Conflict isn’t a sign something’s broken. It’s a sign people care. The goal isn’t to avoid conflict; it’s to transform it into clarity. When handled well, conflict strengthens relationships and sharpens ideas. Ask yourself two questions before engaging: What story might I be telling myself about this situation? What story might they be telling themselves? Understanding both sides creates empathy, and empathy makes resolution possible.

Trust is the invisible currency of every team. When it’s high, everything moves faster. When it’s low, everything gets stuck. Building trust doesn’t start with strategy. It starts with self-awareness. Most trust issues are not about others. They begin with our own self-preservation, those moments when we protect, withdraw, or posture instead of staying open. Leaders who acknowledge their own blind spots and fears create space for honesty in others. Trust grows in that space.

Most communication problems are not about clarity of message but clarity of intent. Before every conversation, ask yourself: What is my intent? Am I trying to clarify? Collaborate? Critique? Celebrate? When people don’t know why you’re communicating, they will assume the worst. Clear intent builds trust and invites openness. The best leaders communicate not to be understood, but to understand—and to help others grow through the conversation.

Your success as a leader isn’t measured by what you accomplish. It’s measured by who grows because of you. Great leaders don’t just produce results; they produce other leaders. That requires patience, intention, and the willingness to let people struggle long enough to grow. When someone is learning something new, they’ll move through frustration, doubt, and discouragement before they find confidence. Your job isn’t to pull them out of the struggle too soon. It’s to guide the

HR leaders often sit in one of the toughest spots in any organization: caught between supporting people and challenging systems. You’re the steady presence in moments of tension. You exist between employees and management, between what’s ideal and what’s realistic, between compassion and accountability. But here’s the trap many fall into: They lean too far to one side. - Too much support, and you risk enabling unhealthy patterns. - Too much challenge, and you create fear inst

Thoughtful leaders know this tension well: balancing support and challenge. You are the one who listens, encourages, and advocates for people, while also being the one who holds boundaries, addresses hard truths, and keeps the culture healthy. Here is what I have learned: Trust does not just grow through support. It grows through challenges. People do not trust leaders who avoid tough conversations. They trust leaders who will tell them the truth with empathy and respect. Cha

No matter how experienced or well-intentioned you are as a leader, trust will break at some point. It might happen through miscommunication, a decision that lands the wrong way, or a moment when you were simply stretched too thin to show up as your best self. When trust breaks, most leaders respond in one of two ways. - Some avoid it and hope time will heal it. - Others overcorrect and try to fix everything overnight. Neither approach works. Rebuilding trust is not about spee

HR leaders—when’s the last time you were in a room where you didn’t have to have all the answers? You carry the culture. You field the complaints. You lead the change, support the leadership team, and make sure no one falls through the cracks. But who’s developing you? The HR Leadership Lab is a 6-month experience designed for HR professionals who are ready to:  ✅ Build their strategic leadership influence  ✅ Strengthen trust and clarity across teams  ✅ Step out of reactivity

In most organizations, HR professionals have all the responsibility—but not always the formal power. So how do you build real influence when you’re not the decision-maker? It starts with trust. Not just being trustworthy—but building credibility in how you show up, speak up, and follow through. Here are 3 underrated ways HR leaders grow their influence: 1. Ask great questions. Influence grows when people feel heard. Stop giving all the answers. Start helping others process. 2

One of the biggest barriers to effective execution inside organizations isn’t laziness or resistance.  It’s a lack of clarity. As leaders, we often assume people are dropping the ball because they don’t care. But more often, it’s because they’re unclear about:  What’s expected  Who’s responsible  When it’s due  How success will be measured Here’s a simple diagnostic I use with leaders: When something isn’t getting done, ask: “Is the problem effort, or clarity?”  9 times out o

How often have you had a conversation go sideways, even though your heart was in the right place? One of the biggest causes of miscommunication isn’t what we say, it’s what we don’t make clear: our intent. Try this: Before giving feedback… Before asking a tough question… Before facilitating a conversation between two people in conflict…  >Name your intent out loud. “I’m not here to critique—I’m here to help you improve.” “I’m not trying to challenge your authority—I just want

HR leaders are some of the most mission-driven professionals I know. But they’re also some of the most overextended. Between compliance demands, employee relations, leadership requests, and “firefighting” on every level, it’s easy to get stuck in reactive mode. Here’s the challenge: When you're always responding, it’s hard to lead proactively. You lose sight of long-term priorities. You stop influencing culture and start managing crises. Want to break the cycle? Try this: 1.

HR leaders, when’s the last time someone invested in you? Not a compliance workshop. Not another training on benefits or policies. But real, intentional development of your leadership capacity. Because here’s the truth: You sit at the intersection of people, strategy, and culture. You carry the emotional weight of teams, leaders, and the whole organization. And often, you’re expected to lead change, without fully supporting yourself. That’s why I created the HR Leadership Lab

Leadership is not about power over, It’s about responsibility for. For the culture. For the people. For the future you’re helping to build. Too often, leadership is seen as the ability to call the shots, set the tone, or stay in control. But the most impactful leaders I’ve worked with—and the ones I’ve tried to emulate—don’t lead with authority. They lead with ownership. Ownership of the team's health. Of their own self-awareness. Of the environment they’re shaping for others

No laptop. No meetings. Just me, my girls, and the beach. The days were full of sandcastles, laughter, and a whole lot of sunscreen. The sound of the waves did what it always does, slowed my mind, softened the noise, and reminded me of what matters. As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get caught in the constant churn. There’s always something else to finish, improve, or respond to. But rest isn’t a luxury, it’s a leadership discipline. Play restores creativity. Rest resets clari

What does it look like when a team takes a step back to get aligned and re-centered? Last week, I had the privilege of guiding a group of mid-level managers through a Leadership Summit designed to kick off a 10-month leadership development journey. We used some of my favorite brainstorming tools to surface what’s working, what’s challenging, and what a great manager really looks like in their context. How did it go? Honest dialogue. Fresh clarity. And a shared commitment to g

One of the most transformative leadership questions I’ve ever encountered is this: “What’s it like to be on the other side of me?” The first time I really sat with that question, I didn’t love the answer. I saw where I was holding back. I saw where I was trying to control. I saw where my best intentions didn’t always land the way I thought they did. It was humbling, but also freeing. Because once I understood how I was showing up, I could start leading with greater clarity, e

You don’t need another workshop. Or a motivational keynote. Or a binder full of leadership content you’ll never open again. What you do need is space. → Space to process what’s real. → Space to wrestle with what’s not working. → Space to build leadership habits that actually change the way you show up. That’s XCore. Not as a one-and-done workshop. But as a yearlong leadership experience rooted in this idea: Transformation > Information. Each month, we gather in trusted circle

Just finished "Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferrazzi - and I’m rethinking how I show up in relationships. For most of my career, I’ve thought of networking as going to events and swapping as many business cards as possible. As an introvert, I hate this type of activity. But "Never Eat Alone" reframed it completely: Relationship-building isn’t a strategy — it’s a way of life. One idea that’s stuck with me: creating a Relationships Action Plan — not a to-do list, but a mindset. A

I stood in front of The Thinker during a recent visit to the Met. And it made me laugh a little… because I’ve been there. Locked in my own head. Running every scenario. Playing out every conversation. Wearing the title of “leader” while spinning in circles. For a long time, I thought thinking was always productive. But I’ve learned that not all thinking is healthy. Sometimes, it’s just anxiety dressed up as strategy. A way to avoid hard conversations. A mask for perfectionism