So, why should you pay any attention to me?

I could give you the usual sort of backstory about how I spent twentysomething years in corporate America, sixteen of them in leadership, witnessing and experiencing so much painful dysfunction. And how that made me want, very deeply, to do what I could to make things better by consulting, training, speaking, and coaching on change and change leadership (since change initiatives are where I see the biggest leadership challenge and therefore the most opportunity).

All true. But, well, yawn.

Because there are a gazillion consultants, speakers, and trainers out there who say pretty much exactly the same thing. Not very inspiring, eh?

Here’s what’s different about me: My brain doesn’t work like most people’s.

I see patterns, and I think in systems and process.

Great. What does that even mean, anyway?

It means my brain is always alert to how things currently work, and immediately notices how they could be tweaked, changed, or reconstructed to work better.

Whether it’s one person’s behavior, a team’s interactions, or a company’s struggle with change, seeing the pattern means seeing where to intervene to make things better, how to tweak a process to run more smoothly, how to create a system that uncomplicates work and ramps up productivity.

My friends, colleagues, and clients have taken to calling me Ms. MacGyver, because I put solutions together that others have, quite literally, said were impossible. (Ask me about that story!)

Sounds like change leadership to me!

This ability is not normal

For a long time, I thought everyone could do this.

But then I realized that being able to see patterns, think in systems, and simultaneously understand the big picture and all the details involved – it’s not normal.

Because of this ability, I have clients who rely upon me to help them work through tough interpersonal and people-management situations, in one case saving thousands in a contract negotiation, and in another, restoring a manager-employee relationship that had devolved into fiery conflict. Other clients have asked for my help consolidating multiple conflicting leadership and succession-planning approaches across their organization into a single, clear, career-path and leadership-development process.

(On a personal level, it also means I rather compulsively straighten pictures on the wall, am driven slightly mad by websites that wiggle, and – much to my husband’s bafflement – always know which lid goes with which plastic storage container. It’s all about patterns, and I see them whether I want to or not.)

Couple this ability with my core values:

  • find a better perspective;
  • do something about it;
  • make it fun!; and
  • all life deserves care,

And you’ll find I’m not (dare I say it) your “normal” change expert.

We waste far too much human potential and smother far too much human gladness

And I find that maddening, sad, and unnecessary.

Work shouldn’t suck, and corporate life shouldn’t be a rat race. Change shouldn’t be a battle.

Because of this difference – this ability – I help my clients understand and implement change in ways they might never have considered or imagined possible. Ways that bring out the best in their people – and in their organization – creating humane, productive, energizing workplaces.

My brain doesn’t work like most people’s.

And that’s a great thing for my clients.

Curious and want to know more?

Click here to schedule time to tell me what changes you’re facing, what’s frustrating you, and what you and your organization need most to create the lasting, sustainable changes you need to be successful.

Or click here to read about the services I offer.

Education, training, certifications, memberships, affiliations …

For more on my professional background, please see my LinkedIn profile.

  • 25 years in the corporate world, including:
    • Director and senior-staff executive at EMC Document Sciences; led the Professional Services and Knowledge Management departments, marketing, selling, and managing six- and seven-figure client projects
    • Director and corporate officer at Munich Re America
    • External Knowledge Management consultant for Hewlett-Packard, coordinating global KM process initiatives
  • Graduate of the SCPI mediation program from the Center for Understanding in Conflict, New York and California
  • Foundations of Communities of Practice Graduate Seminar, CPSquare
  • Certified Print® Coach
  • Coaching Mastery™ Program, Coachville
  • Fully-certified Realization Process teacher (meditation, subtle self-work, and embodiment)
  • BA with Honors, Writing (Ancient History minor), Bard College, New York
  • Association for Talent Development, San Diego: past Board member; past Chapter President
  • Association for Talent Development, Northwest Arkansas: member and speaker
  • Past Instructor, University of Arkansas Global Campus, Rogers, Arkansas
  • Past Instructor, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Extension, Career & Life Stages Seminars; Mira Costa Community College Outreach Program
  • Author of The Five Deadly Shoulds of Office Politics (available on Amazon).
  • Clan Leslie Society International: lineal (direct descent) member.

Odd facts about me

  • 2002 Fastest Knitter in America; appeared on Good Morning America to compete for the World Title. (yes, really!) Lost by three stitches in three minutes. Sigh.
  • Certified cat person who once (unintentionally) had ten cats (yes, it was very furry).
  • Someone who routinely saves earthworms off rainy pavements. Turns out the best tool for picking up the squirmy, slimy little things is a golf tee. Who knew?