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Starting a new position should feel exciting, but for many leaders, it comes with quiet pressure. You want to make a strong impression, build trust quickly, and show the organization they made the right choice, all while navigating expectations you’re still discovering. Your Ideal Onboarding Plan breaks down the communication moves that make those early days easier. Here’s a 30–60–90 day framework to keep you focused and confident in your new role.

Have you ever wondered why some conversations create momentum while others stall? The answer often comes down to influence. Not pressure, not authority, but the subtle incentives that guide how people behave. Today's tip sheet breaks down three surprising lessons from The 48 Laws of Power that every modern leader should know. They will shift how you communicate, how you motivate, and how you build trust inside your team.

What if you’ve been rewarding the wrong things all year? Every leader talks about goals, but it’s what you reward that tells your team who you really are. When you praise speed, people rush. When you praise heroics, people wait for emergencies. When you praise curiosity, people start solving deeper problems. Learn how to make those incentives work for you, not against your culture. Read today’s Speak by Design Tip Sheet: “Incentivizing Behaviors: The Hidden Power of M

“I just don’t want this meeting to blow up,” a senior executive once told me. Most leaders try to avoid conflict. The great ones learn to expect it, and even invite it. Avoiding discomfort might feel safe but it costs you credibility, creativity, and connection. In this blog post, we explore how to reframe those tense moments as important conversations that move relationships and results forward.

Most leaders think their best work happens when everyone agrees. But real progress begins the moment someone disagrees, and you stay calm enough to listen. This article explores how increasing conflict tolerance strengthens trust, speeds up decisions, and helps teams work through tension instead of around it.

The best leaders don’t say “I’m sorry” as often as you think. Learn when an apology strengthens trust, and when it quietly undermines your authority. This is the foundation of increasing conflict tolerance: staying steady when tension rises instead of rushing to smooth it over.

Few leaders balance authority and approachability as naturally as Lara Hodgson. Her communication style blends energy, structure, and authenticity, skills every speaker can master. This week, we’re featuring Lara Hodgson in our Best Public Speakers series. See what makes her presence so memorable.

It only takes senior leaders seconds to decide whether your message matters. Learn the 90-second strategy that gets their attention - and their approval - fast.

Some leaders change companies. Others change how we think about people. Laszlo Bock, former Google CHRO and now Co-Founder of Gretel.ai, is redefining what it means to lead with both innovation and humanity.

Build a Voice You Actually Like: The 7-Minute Vocal Warm-Up That Changes Everything. In just minutes a day, posture, breath, resonance, articulation, and confidence drills can transform your tone, clarity, and authority—helping you show up with more control, confidence, and presence.

We included Larry Fink on our Best Speakers list because he is one of the most powerful and influential leaders in the world. His journey, from a career-defining loss to building the world’s largest asset management firm, is a masterclass in resilience and vision.

What are the Communications Skills Every Professional should MASTER for Career Growth? To stand out, you must learn to communicate in a way that inspires action, sparks emotion, and creates lasting impact. Creativity is the answer.

Every team develops a tone over time. It’s shaped by what gets celebrated, how meetings feel, and how people respond when things go wrong. That tone is culture. And communication is what shapes it. Every single day. You need Creative Communications.

Most teams aren’t struggling because they lack information. They’re struggling because they’re uninspired by how it’s communicated. In 2025, the best leaders won’t just be clear. They’ll be compelling. Here are 7 Creative Communications techniques you can start using right away to lead with greater impact.

By: Stephanie Bickel Executive presence used to mean polish. Today, it means connection. People want leaders who feel clear, grounded,...

One of the greatest leadership skills is clarity. But in high-stakes environments, the ideas leaders need to communicate are rarely simple. You’re sharing vision, strategy, risk, transformation. These aren’t bullet points. They’re layered, abstract, evolving. The mistake most leaders make? They respond to complexity with more complexity, more slides, more caveats, more context.

Teams don’t remember your standard updates. They remember how you made them feel. If you want to shift the tone at the top, or reshape your team culture, you need more than new words or a better slide deck. You need a Creative Communication, or better yet, a series of Creative Communications: peak experiences that signal change, create momentum, and leave people saying, “We’re moving forward. Things are getting better.” This is where Creative Communications make all the diff

In high-stakes environments, good communication is no longer enough. People want to feel something. They want to know change is happening, and that they’re part of it. This is where Creative Communications come in. Leaders who rely on updates, dashboards ...

Facilitator or Expert: Great communicators know when to lead with expertise and when to guide as a facilitator. Shifting between these roles—based on the room’s needs—builds credibility, trust, and engagement. The key is being intentional: sometimes your value is what you know, and other times it’s how you help others think.

Developing a Commanding Presence: A senior presence starts with sound. By resetting your mindset, tuning your voice, and practicing deliberate delivery, you can project the authority and steadiness that clients expect from a partner. With consistent drills and body language cues, your voice begins communicating confidence and judgment before your slides ever do.