Blog

“I think I have a condition.” That’s how one accomplished leader described her fear of presenting. What she actually had was a belief problem, not a diagnosis. Here’s how to reframe the fear of public speaking and lead the room with confidence. Read the full post →

“Got a Minute?” has quietly turned into a 45-minute therapy session for too many leaders. You walk in ready to talk strategy and performance, and walk out carrying everyone’s childhood wounds and workplace pain. In this tip sheet, Stephanie shows you how to say “I’m not your therapist” with gravitas and grace, while still being the leader people trust.

AI can analyze patterns, but it cannot read the room — and that’s where most leaders lose influence without realizing it. There’s one mistake people make in high-stakes meetings that instantly weakens their impact. This short read breaks it down, and once you see it, you won’t unsee it.

Leaders tell me all the time that “speaking up and voicing the truth that others hesitate to say” is the hardest thing to do. They’re not struggling with honesty. They’re struggling with risk management, emotion management, and power dynamics all at once. This is where gravitas is really tested. Not in a keynote, not in a town hall, but in that one quiet conversation where you tell someone above you that they are wrong, off, or becoming part of the problem.

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.

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, and emotionally in sync with the room, whether that room is a boardroom, Zoom window, or town hall stage. But here’s the problem: presence doesn’t always scale. When your calendar fills, your team grows, or your communication becomes more public, it’s harder to maintain that sense of connection. That’s where Creative Communications come in. Th

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

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.

Managing Down: Elevate Your Leadership Communication with Patience and Positivity

Conversations with potential investors and analysts require the right balance of expertise, storytelling, and crisis management.