Posts by Tracey Thorsen-Brady
Claim Your Seat
You’ve worked hard, practiced your craft, and led your team to successes along the way. Then it happens … you’re being promoted to a vice president. Time to celebrate – you’ve made it! The hard part is over, right? Take Joe, for example. (All names are fictious.) He is known as the subject matter expert…
Read MoreNail Down Your Strategy
I love to work with executives who want to make a bigger impact in their worlds. They care about their teams and the people they work with; they are really smart; they succeed in many facets of their work; and they want to continue to grow as leaders. Generally, they want support with building a…
Read MoreResolve to Look at the Big Picture
Tis the season to … begin thinking about January 1. Oh, you thought I was going to say “… be jolly”! While the current year is winding down, leaders are meeting with their teams to identify what worked and what didn’t in 2020 and to solidify goals for 2021. Decisions about priorities and what is…
Read MoreChange Is In My DNA
I’ve moved 30 times in my life, held 12 major functional roles in business, married more than once, been part of 18 critical change initiatives (e.g., business transformations, technology upgrades, merger/acquisitions), and recently redecorated my dining room. Since growing up in a military family, my entire life has been a “dance” of changes, and I…
Read MoreFlex Your Leadership Muscles
“I don’t really want to change who I am,” said one of my clients after I shared input from several people who worked with him. He was a nice guy, an intelligent person who juggled multiple critical priorities and was driven to succeed in any challenge he encountered. This was his brand. Yet there was…
Read MoreThe Power of Connection
I have changed roles, functions and levels at multiple points in my corporate career. And, most of the time I worked with people whom I previously did not know. I loved that every change came with a significant challenge, so building meaningful relationships was critical. I knew I would not succeed without the partnership and…
Read MoreWords Matter
Over the last few years, there seems to be a new singing competition on every television channel. Even the 2020 finalists in America’s Got Talent – where all types of acts are encouraged – was comprised of 6 singers out of 10 contestants. Interestingly, one of the four non-singing acts won the $1M first prize…
Read MoreThe Best Investment
I love to hear my husband’s stories that start with, “Dad taught me…” The importance of family, entrepreneurship, and adventure as a staple of life are a few of his favorite topics. For example, Doug learned about profitability at age 8 when he was reminded that he had to pay for the lawnmower rental and…
Read MoreDon’t Clash Over Conflict
The mere mention of the word conflict can elicit stomach pain, angst and even heartache. For most people, it certainly is no fun to be in conflict with someone, which is why so many avoid it. Interestingly, leaders in organizations who avoid conflict may be doing harm to an individual or team. I worked with…
Read MoreIt’s Not a Big Deal … Or Is It?
After 4 ½ months of sheltering in place in another state, my parents declared “it’s family time.” On the second day of their visit, my mom handed me a printout. I had only spoken two words when my dad said, “You don’t need to read that aloud. It’s not a biggie.” (The latter being a…
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