Cultivating A-Ha Moments From the elephants in the room

Develop Leaders & teams

Cultivate & Engage talent

Create Dialogue & Facilitate Processes

 
 

It’s a trumpet call, not a stampede

We've all got elephants in the room – that thing hindering the best version of ourselves, our people, teams, and organizations. We see them. We feel them. We often avoid them. But here’s the thing - elephants are here to make us pay attention, not to cause harm.  Avoiding them doesn’t keep us safe; it keeps us stuck.

Talking Elephants is here to help you elevate the human and organizational dynamics underlying your endeavors.  I specialize in cultivating a-ha moments that invigorate my clients toward meaningful action reinforced with the relevant plan, support & accountability to sustain them.


Our work together will center on the belief that achieving big things takes self-awareness, healthy dynamics, effective conversations, talent & vibrant culture.  These things can be easy to see and easy to say but not initially easy to do. Talking Elephants will help.

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Some say that this work is the soft stuff.

OTHERS SAY THAT THE SOFT STUFF IS THE HARD STUFF.

The truth is, this work is the GREAT STUFF.


 

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT For PROFESSIONAL IMPACT

Coaching of individuals and teams is transformative.  It makes the difference between limiting your greatness and delivering your innate power. We’ll work to get you in your groove – that mode where you or your team are firing on all cylinders with authenticity & candor, establishing resilience, fulfillment and sustained results.

Most of what we want is just the right insight away.

Whether you are looking to maximize your own effectiveness, that of a teammate, or to fuel your team's collaboration, Talking Elephants evokes key discovery, provides unbiased insights and constructs with you the roadmap to action and desired impact.

INDIVIDUALS: ONE TO ONE COACHING

  • Performance & Leadership Effectiveness - new heights in the same role 

  • Leadership Transitions - aspiring, first-time & new level leaders

  • Partnership Hygiene

  • Strategic Thought Partnership & Decision Making

  • Life Goals & Career Path Development

  • Difficult conversations & Conflicts

TEAMS: COACHING & PRACTICE

  • Team Culture

  • Strengths Map, Norm Building

  • Trust, Communication and Productive Conflict

  • Rapport Building Experiences

  • Leading through Change

 

IT’S NOT OPTIONAL - IT'S OPTIMAL

Consistent experiences within your organization ultimately translate to those outside of it—your customer, your audience, your stakeholders. 

Organizations are their most potent and resilient when ‘how we do things around here’ breeds a daily use of strengths, and a sense of relevance and belonging.

Don't just hope. Decide. It’s an intentional practice.

I work with organizations looking to move from lofty aspirations regarding employee engagement & culture to a shared experience that can be seen, felt, and measured throughout their organization.

My clients value the development and retention of talent. I help them define their other core values and assess where their norms serve them and where they don't. Together, we will create an engaged team and bring the experience to life throughout the organization.

Select & Teach

  • Talent Selection & Onboarding

  • Succession Planning, Talent Development, & Readiness

  • Training

Define & Align

  • Mission, Vision, Core Values, & Key Behaviors

  • Culture & Environment Assessment

  • Initiative Development

INVEST & UPHOLD

  • Feedback Cycle & Performance Evaluations

  • Team Member Engagement & Recognition

  • Retention Strategies

 

Breakthroughs, not Breakdowns

Once the talent & expertise has been convened, the success of your endeavor ultimately relies on the quality of its interactions, the organization of its ideas and the buy-in to its purpose.

We don’t have all of the answers. You and your team do.

Talking Elephants designs the format and fosters the dynamics your team needs to lean into challenging, complex discussions and to chart critical endeavors. Together, we will solicit the best thinking, and enable leaders to be present and accessible to their people throughout the process.

FACILITATION

  • Meeting Makeovers

  • Strategic Planning

  • Team Engagement Dialogues

  • Conflict Resolution

  • Management, Staff, & Board Retreats

  • Decision Making & Problem Solving

  • Mission & Vision Development

  • Facilitation of Pivotal Conversations & Engagements on Key Topics

  • Employee Engagement & Strategic Initiative Planning, Design & Rollout

 

this work is who I am.

For over 25 years leaders and their team members have been pulling me aside to help them solve what’s keeping them up at night, to coach them through their difficult conversations, and to help make the daunting do-able.

I first leveraged these traits as District Manager for the major retailer, Limited Brands. I oversaw 12 stores, dozens of managers and a multi-state team, and was appointed to various task forces at the regional & corporate level. Facing our own elephants, we turned an underestimated, underperforming district into a top-performing, revered one.  That’s where I learned that talent, motivational fit and the quality of interactions were everything.

I am a proud UNH Alum, a certified Gallup Clifton Strengths coach, trained in Brené Brown Brown's Dare to Lead, Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership, and Franklin Covey's What Matters Most among other frameworks. But, perhaps what sharpens my skills the most is being married for over twenty years and having two teen boys.

Let's meet your elephants, grapple with what they offer and be more resilient because of it. I've got you.

 
 

Clients

I’ve marched in parade with some pretty incredible clients. Here are just a few.

Working with Holly on my own executive leadership skills as well as our experience with her helping to shape our leadership team has been some of the most insightful and inspiring work I've done in my career. Holly brings a combination of her own special strengths and professional development tools that she has honed over years of engaging with individuals and large teams. The work is intense and yields meaningful and practical approaches to improving how we maximize our individual and collective strengths.

-Tina Sawtelle, Executive Director, The Music Hall

As our organization looked to engage our team in new and different ways, we worked with Holly and Talking Elephants to help us with this critical organizational initiative. Holly did a deep dive to understand our team and designed a program focused on our goals and objectives. Holly’s enthusiasm and professionalism comes through in everything she does including the delivery of effective and fun programs that allowed every member of the team to be involved and engaged. Holly made sure we achieved our goals and we can’t wait to work with her again.

-Pat Closson, Director, Chair of Corporate Department and Chair of Healthcare Group, McLane Middleton

Holly combines her deep knowledge of planning and facilitating with her outstanding ability to really listen to and understand her clients, to help them achieve new levels of productivity. Holly is an insightful and skilled partner. I’ve deeply appreciated our work over the years.

-Debbie Dutton, Vice President for Advancement and President of the UNH Foundation, UNH

The university recently restructured the traditional research office into the office of research, economic development, and outreach. This change brought together 400 staff from across many program areas that serve both the research and public service mission of the university. We needed help bringing together leaders from across the newly formed division and had trouble finding a place to begin. Holly quickly assessed our needs and provided a roadmap that would bring leadership together to identify strengths, weaknesses and the common threads that will move the division toward greater impact. Holly was practical, professional, and easily related to our faculty, staff, and leadership throughout the process.

-Kenneth J. La Valley, PhD, Vice Provost University Outreach and Engagement, Dean & Director UNH Cooperative Extension UNH Professional Development & Training

CONTACT

We’re going to do amazing things together! I can’t wait to meet you.

 

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