The Latest Insights from Leading NOW

Erin Defoyd

Former, Director of Strategic Client Solutions | Leading Women

Posts by Erin Defoyd

Choosing a Training Supplier: The 4 Things You Need to Know

With the gender gap growing at a rapid pace due to Covid-19, the retention and advancement of women in the workforce is at an important and critical inflection point. We know that hiring alone won’t address the gap, but the right kind of strategic talent development and coaching can! Leading Women is helping our clients develop, advance, and retain the talent they have within and across all levels of their organization - so that they see the opportunities that are possible at an organization that is committed to investing in their career journey. Leading Women has been recognized as a Top 10 Leadership Development Training/Coaching Company!
2 min read | Erin Defoyd
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Talent Development Closing the Gender Gap IWiN Women's Leadership Development Leading Women

2020’s Miss is Now a “New” 2030 Promise – But Will Orgs Break This Promise Too?

This season of Covid has certainly shed a new light on the inequities in the workforce and communities. From the new pressures on working women with children at home full-time, to the data that’s emerging on how Covid is impacting the underserved, to horrific demonstrations of racism. Many have said that Covid has become the tinder for the flames that are needed to burn down the vast array of inequities that exist. From a gender perspective we have seen lots of “new” goals and promises make headlines, with more and more organizations willing to state their commitment to a 50/50 gender balanced workforce by 2030. Yes, in response to the coronavirus, but also in response to data like this from McKinsey’s latest “Diversity Wins” which states: “companies in the top quartile for gender diversity in their executive teams were 25 percent more likely to experience above-peer average profitability.”
3 min read | Erin Defoyd
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Closing the Gender Gap Gender Dynamics Business Imperative Making the Business Case

Navigating Change with Resiliency

This is the final post in our current blog series on the core leadership competencies needed to navigate an environment of constant change. So far, we’ve looked at what it means to demonstrate Interpersonal Savvy, Organizational Agility, Dealing with Ambiguity, and Managing Complexity. And today, we’ll conclude with a look at “Resiliency” -- appropriately so, given the change we are collectively navigating across our world. When we began this series back in March, it was just days after International Women’s Day and during the first moments when the reality of the current Covid-19 crisis was becoming clear. And here we are today, globally still navigating change -- one where the power and strength of resiliency has become abundantly clear. Whether we’ve seen this through the visible and heroic demonstrations by essential workers on the front lines of the crisis in healthcare, public safety, education and food services -- or a version that is less visible because it’s happening inside each of our homes as we adjust and navigate work, family, connection, and our physical & mental well-being while in quarantine. Resilience is most certainly essential.
4 min read | Erin Defoyd
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Talent Development Tools/Resources Change

Managing Complexity: The Up Close & Wider View

We are continuing our series on the core leadership competencies needed to navigate an environment of constant change. Change that is defined as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA). So far we’ve looked at Interpersonal Savvy, Organizational Agility and Dealing with Ambiguity. This week, we’ll take a look at Managing Complexity, which we define as: A focus on achieving results while minding multiple factors including ones like geography, risk, media attention, government regulation & diverse communities.
4 min read | Erin Defoyd
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Talent Development Tools/Resources Change

Leading Through Uncertainty: Dealing with Ambiguity

We are continuing our current blog series on the core leadership competencies needed to navigate change. Change that is defined as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA). So far we’ve covered “Interpersonal Savvy” and “Organizational Agility” - and today we are digging into “Dealing with Ambiguity.” “Ambiguity is a type of meaning in which a phrase, statement or resolution is not explicitly defined, making several interpretations plausible. A common aspect of ambiguity is uncertainty.”
3 min read | Erin Defoyd
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Talent Development Tools/Resources Change

Organizational Agility: Getting “It” Done

We are continuing our series on the core leadership competencies needed to navigate an environment of constant change. Change that is defined as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA). Last week we focused on the “Interpersonal Savvy” competency and this week we are highlighting “Organizational Agility.” We define this competency as: “Getting “it” done through formal and informal processes.”
3 min read | Erin Defoyd
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Talent Development Tools/Resources Change

Interpersonal Savvy... What You Need to Lead!

As we look towards another month (at least) of quarantine, many of us may feel like we have settled into some kind of new normal. Whether you’ve drastically adjusted to where and how you work, or you’ve unfortunately been displaced from work due to pandemic related lay-offs, the truth is that leadership in the pace of change today, has never been more important. As we discussed in our recent blog -- change is the only constant in life -- and that is so very true at this present time. While we must accept what’s out of our control and work to settle into a new normal, abandoning any of the core leadership competencies for managing change is not an option. So, today we wanted to share with you info on the leadership competency: Interpersonal Savvy. Interpersonal Savvy is “relating well with all kinds of people - inside and outside of the organization, building support, relationships, using diplomacy & defusing high tension situations.”
4 min read | Erin Defoyd
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Talent Development Strategic Relationships Tools/Resources Change