How can organizations effectively navigate change to foster growth and empower their teams?

Join us as we dive into an inspiring conversation with Cathy Ach, founder of Learning Paradigms. In this episode, Cathy shares her expertise in leadership, strategy, and change management, offering invaluable insights for women entrepreneurs and business leaders. Learn how to align your team, overcome resistance to change, and lead with authenticity as Cathy provides actionable strategies for navigating organizational transformations.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Power of Strategic Planning – Cathy emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision and strategy to unify teams and guide decision-making, enabling organizations to thrive during times of change.
2. Communicate the “Why” – Successful change starts with explaining the rationale behind it. Cathy discusses how understanding the purpose of change fosters buy-in from employees and reduces resistance.
3. Overcoming Resistance with Empathy – Cathy shares how addressing skepticism and resistance with empathy and clear communication can turn obstacles into opportunities for growth.
4. Leverage External Expertise – Cathy highlights the value of bringing in outside consultants to provide fresh perspectives and guide organizations through complex change initiatives.

Tune in to this insightful discussion and discover how to embrace change and lead your organization to success with practical strategies from Cathy Ach!

Cathy is the founder and President of Learning Paradigms, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in strategy, leadership development, and organizational change. She is recognized for her ability to work visually with clients in mapping out
complex business problems and in developing customized solutions to drive growth. With nearly 20 years of corporate leadership experience at BankBoston, Andersen Consulting, and Baxter Healthcare, she launched her business in 2000.

Cathy provides high-impact consulting and coaching services across diverse industries, including health care, pharmaceuticals/ life sciences, aviation, media, retail, and professional services, to clarify strategic direction, drive leadership growth, and enhance team alignment. LPI’s clients over the past ten years have included Baxter International, Walgreens, W.W. Grainger, Horizon Therapeutics, Starcom Worldwide, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and United Airlines.

Cathy holds a BA in Social Psychology from Amherst College and an MS in Learning & Organizational Change from Northwestern University. She is a Professionally Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation. Additionally, she is certified in the use of the TypeCoach Verifier Communication & Influence System™, the Leadership Circle Profile 360™, the Balanced Scorecard™, and Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead Methodology™.

You can connect with Cathy Ach here:
Website: https://learningparadigms.com/about-us/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathy-ach-7b4731/
Building Your Blueprint: https://www.amazon.com

How can successful women entrepreneurs overcome 'reverse imposter syndrome' when starting their own businesses?

In this episode of The Savvy Session, we explore the challenges corporate women face when transitioning to entrepreneurship. Join us as Katharine Campbell Hirst, founder of Katharine Campbell Hirst Coaching & Advisory, shares her expertise in empowering female entrepreneurs and executives.

Katharine explores "reverse imposter syndrome," where successful women entrepreneurs feel "bigger" than their new ventures. Unlike traditional imposter syndrome, this occurs when experienced professionals, used to running large campaigns or leading teams, feel overwhelmed by simpler tasks like building a website. This can lead to self-doubt. Katharine advises embracing the process of starting small and being comfortable as a beginner again, even after achieving success in other areas.

Katharine’s journey—from management consulting, through burnout, to working for Tory Burch and finding her passion for coaching—provides a powerful backdrop for the discussion. She’s committed to helping women executives scale their ventures by reimagining strategies, emphasizing delegation, and focusing on high-value activities for growth and success.

Tune in to discover 5 key takeaways from our conversation:

1. The distinct challenges of transitioning from corporate life to entrepreneurship.
2. Essential mindset shifts for women starting their own businesses after corporate success.
3. Rediscovering your passion and falling back in love with your business.
4. The transformative power of group retreats and mastermind sessions.
5. How to integrate fun, authenticity, and work-life harmony into your business development.

This episode is packed with practical advice and inspiration for any woman ready to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

Katharine Campbell Hirst’s eclectic life spans six countries and a variety of careers, including strategy consulting at Accenture, speechwriting for Tory Burch, and co-creating a spy museum.

As a coach today, Katharine works at the intersection of psychology and business, helping women entrepreneurs and executives build joyful and impactful careers that surpass the expectations of their lineage, our society, and even their mentors.

She deeply believes that we can heal capitalism by empowering women and using business as a tool to enhance our shared humanity.

You can connect with Katharine Campbell Hirst here:
Website: https://www.katharinecampbellhirst.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharine-hirst/

In today's fast-paced world, how we connect with ourselves and each other greatly impacts our productivity and well-being.

Join us for an insightful conversation with Emma Miele, an ICF-accredited coach with a master’s in Transformational Coaching and Leadership. Emma is the founder of The Breathing Room, and has nearly seven years of experience in being-based coaching.

What is Being-Based Coaching?

• Focuses on authenticity and self-awareness
• Goes beyond solving external problems or setting goals
• Helps understand our physical reactions, emotional states, and internal judgments
• Aims to build a strong relationship with oneself for deeper connections with others

Learn how these practices can help lead to a better understanding of yourself and foster deeper, more meaningful connections in your personal and professional life.

Here are some key takeaways from our conversation:

The Impact of Self-Awareness

• Enhances understanding of interactions with others
• Promotes honesty about emotions and experiences
• Creates a safe space for open and honest communication

Authentic Relationships

• Uncovers and values our true selves
• Fosters relationships built on trust and mutual respect
• Presents a truer version of oneself to others

The Power of Presence

• Enhances the quality of interactions and relationships
• Promotes active listening and thoughtful responses

Practical Techniques for Teams

• Understands natural operating styles of team members
• Builds supportive structures aligning with team strengths
• Reduces misunderstandings and friction within the team

Emma is an ICF-accredited coach, with a Master's degree in Transformational Coaching and Leadership, and over seven years of experience in the coaching field. After spending a decade in the corporate financial space, Emma began to understand that in our hectic lives, it's all too easy to lose touch with our true desires and motivations.

Bringing together the skills she developed in the first part of her career, she founded The Breathing Room LLC, Coaching and Facilitating with the vision of creating a space for her clients to slow down, reflect, and connect with their inner wisdom.

Through her coaching, Emma supports work teams to collaborate more efficiently, aspiring managers to develop valuable communication skills, entrepreneurs to realize the ROI of authenticity, and individuals to discover their unique paths toward success and fulfillment.

You can connect with Emma Miele here:
Website: https://findyourbreathingroom.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-miele/
Let's Hang Out!: https://calendly.com/emmaemiele

Are you an entrepreneur or small business owner looking for authentic ways to attract your ideal clients?

Join us for an insightful conversation featuring the incredibly talented Chelsie Tamms, an award-winning artist and branding expert, who is known for helping clients visually express their passion projects & brands through impactful visuals that connect on a deeper level.

Chelsie has built a values-driven business that supports local causes and empowers small businesses to shine.

Here are 5 key takeaways from our conversation:

1. The unconventional path Chelsie took by starting her own business straight out of college after winning startup funding, bypassing the traditional 9-to-5 corporate job.

2. The importance of pursuing work that aligns with your personal values and passions, as it can lead to more meaningful impact.

3. The power of intentional and thoughtful design to help organizations effectively communicate their uniqueness, connect with audiences, and raise awareness for their missions.

4. The valuable advice to reach out directly to potential clients or partners you admire, even if they seem unattainable at first, to explore collaborations.

5. The need to hold yourself accountable as a business owner to continued growth and learning, while also defining success on your own authentic terms aligned with your purpose.

Chelsie is proof that you can build a values-driven business focused on creativity + passion. Her example gives fellow female entrepreneurs inspiration to stay true to your purpose.

Chelsie Tamms is an artist, educator, and entrepreneur. She founded Lettering Works in 2016, combining her love of hand-lettering with her expertise in marketing. Since then, she’s grown her business to offer custom branding packages, courses for artists, and wholesale products and merchandise—all with the mission to bring more creativity into her community and beyond. She is especially drawn to cause-driven projects surrounding mental health, chronic illness, and underrepresented communities.

You can connect with Chelsie Tamms here:
Website: https://www.letteringworks.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsietamms/

Dr. Sina Smith had dreamed of being a surgeon since she was 5 years old. She went through years of intense medical training to achieve that goal. However, close to finishing her surgical residency, she suffered a sudden injury that changed the course of her career.

After over a decade of medical school and training, Dr. Smith woke up one morning unable to move her right arm. Despite treatment, tests, and time, she did not regain full function. This meant she could not continue her surgical training.

Devastated, Dr. Smith had to ask herself - now what?

Around this time, Dr. Smith tried acupuncture to treat her injury. She was amazed to find that it helped with her arm's function and her pain. She also found the emotional release profoundly powerful. This mind-body connection fascinated Dr. Smith and led her to pivot into studying acupuncture and functional medicine.

Now Dr. Smith helps patients as a licensed acupuncturist and functional medicine doctor. She focuses on complex, chronic health issues that conventional medicine doesn't always resolve - things like:

• Migraines
• IBS
• Menstrual problems
• Sleep issues

Her passion is uncovering the root cause and puzzles of each patient’s health picture.

An area Dr. Smith feels strongly about is nutrition. She shares practical tips for using food to control inflammation and pain. Her advice? Skip processed foods, shop the perimeter of the grocery store, and eat more omega-3s!

Even now, Dr. Smith continues learning new healing modalities like culinary medicine and homeopathy. She believes there are always new directions to explore in helping people achieve full health.

Dr. Smith's story shows that major pivots can lead to meaningful work. Her injury may have ended one dream, but it sparked the passion that guides her today. Through an openness to explore beyond the traditional path, she found her true calling.

Dr. Sina Leslie Smith is an international speaker, medical doctor, author, and educator who discovered acupuncture after pain and paralysis of her arm left her unable to be a general surgeon. Amazed by the power of traditional East Asian medicine, she became a licensed acupuncturist and over the years has mastered integrative medicine, culinary medicine, homeopathy, and functional medicine. In addition to her MD, Dr. Smith has earned three Masters degrees—Physiology and Biophysics, Medical Education, and Acupuncture—and has completed a Fellowship in Surgical Education.

She has delivered over 100 invited talks, workshops, and courses for conventional and alternative medical schools, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and governmental agencies, including the US Department of Defense and Walter Reed Medical Center. Dr. Smith was the founding Director of Integrative and Culinary Medicine at SIU School of Medicine, has been on faculty at several other medical and acupuncture schools, and has served on the boards of multiple state and national organizations.

She is the author of the book, “Demystifying Acupuncture: Modern Answers About Ancient Medicine.” Dr. Smith is the founder and medical director of Chicago Healing Center, offers courses and workshops online and around Chicagoland, is passionate about empowering people to understand how their bodies work, and emphatically believes that food is our best medicine.

You can connect with Dr. Sina Smith here:
Website: https://sinasmithmd.com/
Learning Platform: https://chicagohealingcenter.podia.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinasmithmd/

We are buzzing with excitement for the upcoming The Savvy Summit on May 23rd in Chicago. We're all about empowering women to lead fulfilling careers AND lives!

On today's episode, we are sharing the scoop on one of our amazing keynote speakers - Beryl Greenberg, an accomplished executive and career coach. She’s turning the tides and helping women get "unstuck" in their careers and lives to pursue more fulfilling paths.

Do you feel stuck in your career or life? Unable to make a change or move forward, even though you want to? You're not alone. Many accomplished professionals get stuck in limiting perspectives that hold them back from achieving their goals.

Beryl understands feeling stuck all too well from her own career pivots. Now, with 15+ years of coaching experience, she helps women get unstuck so they can create the life and career they want.

Here are some key highlights from our conversation:

Embrace Your Pivot Points:
- Whether it's moving from one industry to another or stepping into a new role, recognize these moves as opportunities for expansion and self-discovery.

Analyzing Common Pain Points:
- "I only know how to do one thing."
- "I'm skilled in many areas—what should I focus on?"

Shift Your Perspective:
- Sounding stuck often means you need a new viewpoint.
- Take the time to understand this feeling of stagnancy.

Strategies to Get Unstuck:
- Introspect to realize what 'stuck' truly is for you.
- Use these realizations to see your situation with new eyes.

Beryl is a certified coach, leadership facilitator and group coaching leader in private practice. She works with individuals and groups privately and within companies, as well as leads groups through CHIEF, the women’s executive community.

Her career story involves two major career transitions for both career progression and lifestyle reasons: from advertising agency director to an executive recruiter and from executive recruiter to executive coach/solopreneur.

Her coaching philosophy is driven by the bedrock of self-awareness, clarity of vision, and uncovering internal obstacles. While she meets each client where they are at, she brings an order and framework to her coaching engagements that supports transformational progress and outcomes.

Beryl's next GET UNSTUCK cohort is forming now for the week of May 6 start!

GET UNSTUCK is a group coaching experience designed to support advertising and marketing professionals who are looking to make a career transition but feel stuck on how to make it happen.

• Perhaps you are in a job search and are not getting the results you want
• Maybe you desperately want to make a change and don't know where or how to start
• Possibly you are unclear on the direction you want to take your career
• Consider you know what you want but just haven't been able to make time for it

The key to addressing these situations really starts in a surprising way, and it's not with re-writing your resume or applying to jobs online. It's about shifting your mindset! In turn, you learn how to achieve your career goals with ease instead of stress.

Check out this link for more information. https://forms.gle/9oU779aGLRZ1RZwr5

You can connect with Beryl here:
Website: https://coachberyl.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/berylgreenberg/

We are here to spill the tea on one of our stellar keynote speakers for the upcoming The Savvy Summit on May 23rd in Chicago. Jess Feldt, is a certified women's leadership coach who's all about self-compassion as a superpower!

Did you know that self-compassion can unlock doors you never knew existed? Jess has dedicated her coaching to empower women in mastering this art. As women, we juggle roles that span galaxies - and Jess gets that. Can't wait to dive into her insights at The Savvy Summit!

Jess emphasizes that self-compassion isn't about taking it easy; it's about giving yourself permission to succeed, to fail, and to thrive regardless. At The Savvy Summit, expect to explore strategies to turn that inner critique into your loudest cheerleader.

Many women feel pressure to perfectly balance caring for family while also leaning into ambitious careers. The notion that we can seamlessly "do it all" leaves many of us overwhelmed. Jess coined a motto that resonates - "screw the shoulds". We all sometimes make choices because we feel we "should," not because we actually want to. Giving ourselves permission to let go of societal expectations creates space to get clear on what WE really want.

Here are some key highlights from our conversation:

• Break free from societal expectations and 'shoulds' to pursue true happiness and fulfillment.
• Embrace work-life integration and empower yourself through intentional decision-making.
• Prioritize self-compassion to shape a positive mindset and sustainable self-care routine.
• Define meaningful relationships and grow both personally and professionally.

Early bird alert! If you're as excited as we are about learning & networking at The Savvy Summit, grab your tickets before April 22nd to snag that early bird special. It's not just about savings; it's about securing your space for growth among remarkable leaders.

Get your tickets here: https://www.thesavvysession.com/thesavvysummit

Jess Feldt is a Certified Life and Leadership Coach who helps career-focused working parents create their own versions of success. Her clients are C-suite executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs who want to nurture both their careers and families without the guilt.

Jess believes in the freedom to live life on your own terms and empowers each of her clients to figure out what this looks like for them.

She draws on her training and experience in organizational psychology, change management, and leadership development. Jess Feldt Coaching offers one-on-one coaching, group programs, and organizational workshops, and is the co-host of The Tightrope: Balancing Career, Motherhood, and Everything In Between podcast.

Learn more about Jess' Mastermind Group Program: https://www.jessfeldtcoaching.com/mastermind

You can connect with Jess here:
Website: https://www.jessfeldtcoaching.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicajaefeldt/

What if fully realizing your leadership abilities is less about developing new skills and more about discovering who you truly are?

Join us for an insightful conversation with Divya Ramachandran, an executive leadership coach, who shares her story of making a career pivot from technology to pursue her passion for people development. Now as a specialist in coaching tech founders, executives and managers, she helps talented leaders unlock their greatest creativity, resilience and impact.

By starting from a place of self-awareness, you’re able to build trust, foster curiosity and approach challenges with courage—ultimately transforming how you lead during good times and bad.

Divya helps executives navigate the challenges of growth by focusing on emotional intelligence and people development. By addressing the need for difficult conversations and actions in leadership, she supports clients in managing stress and burnout.

Here are some key highlights from our conversation:

• Importance of Emotional Intelligence: Learn how managing emotions can enhance your interactions, decision-making, and overall business strategy.
• Overcoming Challenges: Discover how to navigate difficult conversations, tackle complex problems, and build trust in the workplace.
• Embrace Change for Growth: Shift your perspective from obstacles to opportunities, unlocking your true leadership potential and fostering a culture of innovation.

You can find the 'How To Do Hard Things Guide' here:
https://content.divyalalitha.com/hardthingsguide

Divya Ramachandran is an executive leadership coach with a unique career trajectory from building tech products to empowering people. Raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, by hardworking South Asian immigrant parents, Divya excelled academically while cultivating a deep connection to her cultural roots through music. She began her academic career in computer engineering, but it was at the University of California, Berkeley, while pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science, that she found her passion: using technology to meet essential human needs in health and education. This revelation propelled her through a successful decade in Silicon Valley's tech startup scene, focusing on user experience and product design.

A transformative experience with an executive coach prompted Divya's pivotal shift to leadership coaching. Realizing her calling on the first day of coach training, she has since dedicated herself to guiding tech startup leaders. Divya believes in fostering trust and connection, offering her expertise as a coach, facilitator, and speaker to a broad spectrum of leaders across various departments. Her approach integrates energy awareness, cognitive behavioral coaching, and emotional intelligence, enabling leaders and teams to overcome challenges such as clear communication, conflict resolution, productivity, and team empowerment for better product outcomes.”

You can connect with Divya here:
Website: https://www.divyalalitha.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diramachandran/