About

Sara Schlipp-Riedel | Principal Consultant

• Consummate, charismatic, people-person with a gift for building relationships and trust
• Strong focus on innovation, thoughtful leadership, project management, and strategic solution seeking
• Detail-oriented with excellent communication skills, dedication, and motivation
• Proven leadership in change management, facilitating open conversation, and driving stakeholder buy-in
• Exceptionally organized with expertise in improving process efficiency and effectiveness
  

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“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

- Maya Angelou

Truth

You have my word that I will always tell you the truth. Over the many years of my career, I have experienced and observed instances in which harmony was chosen over truth and it was to the determinant of all involved. You will likely hear me say more than once in our shared life together, “seek the truth and then decide if you can live with it”. I’ve also learned that when you tell people the truth it can be hard, but out of truth grows trust and without trust, we will not accomplish all for which we are collectively capable.

I expect that each of you will reciprocate this great intention with me and with each other. I am here to learn, grow and develop in the same ways as each of you. I will not fulfill my potential without your truth-telling. I recognize that this practice of truth-telling with your leader, mentor, and colleagues may be different or new. I also recognize that it takes practice and great courage.

Courage

I commit to being a courageous leader. Courage is required to be your whole self, for which I welcome. I also know that courage is contagious. Each of us is looking for permission, an excuse, an invitation to be who we are. Consider yourself permitted. Courage is critical because it is necessary for success, innovation, and failure. Failure is the birthplace of growth and learning. Both of which are necessary and will be celebrated. Together, we will face triumphs and setbacks, neither of which will be possible without a shared commitment to courage. The practice of courage is constant and requires enduring resiliency.

Resiliency

I have faced many challenges and potential setbacks throughout my life. I suspect that many of you have as well. I am eager to share these stories and to hear yours. I have experienced abuse, neglect, life-threatening illness, a premature loss of a loved one, rejection, and immense disappointment. I believe that for us all to be here today has required an enduring resiliency. I commit to leading with resiliency. I promise to never give up on you and what we are collectively seeking to accomplish.

I have an ineffable capacity for optimism. You will experience this in the way that I will believe in you even when you’ve lost faith in yourself. You will experience it in the way I point to what we’ve learned even when we’ve lost. And you will experience this in the way I will never give up faith in our collective capability. I will not always get it right but with time I aspire to demonstrate every day that I have your best interests in mind and at heart and I will never stop trying.

Leadership Philosophy

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Foundations of Leadership

ORGL 600

• There is a deep connectedness in all things. This is easy to forget as we seek to move from ego to self-transcendence.

• Learning to become a more intentional, well-informed, and holistic leader will not only benefit me and those most directly dependent on me but it will make the world an overall better place.
  

• Continuing to think critically, be open to confronting what I’ve been previously taught, and embrace that my perspective will (and should) be ever-evolving.
  

• Equipped with a robust “tool belt” of evaluative tools that will inform how I make decisions and chart a course forward in the future when confronted with discourse and civil unrest.

• Advocate for formal ethical evaluation when privy to decisions that impact employees and their families.
  

• Recognizing that my Standpoint affords me a unique perspective and an unintended bias.
  

• Recognition that many of the societal systems and structures that we unconsciously operate in were intentionally architected for the benefit and empowerment of certain individuals to justify unfair and horrific behavior.

• Unnecessary materials gains may come at the expense of someone else’s.
  

• I am committed to continuing my learning, confronting my once-held (convenient for me) beliefs, sharing what I’ve learned, and holding those around me accountable to the mistruths that I once believed.
  

Artifact

• Understanding the interconnectedness of all things, the cause and effect of every decision, and our human habit of responding to "an event" is dramatically impacting how I see the world and my process of thought or action when I encounter a problem or seek to understand a process.

• To effectively influence change we must lift our heads and expand our considerations to identify opportunities and solutions to ensure the sustainability and scalability of our decisions and directives.
  

Organizational Theory & Behavior

ORGL 615

• Embracing how our personal experiences of self-transformation shape and influence our approach and capacity for leadership.

• An evaluation of the inspiring stories of individuals who have transformed our culture and communities by leading with courage and deep conviction.
  

• The unprecedented opportunity to develop an outline for a transformational organization that serves as a blueprint for future efforts and priority initiatives.
  

Leadership & Human Potential

ORGL 515

• The power and impact of empathy can not be understated.

• Design Thinking provides a mix & match tool-set to uncover unprecedented and innovative ideas and solutions while honoring the integrity of the impacted stakeholders.
  

• Appreciative Inquiry emphasizes positivity and optimism as the greatest opportunity to shape a shared future that inspires and drives engagement.
  

• Action Research compels all to consider the wisdom of our and other’s experiences and be humbled by the recognition that our perspective serves as a filter for how we make sense of the world.
  

Artifact

Project

The impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic are far-reaching. A notable impact is employees recognizing their inherent worth and value which has manifested in a sense of empowerment and discernment, resulting in the "Great Resignation" and the "War for Talent". Organizations more than ever, need to reinvigorate their employee value proposition to attract and retain world-class talent. This is no shortage of information pointing to the "must-haves" to drive employee motivation, engagement, and satisfaction. 

This project endeavors to provide recommendations and resources to equip organizations big and small to curate an environment and a culture that inspires and captivates the world-class talent they aspire to retain and attract.

Learning &

Development

Focused

Fostering a

Feedback

Culture

Values-driven

Service-Orientated

Organizations often promote learning and development, recognizing their power in attracting prospective talent. All too often however this emphasis manifests in the form of an online training module or a half or whole day offsite that rarely exists beyond that particular day or event. Additionally, it is rare that training aligns with the unique growth & development goals of the individual employee

Learning & Development Focused

Fostering a Feedback Culture requires courage, attentiveness, and a willingness to practice, even the most well-intended leaders will avoid hard conversations or miss an opportunity to recognize and reinforce preferred performance. The absence of regular feedback debilitates an organization’s ability to practice accountability and often longed for transparency

Emotional Literacy |

Emotion Wheel

Values-Driven

Legacy and Values Coaching |

Coaching Outline and Values Exercise Example

          An organization’s values formulate its DNA and serve as the cornerstones of its culture. Values point to what will and will not be tolerated and in this way, allow for prioritization and accountability

Education on Servant-Leadership |

Presentation on Servant Leadership

Specialized Resource Groups |

Example of a Resource Group Intake Packet

Indicators of Success

Fostering a Feedback Culture

Learning and Development Focused

• The Leadership Challenge by Barry Z. Posner and James Kouzes
• The Designing for Growth Field Book

by Jeannie Liedtka, Tim Ogilvie, and Rachel Brozenske

• Servant-Leaders in Training by John Henry Horsman
  
• The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
  

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leoraleadership@gmail.com

612-221-4608

Sara Schlipp-Riedel