Rebecca Fernandez

How to Build Relationships with Your Toughest Stakeholders

readiness /

One of the biggest mistakes people make with difficult stakeholders is treating every conversation like a transaction. The strongest relationships are built through connection. And connection often starts with curiosity. Here are three practices I’ve found surprisingly effective when working with skeptical, resistant, or hard-to-read stakeholders: 1. Go beyond “I’m fine. How are you?” Most […]

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Leading Through Hard Times: How to Support the Team

readiness /

Layoffs. Reorganizations. Missed goals. Budget cuts. Leadership transitions. Most organizations eventually face seasons where people are carrying more uncertainty, disappointment, and emotional weight than usual. In these moments, leaders often ask: How do we support people through hard times while still moving the organization forward? It’s an important question. And it’s one that leaders don’t

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Dear Leaders: You Don’t Need an “AI Chief of Staff.” You Need to Know How to Use a Chief of Staff.

alignment, empowerment, hiring, role clarity /

Lately, I’ve had several C-level leaders tell me some version of: “I built my own Chief of Staff with AI.” Usually, when I ask what they mean, the answer sounds something like: Many Leaders Were Never Taught About This Role Hey, look, I get it. Many leaders inherited a Chief of Staff. Or were told

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From Strengths to Traps: How Chiefs of Staff Can Avoid Slipping Back into Specialist Mode

delegation, empowerment, impact, influence /

⏱️ 3 min read One of the most common challenges I see with new Chiefs of Staff is this: you step into the role with deep expertise from a past life — finance, operations, communications, project management, you name it. That’s part of what makes you valuable. But it can also be the very thing

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