Big News, Meaningful Work, and What’s Ahead
As we move into 2026, we’re energized by the momentum we’re seeing – with our work, our partners, and the leaders we serve. Here are a few highlights we’re excited to share with you.
We are now ProcuraFind Corporate Contract Ready (CCR) certified
We’re thrilled to announce that The Sparks Group is officially certified by ProcuraFind as Corporate Contract Ready.
CCR-certified businesses demonstrate fluency in corporate contracting environments and readiness to engage responsibly with enterprise buyers. This certification affirms what our clients already know: we are ready and willing to scale with organizations to help them grow critical leadership capacity – capacity that is essential for navigating an increasingly complex world.
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January Webinar Recap: Mindfulness and Executive Presence
In January, we hosted our first public webinar of 2026 featuring Martha Wooding-Young. Martha shared her expertise and insights on mindfulness as the “opposable thumb” of executive presence – an essential capability that allows leaders to integrate awareness, choice, and impact in real time. If you missed it or would like to revisit the conversation, you can watch the webinar recording here.
Upcoming Webinar: Change the Game—Reinventing Leadership Development
Our next public webinar is coming up soon: Change the Game: Reinventing Leadership Development | Tuesday, March 3rd at 12pm ET
In this session, we’ll explore why traditional leadership development is necessary—but insufficient—and how vertical development is the missing part of the equation for today’s leaders. You can register here.
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Speaking Engagement Highlights
2026 is off to a strong start:
- In January, I had the opportunity to speak with leaders at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) as part of their Symposium for Employee Engagement and Development (SEED) conference.
- In February, I’m serving as a mentor for the Charlotte Business Journal BizWomen 2026 Mentoring Monday event. Want to join me? Get 25% off your ticket with the code Mentor25.
- In March, I’ll be keynoting the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Southeastern Regional Conference in Norfolk, VA.
- Also in March, I’ll be keynoting the Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont L.E.A.D. Conference in Charlotte, NC.
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New Partnership Announcement
We’re also excited to announce a new partnership with People Results, a human capital consulting firm based in Greensboro. We’ll be offering our comprehensive coaching solutions to People Results clients, and we’ll be able to offer People Results’ people analytics, communications, and employee relations services to our clients.
We’ll be hosting a joint webinar in April to share more about this collaboration and how our combined approaches support leaders and organizations—more details coming soon.
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Despite all the challenges in the world right now, we hope you and those around you are safe, well, and warm. Thank you for being part of our community.
Best,
Jessica