Leadership
Our New Strategic Partnership Means More Services for You
Our experienced team of coaches and consultants you have come to rely on for comprehensive coaching and leadership development solutions just got stronger. Today, we are announcing a strategic partnership with People Results, the leading firm for labor relations and employee engagement consulting. Founded in 1979, People Results works across multiple industries with nearly 200…
Read MoreThe Missing Link in Coaching Success
We partner with a wide range of organizations to provide coaching to leaders at all levels. One of the greatest challenges in this work is ensuring that both the individual and the organization see meaningful impact from coaching. For coaching to be effective, the client must know and feel that their conversations with their coach…
Read MoreWhat Motherhood Taught Me About Letting Go
Motherhood has taught me many things: how to feed a screaming baby with one hand while flipping plantains with the other, how to live in 3-hour increments, and how to function on crumbs of sleep. But the most unexpected lesson? Delegation. Before my son, I equated asking for help with falling short. As a first-generation…
Read MoreWhat Our Coaches Are Reading This Summer (Spoiler: It’s Good)
Whether you’re reading from a hammock, a gate-side seat at the airport, or between Zoom calls, this is the season for slowing down—and maybe, digging in. We asked our coaches & consultants to share the books they’re recommending and returning to this season—and they delivered. A wonderfully wide-ranging collection of insightful, uplifting, quirky, and quietly…
Read MoreThe Power of Being Alone (On Purpose)
I recently returned from my fourth annual solo trip. Four years ago, I began this tradition and now it’s something I really look forward to every year. Inevitably, in talking about this trip with friends and colleagues, I’m asked what it’s like to travel by myself and why I would choose to take a trip…
Read MoreThe Enneagram: A path to better results
This month, I’ve invited Anna Sparks, our Chief Operating Officer (and no relation!), to share some of her wisdom on the Enneagram. We use the Enneagram in combination with stage of adult development to help our clients get powerful results including enhanced self-awareness, an expanded view of complex situations, and more choice in how they…
Read MoreThe Art of Disorientation: Reflections from My Thai Adventure
Early June: Hey Jessica, remember you’re on deck for a newsletter about Thailand after your trip, ok? Me: Yep yep, on it. Travel ensues…time passes…. I need to write that newsletter. What about? I’ve written about past travels, how important I think it is, how it stretches us and invites us to grow. I even…
Read MoreReflecting on 10 Years of Impact: The Sparks Group Journey
June marks the 10-year anniversary of The Sparks Group. Wow! I am regularly asked how my entrepreneurial journey has been, and I often talk about my mindset at various points along the way to describe it. When I first started, I hoped someone would pay me to coach them so I could do the…
Read MoreTourist, Traveler, or Pilgrim?
In life, are you a tourist, a traveler, or a pilgrim? I love to travel, as many people do. When I learned Rick Steves was giving a talk in Charlotte, I had to go. Rick Steves is an American travel writer, tour guide, and tv host. His company helps 30,000 people a year travel to…
Read MoreStrategic Planning That Hits
I was recently asked to facilitate the strategic planning retreat for a long-term client of The Sparks Group. I thought I would share the story of this work to illustrate how both developmental and business objectives can be accomplished in an integrated fashion, making the investment of senior leader time and effort have a…
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