A strategic human resources leader & leadership coach with over 25 years of bringing people-focused solutions to the most niggly business challenges to achieve results. With experience across the spectrum of HR practices, David’s specialities include:  talent management, executive coaching, process improvement, organizational change and transformation and leadership development.

Dave cofounded “get keep grow inc” a  Canadian employee engagement and retention professional services corporation.




Please note views and opinions expressed are my own and do not represent the views of my employer

David McLean

McLean & Company's new HR Trends report is live and shows some significant shifts in HR and organizational priorities for the coming year:

✅ Innovation jumped from #10 in 2025 to #2 in 2026—HR is now a key driver of transformation.
✅ Leadership development remains the top priority, but the focus is expanding to employee experience and AI adoption.
✅ HR is moving from reactive support to strategic leadership, shaping culture and enabling change.
📌 Bottom line: HR leaders must embrace innovation, tech, and cross-functional collaboration to stay ahead.



✴️✴️✴️ If you're interested in accessing the report, there is a link in the comments box below 


Acknowledgement: McLean & Company  


#ceo
#chro
#FutureOfWork 
#Leadership 
#Innovation 
#AI 
#StrategicHR

Leadership Guide for women-led businesses focused on growth | I draw the map and bring the tools to execute your people strategy| Coach for leaders who want different, more, better | Perfect is Over-Rated series Author

Most leaders have a strategy. They don’t always have someone they can talk to openly about what they’re worried about and the trade-offs they’re weighing. I’m not just a coach or consultant. I’m the fractional organizational and leadership strategist helping you achieve your organization’s goals. 

I'm the thinking partner for leaders navigating decisions they can't afford to get wrong: restructures, leadership transitions, stay-or-go moments—decisions where there's no playbook and the stakes are real.

What makes me different:

My 30+ years inside both small and large  organizational systems—including Accenture and EPAM - allow me to see the second- and third-order impacts of people decisions. I know how decisions actually land inside teams. And I care about getting this right with you, not just delivering a recommendation.

But here's what clients say matters most: I create space for them to say what they're actually thinking—not what they think they should say. The doubts, the second-guessing, the "I should have this figured out by now"—that's exactly what we talk about.

Clients describe me as their "leadership caddy"—the grounded presence beside them in critical moments. Your second brain when yours is overloaded. The person who helps you think through the decision you've been carrying alone.

Whether you're restructuring a team, navigating a leadership transition, wrestling with whether someone stays or goes, or trying to decide if YOU should stay or go—we think it through together until you see what you couldn't see before.

Because leadership endurance isn't about pushing through it alone. It's about having the capacity and support to lead well for the long haul—without burning out. 

Let's talk if you:
✔️ Are carrying a high-stakes people decision and need a thinking partner who gets the complexity—not generic coaching or consultant advice
✔️ Are spinning on a decision about people, structure, or your own role—and need to stop the spin
✔️ Want someone who's been there, who'll be real with you, and who actually cares about helping you get this right

P.S. I'm based in Lewes, Delaware. I run for endurance (literally and metaphorically), and I do my best thinking near the ocean with a glass of red wine and a spy novel nearby.

Melissa Carson

Years ago in Belarus, I had a moment of clarity about when I feel most alive in my work.

This week in Warsaw reminded me of that feeling.

Here's what I saw in a new leadership team—and why it matters.

https://lnkd.in/eSs3epzA

Fractional Leadership | Thought partner and strategist for leaders making high-stakes people decisions | Accenture & EPAM alum | Runner | Ocean, red wine & spy novel lover

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The best feedback I received this week came in one sentence: 'Trust that I know what I'm doing.'

Direct. Clear. Uncomfortable in the best way.

That's what psychological safety actually looks like - not the absence of tension, but the presence of enough trust to name what's true without fear of reprisal.

I loved the candor. And I do trust, but it wasn't apparent in the questions I was asking.

What have you seen as the secret sauce to great teams?

Photo Context...one of the best teams I got to work with....the one mentioned in yesterday's content.

The loneliest moment in leadership isn't when you're alone.

It's when you're surrounded by people—your team, your board, your partner—and you still can't say what you're actually thinking.

Not because they wouldn't care. But because:

Your team needs you to have answers, not doubts.
Your board wants confidence, not complexity.
Your partner loves you, but doesn't live in the weight of these decisions.

So you smile in the meeting. You say it's fine. You project certainty.
And then you go home and replay every decision, wondering if you're getting it wrong.

Here's what no one tells you about leadership:
The isolation isn't about lack of connection. It's about carrying a kind of complexity no one else is holding.

You're not just making decisions—you're making decisions that affect people's livelihoods, the organization's future, your own credibility. And you're making them with incomplete information, competing priorities, and no guarantee you're right.

That weight? Most people don't carry it. So they can't really understand it.
And that's exhausting.

Not because you can't handle it. But because you're doing it alone—in your head, at 2 am, second-guessing yourself when you should be resting.

What actually helps isn't more networking groups or generic peer circles.
It's having someone who can think WITH you—at your level, about your specific situation—without needing you to perform certainty.

Someone who's carried this kind of weight before and knows what it takes to lead well without burning out.
Not to tell you what to do. But to help you see what you can't see when you're this close.

If you're carrying more than anyone realizes—and you're tired of doing it alone—let's talk.

Your boss just told you to "be more strategic."

You nodded. Said you'd work on it. And then went back to your desk, wondering: what does that actually mean?

More planning? Better forecasting? Bigger-picture thinking?

It's time to call out the real issue:

Most leaders don't struggle with strategy because they don't know how to think strategically. They struggle because they don't have the space to think at all.

You're drowning in the urgent. Every fire needs putting out. Every decision needs making. Every deliverable needs shipping.

And somewhere in the back of your mind, you know you should be thinking ahead—seeing what's coming, positioning the organization, making proactive moves instead of reactive ones.

But when?

Between the 7 am crisis and the 6 pm catch-up, when exactly are you supposed to zoom out and think strategically?

Here's what everyone knows but no one says out loud:

You can't be strategic when you're underwater.
It's not a skill gap. It's a capacity gap.

Strategy requires space—to see patterns, connect dots, notice what's not being said. And you don't have that space because you're carrying too much, alone, with no room to breathe.

So when your boss or your board says "be more strategic," what you actually need isn't a framework or a course.

You need someone who can help you see what you can't see when you're this close. Who can hold the complexity with you so you're not carrying it alone. Who can help you build the capacity to lead strategically—not just once, but consistently.

That's not about working harder. It's about thinking more clearly.

If "be more strategic" feels impossible right now—not because you don't know how, but because you don't have the bandwidth—let's talk.

Your strategy is shifting.

The organization is growing. Or pivoting. The market changed, and you need to reorganize how your team operates.

It's exciting. It's also nerve-wracking. Because you don't want to break what's working, and you know change efforts are famous for failing.

And you're stuck on: Where do I even start?

Every step feels like a critical decision without all the information you'd want. You're going to make some wrong moves. Miss key insights. Overlook stakeholder perspectives that matter.

The question isn't whether you'll get everything right. It's how you navigate the complexity without breaking what can't break.

When leaders bring this to me, here's what we work through:

✏️ What actually needs to change and why?
✏️ Who needs to be involved in the design vs. just implementing it?
✏️ What you can't afford to break - and how to protect it?
✏️Who will be the key change ambassadors and detractors?

You don't need a perfect plan. You need a clear starting point and someone who's navigated constant change, helping you think through the decisions as they surface.

If you're facing a structural shift and don't know where to start, let's figure it out together.

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David McLean

Melissa Carson

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taplio

The Battle

David McLean

Melissa Carson

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}David McLean's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreDavid McLean's LinkedIn Performance