Kendra J.

The Venned Group

The Venned Group specializes in cultivating the next generation of leadership. Through high-touch, cohort-based training programs, we partner with senior leaders to develop their mid-level counterparts. Our unique approach ensures that tomorrow's leaders are equipped with the necessary skills to effectively guide their teams, influence peers, and communicate seamlessly with top-tier executives.

What sets The Venned Group apart is our laser focus on personalized cohort-based training. Unlike generic, one-size-fits-all programs, we understand that each organization has its unique DNA. Our programs and workshops are adaptable, ensuring that your leadership challenges are addressed head-on, resulting in sustainable growth and improved organizational dynamics.

Founder

Boardy

Connector

Orion's Reach

Orion’s Reach is a Not-for-Profit organization comprised of passionate volunteers dedicated to helping aspiring professionals acquire the skills and knowledge required to REACH their career goals.

At Orion’s Reach our approach to mentorship is different. Professionals are looking to learn from different perspectives in-order-to transform into someone who is ready to REACH for the stars. As a result, we match each Mentee with multiple Mentors based on desired skills they would like to learn as well as interests. With this approach, individuals can develop leadership and presenting skills at the same time from two different experts. Our approach also provides the opportunity for individuals to learn about a specific industry from multiple perspectives.

Advisory Board Member

Chase Hospitality Group

•	Started as Event Coordinator, promoted to Event Manager in March of 2016
•	Corresponded with the client on all details of event from décor to food and beverage pairing
•	Worked closely with the Executive Chef to create custom menus; includes costing and idea formation
•	Coordinated any necessary rentals with preferred suppliers
•	Accommodated client’s provided event budgets ranging from $500 to $30,000
•	Lead, grew and motivated event 'team leads'
•	Executed events from start to finish
•	Accommodated client’s provided event budgets ranging from $500 to $30,000

Event Manager

Donaleighs Irish Public House

Managing all Social Media platforms and organizing annual events such as the Annual Golf Tournament and Charity Calendar production process from start to finish.  Handle all reservations and aid with large party catering requests.

Social Media & Events Manager

I’m bringing real human connection back to the workplace.

You've likely heard this before, but I’m not just talking about it—I’m making it happen. Here’s how ⬇️:

Four ways I can help you:

-> Tailored soft skills-based workshops for global brands
-> Curated events that bring leaders together to connect on soft skills-focused topics (DM me to see if we're coming to a city near you soon!)
-> Global speaking engagements on the power of soft skills to enhance hard skills and maximize performance
-> Our S.P.A.R.K. Assessment & 1-1 coaching to optimize working styles & improve collaboration

Why do I do what I do?

I care deeply about human connection. In today's tech-saturated world, the lack of genuine interaction is destroying performance, well-being, and efficiency across teams. That’s why I’m on a mission to help organizations maximize their potential by leveraging their existing resources.

Do you think we'd have a good chat? Send me a DM!

If my dad knows I'm driving somewhere, he asks the same three questions.
Did you gas up the car?
Do you have your phone charger?
Will you text me when you get there?

In my 20s, it used to drive me nuts.
"I'm an ADULT, Dad. I know these things."
I'd answer with the exact tone that communicated...I've got this handled, you can stop now.

But he never stopped.
Gas. Charger. Text when you arrive.
Every single trip, into my 30's it's something I proactively update him on now.

It took me years to understand what he was actually saying.
He wasn't asking if I had gas in the car. 
He was saying, "I need to know you're safe."
He wasn't checking if I was competent. 
He was managing his own worry the only way he knew how.

In one of our past cohorts, a CEO and her team sat down to review their S.P.A.R.K. assessment results.

Her entire team rated her as a 'definite' collaborative style, every single person.
The assessment showed she was 100% flexible in her leadership style, meaning someone who could read her team and adjust in real time.

The room went quiet when they saw the gap between her intent and their experience.

Then she told her side of the story...

"I care so much about you. I don't want you to burn out. I'm just trying to catch things before you're drowning."

She wasn't micromanaging. 
She was adjusting constantly to make sure no one fell through the cracks.
But because she never named it, her care landed as control.

Gas. Charger. Text when you arrive.
Did you finish the report? Do you need help? Are you sure you're okay?

Care has its own language.
And when we don't translate it, people hear something else entirely.

Every week, I write about these patterns for middle managers and the senior leaders who support them, like how care gets mistranslated and what it costs when we don't name what we actually mean.

Newsletter in the comments.

P.S. Tomorrow's my dad's birthday. Gift ideas from (or for) the fathers out there?

Kendra Johnson

Canada’s leading soft skills expert | Creator of The S.P.A.R.K. Method™ | 1900+ managers upskilled | The Peak’s 2025 Emerging Leader | Get weekly tips👇

I turned 35 this week, so here are 35 reminders I've noted throughout this past year.

1. People really do want to help you. Get out of your own way and ask
2. Learning what you want and stating it gets you farther much faster
3. Highs and lows are part of business. The more people you talk to, the more normal it becomes
4. Your mindset makes or breaks your day. Choose it intentionally
5. What someone does is the most boring thing about them. Why they do it matters more
6. The world is big. Get outside your bubble often
7. Stop building for the fantasy workplace. Meet people in the actual chaos
8. Clarity about guardrails beats confidence coaching every time
9. A good mentor changes everything. Find one. Be one
10. Your worst moment probably taught you more than your best one
11. People talk a lot. Be the one that takes action
12. Burnout is a choice you make by not saying no
13. Ask for what you need. State what you want. Watch how fast things shift
14. Simple acronyms beat complex systems every single time
15. Dogs will always say hello. People won’t. Be more like dogs
16. If a situation happens more than once, that’s a lesson. It’s up to you to change the pattern
17. Sometimes you really do just need a hug from your mom
18. As much as you might not want to, getting a good sweat will fix you right up
19. Finding the right partner will change your life
20. Maintain your individuality and let your partner do the same
21. Don’t mistake ignorance for malice
22. Dress for the type of day you want to have, not the way you feel
23. Skincare is important
24. The gap between theory and reality is where actual business happens
25. One-size-fits-all anything is corporate theater
26. Transformation happens when someone takes the time to actually know you
27. Sometimes the best leadership move is stepping back
28. There is always a solution, you just have to be willing to think outside the box
29. Say thank you more often
30. Record the small moments, those are the ones you’ll hang on to
31. A day of rest doesn’t mean you’re not productive
32. Knowing where your time and energy are best spent is a superpower
33. You don't have to hang onto things that no longer serve you
34. Every day can be a fun adventure if you let it
35. Smiling can change your mood, especially when shared

And as Ricardo Ulises Hernandez Gomez added, last but not least, wear sunscreen. 

Which of these did you need to hear today?

Finding skilled talent is hard.
Integrating that talent successfully is harder.

The Toronto Region Board of Trade recognized this gap and decided to address it directly. 

They brought together 90 employers & PSI's all there with the same intention, to run strong WIL programs and develop skilled talent pipelines. 

I ran a workshop focused on what WIL actually looks like and how to create a successful process from employer onboarding through to providing feedback to students.

Here were some of the key takeaways from the room: 

1. Soft skills are the gap.
Students come in with strong technical abilities. 
What they lack is how to communicate. 
How to problem-solve. 
How to navigate a workplace. 
That's what employers actually need to train.
You're not just training on a task, you're training on a culture.
How you show up, how you handle mistakes, how you receive feedback. 
That's what gets transferred whether you know it or not.

2. Know your capacity before day one.
Who's taking the lead? 
What does success look like at the end? 
What will they actually learn?
Answer these ahead of time and the whole engagement changes.

3. Managers need to get good at feedback.
This is where most programs fall apart. 
Managers hesitate or they soften the message. 
They don't know how to be direct without discouraging. 
When you improve this skill in your full-time staff, your WIL success transforms.

This applies whether you're onboarding an intern or hiring a new manager. 
The fundamentals are the same. 
Intentionality, clarity & communication.

Thank you to my fellow presenters Derek Newton, Amanda Brown, Jason Fung Architect Inc., Peter Odle, Andrew Bieler, and everyone in that room who came ready to think differently.

A big thank you to Saad Usmani, Anahid Najafizadeh & Laura Tocker for putting on an incredibly valuable program! 

Conversations like this are what strengthen a region.

--------------------
At The Venned Group we partner with organizations to upskill managers who can set expectations clearly, give feedback that lands, and create cultures where people actually want to show up. 

If this is on your priorities list for 2026, send me a DM with the word Spark.

There's a line in Hamilton that's been stuck with me.

'Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.'

(Yes, it's a nod to Newton's third law of motion...but it's more memorable when sung)

I've seen that musical more times than I'll admit, and it's served as a constant reminder of how I'm showing up.

Over the years, I've become more and more aware of how my energy creates a response in those around me.

Ex. When I bring stress into a meeting, I feel stress reflected back.

If you're the leader, all eyes are on you.

Your team reads your energy before you even open your mouth.

I started asking myself three questions before every team meeting or client call:

1. What energy am I bringing? Clarity or chaos? Confidence or stress?

2. What do I want them to feel when we're done? Inspired? Clear? Confident? Name it, clearly.

3. Are my actions & my energy matching my words? Urgency & stress through a half-a**ed smile saying 'everything's fine' never lands well.

Many times, the reaction you're getting is information about what you're putting out there.

→ If you're facing resistance, consider how you're presenting ideas.
→ If there's confusion, check whether you're giving direction or just enthusiasm.
→ If there's disengagement, pulse check your energy first.

Self-awareness is never about being perfect OR (and let me be very clear) taking responsibility for everyone else's actions.

It's about recognizing when you're part of the dynamic, and choosing to show up differently.

This is your Monday morning reminder as you head into a fresh week to check how you're showing up. 

Your energy sets the tone. What an opportunity you have ahead of you!

This morning I was unwillingly thrust into someone else's feedback conversation.

I was at a coffee shop, noise-cancelling headphones on, minding my own business...but when you can still hear every word of a performance conversation from three tables away, you've become an involuntary witness to a trainwreck.

The recipient sat with shoulders hunched, eyes down, trapped in a public space while strangers absorbed every detail of her professional shortcomings. 

The manager had her feet crossed under her on the bench, casual and comfortable, seemingly unaware of the damage unfolding.

Sentence after sentence, the same hedging pattern, "I'm not saying YOU do this, but just so you know..." Which of course means you absolutely do this, but I'm too uncomfortable to say it directly. 

Then came the gossip about someone else on the team. The unspoken message of, I'm on your side, we both know Sarah is the real problem here.

Most managers have never been taught that feedback starts with reflection, not delivery. 
What's your intent? 
What outcome are you trying to create? 
What environment supports that outcome? 

Skip this, and you end up hedging, gossiping, and performing care while your team member walks away confused about what actually needs to change.

A few takeaways:
→ Spatial awareness & etiquette matter as much as self-awareness. 
→ Difficult conversations belong in private rooms, not public stages. 
→ And direct, specific, depersonalized feedback isn't unkind, it's the kindest thing you can do.

The leaders I work with are often shocked to discover they've been "giving feedback" for years without ever actually giving it. 

Our S.P.A.R.K. framework starts with that reflection piece because without it, you get frameworks paired with coffee shop disasters.

How much clarity & progress is your team losing to feedback that never actually lands?
-----
Ps. This conversation didn't take place at Wallace Espresso as the photo suggests, but it IS one of my favourite places in the city for coffee & their seasonal London Nog.

You hired someone, gave them a role description, walked them through their responsibilities and by three weeks in, you're already frustrated...

They're not getting it.
Except what is "it"?

You told them what to do. 
You might have even told them how. 
But did you tell them what doing it well looks like in your specific environment? 

With your pace, your culture, your unspoken rules about what matters most when everything's on fire?
Probably not...

And now you're sitting with the disappointment, you engineered yourself.

This is the gap that kills placements, tanks new hires, and makes leaders assume they have a people problem when they actually have a clarity problem.

You can't course correct something you haven't defined. 
You can't praise progress toward a standard that only exists in your head.

In our S.P.A.R.K. Leadership Program, this is where we start. 

Not with 'how to provide difficult feedback' right away.
Not with simply naming expectations (any leader can do that). 
We dig into defining what measuring those expectations actually looks like. 

Building the criteria that turn "figure it out" into "here's what success is."

It's difficult work, especially for middle managers trying to translate senior leadership's vision into measurable criteria they can actually enforce. 

When they get this clarity right, their conversations become remarkably simpler. They finally have language for what they've been trying to articulate and an objective lens for performance.

The disappointment you keep running into is fixable. 
It just requires you to clarify the target before you ask someone to hit it.

Give your team the gift of clarity, this holiday season...send me a DM to see which of our solutions best suits your teams needs!

Bloomingdale's

-Provide personalized styling sessions that blend fashion psychology with trend expertise to enhance client confidence and self-expression.
-Curate looks for diverse occasions—career, lifestyle, and special events—while aligning with Bloomingdale’s luxury aesthetic.
-Host styling workshops, events, and fashion presentations that showcase both Bloomingdale’s collections and Gregory Jerome’s signature approach to image consulting.
-Stay current with emerging fashion trends, cultural shifts, and consumer behavior to anticipate client needs.
-Guide clients on wardrobe planning, fit, and color psychology to ensure selections align with personal and professional goals.

Fashion Stylist

Gregory Jerome Image Consulting LLC

The Principal of Gregory Jerome Image Consulting is a visionary and strategic leader responsible for driving the company’s mission to transform the way leaders show up in the world. This individual will serve as the brand’s face and voice, delivering high-impact consulting and training services, nurturing client relationships, and steering the company’s growth. The role blends expertise in fashion psychology, executive coaching, and business development.

Client Engagement & Service Delivery
Provide high-touch, customized image consulting and coaching to executive clients, teams, and organizations.

Design and lead workshops, seminars, and development programs that enhance executive presence and leadership influence.

Apply fashion psychology principles to guide clients in aligning their personal style with professional goals.

Brand Leadership & Thought Partnership
Represent the Gregory Jerome brand in public-facing roles (speaking, media, partnerships).
Develop signature programs and service offerings aligned with market needs and client transformation goals.

Serve as an industry thought leader on executive presence, leadership image, and professional identity.

Business Strategy & Growth

Build and manage strategic partnerships with corporations, workforce development organizations, and executive networks.

Oversee business operations, including service delivery quality, client retention, and operational scalability.

Identify and act on new opportunities for growth, innovation, and revenue diversification.

Team Development & Collaboration

Lead and mentor a growing team of stylists, consultants, and support staff (as applicable).

Collaborate with marketing, operations, and client success teams to ensure a seamless brand experience.

Principal

Nordstrom

Skilled at using directive selling, sets and achieves sales goals and is committed to providing an exceptional customer experience. Assist the department manager in achieving department volume and productivity goals by developing and executing a business plan.
Ensure salespeople are delivering outstanding customer service by teaching, coaching and leading by example.
Work with the department manager to ensure merchandising and presentation standards are met.
Build long lasting relationships and create a loyal customer following by actively selling on the floor.

Assistant Department Manager Men's Clothing & Furnishings 

A passionate fashion stylist with the ability to cultivate and grow a customer following, both digitally and in-store, by connecting external and internal needs through style expression.

- Offered a holistic approach to style, including wardrobe curation, outfit creation, and shopping assistance for clothing and accessories.
- Created brand awareness by cross-pollinating with community engagement. 
- $100,000 in sales.

Retail Specialist Women's Designer 

Black Executive Men Community

Black Executive Men Community supports corporate Black men with opportunities for meaningful friendships and career advancement through our online platform and in-person events. Interested parties can apply here: www.blackexecutivemen.com/community

Member / Style & Etiquette Cohort Leader 

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Contribute insights and counsel on the cultivation of personal image through strategic apparel selection, supporting the development of unique and consistent personal style.

Strategic Advisor—Sartorial Design

Robert Graham Designs

Detailed Store Manager manger with 15+ years of experience creating cost-effective management solutions and marketing initiative, Leading our team of employees to improve store process, boost sales, and modernize store procedures. 

Generated $30k in sales within my first month.

Trained and enhanced employees style knowledge and customer experience skills through creative exercises.   

Curated in-store events totalling over $15k in revenue. 

Developed cross-branding partnerships supporting community engagements.

Assistant Store Manager

Louis Vuitton

Provided exceptional customer service to all clients, ensuring that their expectations were exceeded.

Developed a deep understanding of the Louis Vuitton product range, including features, benefits, pricing, and availability.

Utilized sales techniques to maximize revenue opportunities while providing an excellent client experience.

Maintained up-to-date knowledge on current trends in fashion and luxury goods.

Assisted with stock management, replenishment, and inventory control. 

Handled cash transactions accurately and efficiently.

Provided wardrobe style services for men and women.

Client Advisor

Henry A. Davidsen, Master Tailors & Image Consultants

Assisted clients in developing transformational styles. 

Explored their wardrobe requirements.

Provided personal and corporate imaging consultations, closet audits, and special event support. 

Created custom style and designed garments.

Delivered educational workshops and presentations to students and professionals.

Image Consultant

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers

Provided customers with empowering recommendations for required alterations and communicated efficiently with tailors.

Assisted suit and tuxedo customers with selecting proper fabrics and fittings.

Used benchmark retail selling techniques with customers. 

Created outfits for occasions and wardrobes for lifestyle needs.

Wardrobe Consultant

Gregory Jerome

Performed music for live audiences and recordings (e.g., television, film, and orchestras).

Collaborated with diverse musical genres (e.g., hip hop, jazz, blues, gospel, afro-beats, and classical).

Headline for national recording artists (e.g., John Legend, The Roots, Twista, and Chrisette Michele).

Performed at SXSW, Arts and Music Festivals, community events, weddings, and birthday parties.

Performing Artist

Gregory Jerome is an executive image consultant who empowers professionals and organizations to lead with presence, purpose, and polish. Through a unique blend of fashion psychology and leadership strategy, he offers tailored image consulting, coaching, and development programs that align appearance with ambition. Gregory partners with corporations, workforce development organizations, and individual leaders to enhance executive presence, elevate confidence, and drive career impact. Whether transforming personal style or shaping organizational image, his work helps clients look the part, feel the part, and become the part—authentically and strategically.

Products & Services for Organizations and Individuals
We offer tailored image consulting, training, and development solutions for both professionals and organizations—helping leaders at every level cultivate presence, authenticity, and career impact through fashion psychology.

For Corporations & Workforce Development Organizations
Executive Image Consulting
Customized consulting for leaders and high-potential talent to elevate executive presence, align image with organizational values, and strengthen credibility.

Training & Development
Engaging workshops and coaching for teams on leadership image, communication, and influence—grounded in fashion psychology to boost trust, presence, and performance.

Career & Workforce Development
Programs designed to build confidence, readiness, and brand alignment across your workforce—from entry-level to leadership—supporting diversity, inclusion, and succession planning.

Retainer-Based Services
Ongoing advisory support for HR, L&D, and executive teams, focused on internal talent development, presence strategy, and long-term leadership impact.

For Individual Professionals
Personal Image Consulting
One-on-one style and image strategy sessions to build confidence, credibility, and a signature leadership presence tailored to your career goals.

Career Advancement Coaching
Support for navigating transitions, interviews, and promotions through visual branding, fashion psychology, and strategic communication.

Workshops & Masterclasses
Live or virtual experiences that help individuals master executive presence, style psychology, and authentic self-presentation.

What Sets Us Apart:
We fuse fashion psychology with leadership strategy—helping clients look the part, feel the part, and become the part. Whether you're a professional seeking advancement or an organization investing in talent, we unlock presence that leads with purpose and power.

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Kendra J.

Gregory Jerome

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