People & Culture Executive | Coach | Speaker

I believe that successful and ambitious companies must focus on empowering and developing their people and creating their culture, and the sooner you build the structure for that, the better. 

I build scalable people operations and leadership development programs for fast-moving startups and established companies including BCG X, BCG Consulting’s innovation arm; lifestyle subscription company FabFitFun; and fintech Rain Technologies during a time of global hypergrowth. Today, I’m excited to lead People & AI Enablement at Fabletics, an innovative lifestyle and active leisure company.

On the side, I’m also a senior consultant, coach, workshop facilitator, and speaker for renowned global leadership development company FranklinCovey, as well as an executive coach for BetterUp where I support Fortune 1000 executives one-on-one in being their best and most authentic selves. 

My passion for maximizing human potential was born from a near-death experience while I was surfing, which triggered the realization that climbing a corporate ladder means nothing if you are not helping others be their best, and this has been what drives me since that moment.

With an Executive Masters in Organizational Psychology & Change Leadership from Columbia University and many certifications from PMP to SHRM-SCP, I’m a systems thinker, a builder of collaborative communities, a specialist in organizational effectiveness, navigating change and growth, and performance management, and in using evidence-based frameworks and tools to create lasting impact.

My People Development toolbox is broad, including building and managing high-performing global HR teams, designing organizations and culture for growth, learning and development programs for every level, designing and leading top-rated trainings and workshops, and one-on-one performance coaching for executives and managers. 

On the People Operations side, I do workforce planning and headcount modeling; oversee HR operations, HRBPs, and HRIS; use data to make HR decisions, oversee compensation and benefits; performance management and employee engagement; change management, recruitment, employee relations, succession planning, diversity and inclusion; and HR compliance.

I am always growing my network, so if you would like to connect or if there is any way I can help you, please feel free to reach out.

Most people think leadership is about speaking clearly.

But that misses the point.

That's why so many leaders talk right past their teams.

The most underrated leadership skill isn't talking.

It's listening.

And it's listening to understand, not to respond.

Empathic listening is what makes people feel heard, builds trust, and strengthens connection.

Here are 5 ways to listen empathically (and lead better):

1/ Pause Before Responding
→ Give yourself 3 seconds after someone finishes.
→ Let their words land before you react.

2/ Listen for Emotion
→ Pay attention to what's behind the words.
→ Feelings matter as much as facts.

3/ Reflect What You Hear
→ Repeat back what they said in your own words.
→ 'So what I'm hearing is you're worried about the timeline, not the approach itself.'
→ It shows you're truly listening.

4/ Ask to Go Deeper
→ Use questions like "Tell me more"
→ Clarify by asking "What do you mean by X?"

5/ Put Your Agenda Aside
→ Stop planning your response while they're speaking.
→ Be fully present in the moment.

When you practice these, conversations go deeper and trust grows faster.

Great leadership isn't about having all the answers.
It's about making people feel heard, seen, and understood.

Which one will you practice in your next conversation?

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♻️ Repost to help more leaders listen better.
👋 I'm Will—sharing practical insights on leadership, team growth, and people-first strategy. Follow for more.

William Feng

Your Growth, My Mission | People & AI Enablement | Keynotes & Team Offsites | Follow for Leadership, Culture & AI at Work

Most leaders think they're good listeners.

They're not.

And their teams know it.

Real listening isn't waiting for your turn to talk.

It's not nodding while mentally planning your response.

It's not checking your phone between sentences.

👉 Real listening is the foundation of psychological safety.

And without it, you're building on sand.

After 18 years of working with teams,
I keep seeing the same pattern:

The strongest teams aren't led by the loudest voices.

They're led by the best listeners.

Leaders who check in regularly.
Leaders who notice what's not being said.
Leaders who get curious instead of defensive.

When you listen well and check in consistently,
you create:

• Early warning systems before problems explode
• Space for ideas that could save months of work
• Trust that makes hard conversations possible

Listening is different than most skills:

It's a practice, not a trait.

Every conversation is a choice.
Listen fully, or signal that speaking up isn't worth the risk.

This week, try this:

Pick one person on your team.
Check in with them.

Ask one simple question:

👉 "What's one thing I should know that I'm probably not seeing?"

Then do the hard part:

Don't fill the silence.
Don't defend your position.
Don't rush to solve.

Just listen.

Because psychological safety isn't built in grand gestures.

It's built when someone speaks up and actually feels heard.

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♻️ Repost if you believe listening builds better leaders.
👋 I'm Will—sharing practical insights on leadership, team growth, and people-first strategy. Follow for more.

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Most companies celebrate billion-dollar milestones with press releases. Fabletics celebrated with free matcha, pizza and jello shots.

This achievement reflects something critical: strategy doesn't build billion-dollar brands. People do.

What drove that growth:

• The teams who obsess over every detail from fabric and fit to brand awareness
• The culture that makes work fun including our fun force and ERG events for parents, Asians, and more
• The people who show up every day believing we can change how activewear is made and sold

That's what billion-dollar brands are built on.

As I reflect on the past two years of growth, innovation, and yes, plenty of matcha, I'm proud to be part of a movement that invests in people, not just products.

We're building a place where talented people grow and do their best work—and my job is helping make that happen.

We're hiring across teams. If this resonates, check our careers page.

5 Signs of an Outstanding Leader:

Most leaders manage tasks.

But outstanding leaders develop people.

Outstanding leaders don't just happen.
They're built through intention, practice, and self-awareness.

Here are 5 signs you're leading at a higher level:

1/ They Create Safety First
↳ People feel heard, not judged.
↳ Vulnerability becomes strength, not weakness.

2/ They Clarify the "Why"
↳ Vision inspires more than orders.
↳ Understanding beats micromanaging.

3/ They Welcome Hard Conversations
↳ Feedback flows both ways.
↳ Growth happens in discomfort, not comfort.

4/ They Develop Others Intentionally
↳ Coaching isn't optional; it's essential.
↳ Great leaders build more leaders.

5/ They Model What They Expect
↳ Actions speak louder than words.
↳ Integrity shows up in the small moments.

These five signs are what outstanding leaders look like.

Which one are you working on right now? 👇 Comment below.

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♻️ Repost to spark better conversations about what outstanding leadership actually looks like.
👋 I'm Will—sharing real talk on leadership, team growth, and people-first strategy. Follow for more.

3 years ago, I stopped saying yes to every meeting.

Saying yes to everything meant saying no to real work.

You don't need to be available 24/7 to be a great leader.

I was in 20+ meetings a week, constantly reactive, and my team rarely saw me doing deep work.

So I changed how I operate:

• Created a strict filter for all requests
• Blocked 1-hour focus windows daily for strategic work
• Started asking "Does this align with our top 3 priorities?"
• Delegated/declined anything that didn't pass the test

It felt uncomfortable at first.

Now I'm in 12-15 focused meetings, I'm more present and we focused 3 major team initiatives last quarter.

The best leaders don't do everything. They create space for what moves the needle.

What's one thing you're saying no to this week?

The best team collaboration lesson you'll see today.

Silos don't break because you tell people to "work together more."

They break when you create reasons to connect.

Stop treating collaboration like a mandate.

Start treating it like an invitation.

3 ways to do this:

1/ Create cross-functional wins

Pair teams on small projects with shared goals. When marketing and product ship something together, they stop seeing each other as obstacles.

2/ Make information flow both ways

Stop hoarding updates in leadership meetings. Share context openly. When people understand the WHY behind other teams' work, collaboration becomes natural.

3/ Celebrate bridge-builders

Recognize people who connect teams. Spotlight these moments in all-hands with specific examples. When you celebrate connectors, everyone else notices.

Your job isn't to force collaboration.

It's to make reaching across teams easier than staying isolated.

Pick one cross-team project this quarter. Create the invitation, not the mandate.

Energy for 2026:

Less checking.
Less self doubting.
Less asking "am I qualified?"

Self-doubt steals your joy. Worse, it steals what you could become.

Every minute you spend doubting yourself is a minute you're not leading, creating, or growing.

Most leaders say they want innovation.

Then they shut down the first person who tries something new.

Hard to build a culture of experimentation if people are afraid to fail.

Here are 7 moves to create safety for trying new things:

1/ Ask "What would you try if failure wasn't an option?"
→ Use this in 1-on-1s and team meetings.
→ Listen without immediately problem-solving.

2/ Celebrate the attempt, not just the outcome
→ When a team member tries something new, acknowledge it.
→ Say "I'm glad you tested that" before discussing results.

3/ Share your own failed experiments
→ Tell what you tried, what happened, and what you learned.
→ Make it normal to say "I thought this would work. It didn't."

4/ Create low-stakes ways to test ideas
→ Set up small pilots before big rollouts.
→ Give people permission to try things on a limited scale first.

5/ Replace "Why did this fail?" with "What did we learn?"
→ Start retrospectives with discoveries, not blame.
→ Document lessons so the team keeps learning instead of second-guessing.

6/ Protect people who take smart risks
→ When an experiment doesn't work, defend the person who tried.
→ Make it clear: we penalize hiding problems, not surfacing them.

7/ Track experiments, not just wins
→ Add 'experiments tried' to your team dashboard.
→ In your next 1-on-1, ask 'What did you test recently?' before 'What did you finish?'

The best teams don't avoid failure.

They make it safe to learn from it.

Which one will you start with?

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♻️ Repost to help more leaders build learning cultures.
👋 I'm Will - helping teams experiment, grow, and lead without fear. Follow for more.

By 2030, 39% of your skills will be obsolete.

That's not a prediction. It's already happening.

The half-life of professional skills?

Five years.

Half of what you know today will be irrelevant by then.

Here's what separates those who thrive from those who fall behind:

Lifelong learning isn't optional anymore. It's survival.

The leaders who win in the next five years won't be the smartest in the room.

They are the most curious.

They ask better questions.
They experiment faster.
They use AI to compress hours of research into minutes.

Because:

90% of jobs now require digital competence. Critical thinking, adaptability, and emotional intelligence are table stakes.

But most people still rely on training sessions and outdated playbooks.

The future isn't humans versus machines. It's humans using AI to become superlearners.

At Fabletics, I've watched leaders cut their learning curve in half using this exact approach. Use AI for AI learning and upskilling: ask AI to be your coach, tutor, and learning partner.

Curiosity is your competitive advantage. AI is your accelerator.

What skill are you avoiding learning right now?

Your mindset isn't just in your head.

It's showing up everywhere.

The opportunities you see. The problems you face. The results you get.

They're all mirrors of what you believe about yourself.

Think you're not a good presenter?

You'll avoid the stage. You'll stumble through slides. You'll prove yourself right.

Think you're not meant to lead?

You'll hesitate when it's time to step up. You'll second-guess every decision. You'll stay stuck.

I've seen dozens of talented leaders sabotage themselves with one sentence: 'I'm just not that kind of person.'

Your beliefs create your reality.

Not because of magic.

But because your beliefs shape your actions.

And your actions shape everything else.

The leader who believes they can grow will seek feedback, practice hard conversations, and learn from failure.

The leader who believes they can't will avoid risk, stay comfortable, and wonder why nothing changes.

Your mindset isn't fixed.

It's a skill you can build.

Start by noticing what you tell yourself when no one's listening.

Those stories are writing your future.

This week, catch yourself mid-thought. When you hear 'I can't,' ask 'What if I could?'

Change the story. Change the outcome.

Hard work doesn't build high-performing teams.

Intentionality does.

7 signs your team is on the right track:

1/ Psychological Safety
↳ People speak up without fear, even when they disagree with the boss.
↳ Ideas flow, mistakes are shared and become team learning.

2/ Clear Goals & Roles
↳ People know who's doing what by when, and why, after every team meeting.

3/ Space for Healthy Conflict
↳ Debate is welcome, not just agreement.
↳ Someone can challenge the strategy without being labeled "difficult."

4/ Trust in Decision-Making
↳ Alignment matters more than consensus.
↳ People trust leaders and each other to move forward.

5/ Celebrating Small Wins
↳ Even if it's a simple "thank you."
↳ Every win counts, big or small.

6/ Feedback Flows Both Ways
↳ Leaders listen, team members share. A junior dev can tell the CTO their code needs work.
↳ Growth happens in real time.

7/ Energy Over Burnout
↳ Rest is valued and encouraged, not just hustle.
↳ Sustainable pace, long-term wins.

High-performing teams feel different.

Which one does your team need more of right now? 👇 comment below.

I created The 5 Habits of High-Performing Teams guide—the practices that build these 7 signs into your team.

Real practices and tools: https://lnkd.in/g7bHKx65

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♻️ Repost to spark better conversations about what great teams actually look like.
👋 I'm Will—sharing real talk on leadership, team growth, and people-first strategy. Follow for more.

"My strengths don't match my role."

A leader asked me this in a recent workshop.

Her role demands execution. Getting things done fast.

But her top 5 strengths? All relationship building.

Adaptability. Empathy. Developer...

Not a single execution strength in sight.

Most coaches would tell her to find a better fit. I told her the opposite.

You're not in the wrong job. You're just looking at strengths the wrong way.

Two things to understand:

1. Your top 5 StrengthsFinder talents aren't your only strengths

You use all 34 talents every day. Achiever and Arranger might not be in your top 5, but they're still there. You just don't lead with them.

2. Your relationship strengths ARE your execution advantage

Think about how you actually get things done. You're not doing it alone. You're building trust with your team. You're delegating effectively. You're developing people who deliver results.

That's execution through relationship building.

The ah-ha moment hit her hard. She paused, then smiled.

She wasn't in the wrong job. She was just measuring success with the wrong ruler.

Most leaders think strengths are about fitting into boxes.

But the best leaders?

They use what makes them different.

Stop trying to fit the mold.

Use what makes you different to get results your way.

Most leaders are using AI wrong.

They're asking it to do their thinking.

But there's a better way:
Using AI to learn faster than ever before.
Instead of outsourcing your thinking, use AI to upgrade how you think.

5 ways to become a superlearner in 2026:

1/ Turn AI into your personal tutor
- Stop Googling. Start conversing.
- Ask ChatGPT to explain concepts like you're five, then like you're an expert. The gap between those explanations will surprise you.

Try this: "Explain [concept] like I'm 5, then explain it like I'm an expert in the field."

2/ Create instant feedback loops
- Write a strategy doc. Ask AI to poke holes in it.
- Draft a presentation. Get feedback before you deliver.
- You'll get instant feedback without the delay.

Try this: "I'm going to share a [presentation/document]. Critique it and tell me what I'm missing."

3/ Connect the dots faster
- Use AI to summarize articles, books, and podcasts into key insights.
- Then ask it to connect those insights across topics. You'll see patterns others miss.

Try this: "Summarize these [articles/books] into key insights, then show me connections between them."

4/ Practice in simulation
- Role-play difficult conversations with AI before the real thing: giving critical feedback to a high performer, navigating a team conflict, or addressing underperformance.
- Test your coaching questions. Refine your feedback delivery. It's like having a sparring partner on call 24/7.

Try this: "Role-play a difficult conversation where I need to [give critical feedback/address conflict]. Push back on my approach."

5/ Learn by teaching AI
- Explain your expertise to AI, then ask it to challenge your thinking.
- Want to master something? Teach it to someone who asks relentless questions.

Try this: "I'm going to explain [your expertise]. Challenge my thinking and ask questions that expose gaps in my knowledge."

Most leaders treat AI like a shortcut.
The best leaders treat it like a training ground.
That's the difference between staying relevant and getting left behind.

Which one will you try this week?

More than 1 million US workers were impacted by layoffs in 2025. There's no safety in your job or degree.
The only real security?

What you build inside yourself.

Your skills. Your network. Your mindset.

The things you can actually control.

👉 Start with one: learn a new skill this month, reach out to 3 people, or reframe one limiting belief like I'm not good enough.

I've watched talented people lose roles overnight.

Not because they weren't good enough.

Because the company changed direction.

But the ones who thrived after?

They had invested in themselves.

They knew their value lived in their head and their relationships, not their email signature.

It was tied to what they could create, who they knew, and how they showed up.

Security isn't found in a contract.

It's found in your ability to adapt, learn, and connect.

That's the real safety net.

---
♻️ Repost if it resonates.
👋 I'm Will—sharing real talk on leadership, career growth, and people-first strategy. Follow for more.

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