Boldtrek, LLC

Dynamic, real-world business consulting, executive and team coaching and training that helps businesses amplify their strengths and deliver record performance.

Founder and President

BENCHMADE

Org Development and Performance Leader

Insperity

Served as a strategic business performance partner and executive coach for middle market clients with complex and sophisticated human capital-related business needs. Designed and delivered solutions that accelerated the application of human potential and achieved bold business results.

Senior Middle Market Business Consultant

Middle Market Business Consultant

Oregon State University

Facilitator of Systems and Organizational Theory. Designed this graduate-level course in 2017 and facilitated the course in 2017, 2019 and 2020.  Incorporated contemporary adult learning methodology and curriculum design to build a engaging and challenging learning experience on the Canvas platform. Key areas of focus: systems thinking, organizational design. innovation, technology, talent development.

Adjunct Faculty

Cambia Health Solutions

Served as a strategic business partner to advance leader and team capabilities to lead the transformation of the health care industry. Promoted breakthrough thinking and innovation, served as a talent multiplier across product, sales and operations functions, and enabled a contemporary learning environment that delivered the highest level of readiness in fluid, competitive markets. Built an industry-leading, high performing culture. Key focus areas: strategic business and talent development strategy, modern learning design and implementation, leadership and team development, curriculum design, facilitation, project management, coaching.

Organizational Development and Change Leader

Metro

Led the creation, implementation and management of customized leadership and team development strategies and programs across a diverse portfolio of businesses including the Oregon Convention Center, the Oregon Zoo, Portland’5 Centers for the Arts, regional garbage and recycling facilities and regional nature and recreational parks. Served as a side-by-side business partner providing custom leader, team and individual development solutions that delivered business critical results. Ignited culture transformation that promoted an environment of diverse, engaged talent. 

Key projects:
 	
OD: rapid assessment, instructional design, facilitation, and application coaching in the field for comprehensive leadership/ coaching program for all organization leaders
 
Project management: Customize and implement an organization-wide employee engagement survey using our new Gallup Q12 Client Portal, on-boarding redesign, performance management process improvement

Consulting/ coaching: multiple projects with reach from senior executives to shift leads

Organizational Culture and Talent Development Leader

A-dec Inc.

Global Sales and Tech Development Leader

Nike

Created and executed learning strategies and supporting learning delivery models for Nike’s North America-based employees. Consulted with key business stakeholders to identify knowledge/skill needs to elevate business performance. Designed locally relevant curriculum, facilitated key learning experiences for leaders and teams, and evaluated learning based on how it impacts business outcomes.  Led a team of facilitators to deliver scalable, premium learning experiences.  Applied contemporary techniques and tools to support Nike’s business and talent management strategies in the informal learning, coaching/mentoring and formal learning arenas.

Sr. Leadership and Management Learning Manager

Owens Corning

Led a team to attack critical safety and productivity performance gaps in 18 manufacturing plants across North America.  Coached executives, middle managers and front line leaders to use cutting edge leadership to optimize talent and resource applications and deliver record results for the $1.8 billion business.
•	Designed and executed a plant-level leadership development platform that delivered measured leader effectiveness and direct bottom line results.
•	Delivered customized leadership coaching and training to 3 largest low-performing facilities sparking improved engagement and production performance

Business Performance Leader

Led and coached over 180 leaders, engineers, support personnel and production personnel to achieve organizational excellence in safety, productivity, service, quality, environmental compliance and cost control in a 24/7 manufacturing operation.  Championed major capital projects and delivered projected return on investment.  Led organizational development and cultural change to deliver step change business performance improvement.

Operations Leader

Global Sales Training Leader

Regional General Manager

I help leaders maximize talent.

Bold thinker. Bolder doer.  Achiever of what others think is impossible through others.

I am an executive coach and business performance consultant who helps leaders scale their business. I have helped some of the best teams at powerhouses like Nike and Verizon perform even better. When leaders want to create more value faster, I help them find their way.

Experience and expertise: executive coaching, P & L experience, leadership and team development, business strategy and performance consulting, sales and operations leadership, facilitation, change management, project management, public speaking, performance management

Strengths: Learner  Responsibility  Strategic  Relator  Arranger

I'd love to hear about your bold goals and the challenges you are experiencing on your way. Feel free to connect here: sue@boldtrek.com

Look around.

If everyone at the table looks like you, you may have a problem.

If everyone at the table thinks like you, you definitely have a problem.

Solving a current problem requires different thinking.

Invite the dreamer, the customer advocate, the systems thinker, the intern, and last year's hackathon champion to the table.

Let the different thinking begin.

#differentthinking #problemsolving #leadership

Sue Melone

No one buys bad vibes; whether you're a job seeker or an entrepreneur (or whatever else), it is absolutely critical to maintain a positive frame.

NO ONE wants to be around negativity.

No matter what has happened to you, what struggles you face, no matter how much engagement it may bring... the people who can give you the things you want are almost certainly looking for a positive, excited, energetic person to help them win.

Negativity is the siren song of life; it feels like it feels good, but nothing feels as good as actually feeling good.

My recommendation is force yourself forward by doing little things that someone who felt like their best self would do, even if you don't feel that way currently. Get in motion, fake it, and let placebo take over.

In case of emergecny, find good friends who love you and will help you out.

Helping doesn't mean letting you sulk; it means challenging you to light a fire.

Doing what must be done trumps doing what we want to do IF you're the type of worker people want to hire.

Be the solution, not the squeaky wheel. Become undeniable, not bitter.

Leadership forgeries can be found almost everywhere you look. We know them instantly. Counterfeit leadership is much easier to spot now precisely because we’re inundated with depictions of it by the day. Social media, a call-out culture, employee activism, and increased polarization will continue making bad leadership a big target. Everyone wants to post the next viral video on LinkedIn exposing their leader doing something colossally stupid. 

Worse, when you become a leader, you start distrusted and have to earn trust. According to Gallup, only 21% of employees believe they can trust their leadership. So can “fake it til you make it” really apply to leadership? Or do we actually have better options than adopting imitation leadership to cover up our shortfalls? 

In this piece for Fast Company, I’m over-the-moon happy to join my friend, the inimitable Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, to explore the natural temptation to fake leadership, and ultimately, why it doesn’t work, and what you can do instead. (Yes, in case you’re wondering, collaborating with Tomas is as other-worldly as you’d imagine).

At the end of the day, you can’t fake humility, genuineness, caring about the success of others, and oh yes, delivering the tangible results your company expects. Here’s why.  

https://lnkd.in/eY3jKt2Y

#leadership #culture #training #humility 

fastcompany.com • 9 min read

85% of new people managers receive no formal training. This is why you can't fake it

While leaders can’t control everything that happens in their employees’ lives, taking steps to become a mental health ally is crucial for creating a healthy, sustainable work environment.

In support of #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, in this article for Forbes, I offer several steps leaders can take to become the mental health ally and resource their employees need.

https://lnkd.in/evx8uicg

#leadership #MentalHealth #support #culture 

forbes.com • 5 min read

How To Become A Mental Health Ally For Those You Lead

It is a mess out there.

The bombardment of information...  plus

The pace of of work and life schedules... plus

The "bot-ification" of our communication

 🟰 commoditized human connection.

Yuck.

Every one of us wants our unique humanness to be seen.

Here are 5 ways to start clearing up this mess today:

     ➡️ Engage: have a two-way conversation. Ask questions.

     ➡️ Listen: be there for another human... not on your phone, not distracted.  

     ➡️ Recognize: celebrate small wins with others. Be happy for THEM.

     ➡️ Connect: connect people with other humans and resources that will help THEM.

     ➡️ Be YOU: drop the AI buzzword talk. Show up as your uniquely talented human self.


Humans made this mess.

Let's clean it up.

#connectedness #communication

Rare. More rare. Most rare.

Rare: asking questions in a conversation.

Usually we just talk about what we know.

More rare: Asking questions from a place of curiosity.

Usually we try to game the other person to say the answer we want  

Most rare: Asking questions to learn... then listening fully so we DO learn.

You will have dozens, if not hundreds, of conversations today.

Make it a most rare day.

You won't be disappointed.

#communication #listening #learn

Look around.

If everyone at the table looks like you, you may have a problem.

If everyone at the table thinks like you, you definitely have a problem.

Solving a current problem requires different thinking.

Invite the dreamer, the customer advocate, the systems thinker, the intern, and last year's hackathon champion to the table.

Let the different thinking begin.

#differentthinking #problemsolving #leadership

It doesn't have to be hell.

Putting out fires 10+ hours a day IS hell.

There IS a way out.

Start here:

     +   SLOW DOWN. 30 seconds of thinking can change everything

     +   DRAW from what you have learned. What have you learned in the past that will help you put out the fire quickly?

     +   USE your resources. Who can help? Who has strengths, experience, insight to quickly pitch in?

     +   LEARN. Once the fire is extinguished, take 67 seconds and name what you learned. This is the path to prevention vs. fire fighting. 

     +   APPLY the learning. Update a tiny step in a process, add some communication points for your team meeting, add/ modify a tactic to improve results in the future.

Every 30 - 67 second chunk of time you invest in responding with micro-improvements will save you hours of burnout hell.

Put down the fire hose.

Respond. Learn. Scale.

You have a business to grow.

#burnout #leadership #continuousimprovement #learn

It is during and after.

That is when listening is happening.

Of course,

You have to be there in the moment...

But the evidence is in

What you do next.

#listen #leadership

What would you do with 30 free minutes every day?

When I ask executives and middle managers that question their eyes get big like I just told them that they could have free unlimited pints of Ben and Jerry's for life.

Here are 5 ways to scoop out time for you to think, learn, create, walk, whatever:

🍨   When someone wants to explain something in a 25 minute story, ask them to share their thought in 2 sentences.

🍨    At the beginning of a one hour meeting ask: If we only had 20 minutes, what are the most important things for us to talk about.

🍨    There is nothing sacred about 30 min or 60 minute meetings.  Cut half of your meetings in half.

🍨     Offer constraints around discussion, problem-solving, brainstorming, etc. For example: Let's generate ideas for 5 minutes and then use the next 5 mins to select the idea we will move forward.

🍨     Use the last 5 minutes of every meeting to define "now what?"  Name who is doing what next.

Little shifts.

Huge value.

Now... what will you do with that 30+ minutes?

#time #constraints #productivity

Take a stand.

Sure.

Sounds brave.

Truth is, bravery is not always needed.

You have two choices:

You can stand BY.

You can stand FOR. 

Bravery doesn't decide.

Your character does. 

Look where you are standing.

#takeastand #leadership #character

You likely make your point

when you do all the talking...

when you spend chunks of your day

telling people what to do next...

when you offer the first solution

and everyone just follows.

By Friday, you may have made 417 points.

Still, you missed a ton of opportunity.

You have offered the team a lots of points,

but they can't connect the dots.

      ✳️    They don't know WHY

      ✳️    They don't know WHERE WE ARE GOING

      ✳️    They don't know what SUCCESS is

      ✳️    They don't have CONTEXT.

You can make a lot of points

telling your team what tasks to do next,

but your team probably won't win.

#communication #leadership

If you don't believe

that there is a galaxy of talent

in every human being,

you are going to have a miserable time

in a leadership role.

You cannot command and control your way through it.

You have to tap your own curiosity and humanness to lead.

That is all.

#talent #leadership

Every word counts.

A two letter word may well be working against you. 

If.

You may have this bad habit:

"If we make our goals this year..."

"If this customer signs the contract..."

"If we can solve this logistics problem..."

Nope.

Take a stand.

Stand for the outcome you want.

Say it out loud.

WHEN we make our goals...

WHEN we get this contract signed...

WHEN we solve this logistics problem...

The team is listening.

Heck, YOU are listening.

Every. Word. Counts.

Rare. More rare. Most rare.

Rare: asking questions in a conversation.

Usually we just talk about what we know.

More rare: Asking questions from a place of curiosity.

Usually we try to game the other person to say the answer we want 

Most rare: Asking questions to learn... then listening fully so we DO learn.

You will have dozens, if not hundreds, of conversations today.

Make it a most rare day.

You won't be disappointed.

#communication #listening #learn

It is a mess out there.

The bombardment of information... plus

The pace of of work and life schedules... plus

The "bot-ification" of our communication

🟰 commoditized human connection.

Yuck.

Every one of us wants our unique humanness to be seen.

Here are 5 ways to start clearing up this mess today:

➡️ Engage: have a two-way conversation. Ask questions.

➡️ Listen: be there for another human... not on your phone, not distracted. 

➡️ Recognize: celebrate small wins with others. Be happy for THEM.

➡️ Connect: connect people with other humans and resources that will help THEM.

➡️ Be YOU: drop the AI buzzword talk. Show up as your uniquely talented human self.


Humans made this mess.

Let's clean it up.

#connectedness #communication

You likely make your point

when you do all the talking...

when you spend chunks of your day

telling people what to do next...

when you offer the first solution

and everyone just follows.

By Friday, you may have made 417 points.

Still, you missed a ton of opportunity.

You have offered the team a lots of points,

but they can't connect the dots.

✳️ They don't know WHY

✳️ They don't know WHERE WE ARE GOING

✳️ They don't know what SUCCESS is

✳️ They don't have CONTEXT.

You can make a lot of points

telling your team what tasks to do next,

but your team probably won't win.

#communication #leadership

It doesn't have to be hell.

Putting out fires 10+ hours a day IS hell.

There IS a way out.

Start here:

+ SLOW DOWN. 30 seconds of thinking can change everything

+ DRAW from what you have learned. What have you learned in the past that will help you put out the fire quickly?

+ USE your resources. Who can help? Who has strengths, experience, insight to quickly pitch in?

+ LEARN. Once the fire is extinguished, take 67 seconds and name what you learned. This is the path to prevention vs. fire fighting. 

+ APPLY the learning. Update a tiny step in a process, add some communication points for your team meeting, add/ modify a tactic to improve results in the future.

Every 30 - 67 second chunk of time you invest in responding with micro-improvements will save you hours of burnout hell.

Put down the fire hose.

Respond. Learn. Scale.

You have a business to grow.

#burnout #leadership #continuousimprovement #learn

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