Jill Helmer Blog

Leadership, Team Development and Other Insights and Advice from Jill.

Facing Difficult Conversations

Facing Difficult Conversations

Heavy Decisions and a Weighted Vest In a recent edition of my #thursdaythoughts series on LinkedIn, I talked about some parallels between a new weighted vest I purchased to wear during workouts and facing heavy conversations. Facing difficult conversations is always a...

Advice for Shifting into Senior Leadership

Advice for Shifting into Senior Leadership

From Peer to Leader Shifting into a senior leadership role can pose challenges for new executives, especially in maintaining relationships with former peers turned direct reports. It's common to overlook this shift, but acknowledging the change is crucial. Former...

Human Skills Required

Human Skills Required

Soft Skills Are the Most Difficult in Times of Stress Today, we are talking about the "human" skills leaders need to demonstrate as they manage the ups and downs of leading a company. While many executives believe that they demonstrate these skills daily, many admit...

Simple Ways to Build Inclusion

Simple Ways to Build Inclusion

Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are under fire in many organizations. We know these initiatives are important for organizations aiming to create thriving and equitable workplace environments. Yet, beyond official policies, team leaders have considerable...

Appreciate Your Employees by Being Transparent

Appreciate Your Employees by Being Transparent

Did you know that only 23% of US employees trust their organization's leadership (Gallup poll, 2/23)? Did you know that transparency is the first step in building trust? In a recent Forbes Coaches Council panel on addressing performance anxiety in your team, I...

Creating a Roadmap for Teambuilding

Creating a Roadmap for Teambuilding

On today's #thursdaythoughts video on my LinkedIn, I shared about a recent Forbes Coaches Council panel on Creating a Roadmap for Teambuilding. As a leader, building an effective team is the only way you will achieve the organization's goals. (Spoiler alert: You...

Ways to Build Trust as a New Leader

Ways to Build Trust as a New Leader

Stepping into a new executive role is a pivotal moment for any leader. New executives must navigate through unfamiliar territory, embarking on a deliberate journey to establish trust from the outset. As a coach, one of my favorite things to do is help leaders...

How to Overcome Perceptions about Female Leadership

How to Overcome Perceptions about Female Leadership

I am honored to be working with several female leaders. As a coach, I see them working as hard as they can to produce results. Often, they are so busy producing results that they don't take the time to "show their work" or tell others about the challenges they are...

Hurdles to Giving Constructive Feedback

Hurdles to Giving Constructive Feedback

Is getting better at giving feedback on your development goals for 2024? If so, please check out our recent @Forbes Coaches Council Panel where we dive into the common challenges leaders face when offering constructive feedback and practical solutions to overcome...

Lonely at the Top

Lonely at the Top

The role of a CEO can be an isolating one, filled with unique challenges and daily pressures that may be difficult to share with others, whether it’s to vent or to receive feedback. CEO Peer Groups To help them navigate this demanding job most effectively, executive...

Pivoting to Meet Client Needs

Pivoting to Meet Client Needs

Coaches play an important role in supporting clients as they lead, manage and grow their businesses and careers. To be as responsive to their clients’ needs as possible, it’s imperative for professional coaches to develop the ability to pivot; by modifying their...

What Makes a Great Team Session?

What Makes a Great Team Session?

Coaches cherish those extraordinary times when an organizational or team coaching session they are running has a profound impact on both the participants’ lives and the coach’s approach to future group engagements. Such transformative group experiences stand out not...

Forbes Expert Panel: Falling Profits

Forbes Expert Panel: Falling Profits

When a company’s profits quickly begin to fall, it is a cause for concern that should prompt immediate action to determine what the problem might be. There can be numerous reasons behind such a decline—from external factors, such as an economic downturn, to internal...

Forbes Expert Panel: How to Motivate & Hold Teams Accountable

Forbes Expert Panel: How to Motivate & Hold Teams Accountable

Striking a balance between effectively motivating team members and holding them accountable is crucial for leaders today. How a leader approaches this responsibility can impact the company’s internal operations and reputation. In a recent article (see the link below),...

Forbes Expert Panel: Common Ways Managers Can Alienate Employees

Forbes Expert Panel: Common Ways Managers Can Alienate Employees

In a recent Forbes Coaches Council panel, 20 of us weighed in on how to avoid alienating employees and common ways managers walk into this pitfall. My first piece of advice is to avoid showing your own overwhelm: "I see managers alienate employees when they...

Forbes Expert Panel: Boosting Productivity and Reducing Stress

Forbes Expert Panel: Boosting Productivity and Reducing Stress

As someone who works remotely, I smiled when I saw this panel pop up this morning. At that moment, I was wildly distracted by both personal and professional tasks that were literally piling up at my feet. It was a good time to read the importance of Be. Here. Now., as...

Forbes Expert Panel: Managing Expectations & Well-Being

Forbes Expert Panel: Managing Expectations & Well-Being

As professionals weigh the potential impact of employers' workplace policy decisions on their current work-life balance, studies show that productivity and personal well-being are directly affected when employees can't balance their personal and professional lives....

Forbes Expert Panel: Confident Leadership

Forbes Expert Panel: Confident Leadership

I am always honored to share writing space with my Forbes colleagues. If you are a leader, this recent Forbes Coaches Council article is a great read. 17 experts weigh in about ways you can inadvertently fail to project confidence with your team. What's my 2 cents?...

Forbes Expert Panel: Building Client Resilience

Forbes Expert Panel: Building Client Resilience

My latest Forbes Expert Panel (#12 in the listing below) highlights how I helped a recent client. Much of my work is with clients who are putting the polish or branding on their career or leadership style. But I also work with clients who are stuck and not getting the...

Red Threads on Fire

Red Threads on Fire

On Friday, I had the opportunity to guest lecture in ChemE300 at my Alma mater. Hosted by my former AP colleague and kindred Myers Briggs F, Monty Alger, I spoke to this group of students about Love + Work and how to integrate both into their future. I have received...

Close Up Radio Interview with Jill

Close Up Radio Interview with Jill

Close Up Radio featured me in an interview with Jim Masters in February 2022. Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio https://www.blogtalkradio.com/closeupradio/2022/02/14/close-up-radio-spotlights-jill-helmer-consulting

Your Contribution to the World

Your Contribution to the World

As a leadership coach in corporations, I most often find myself working with male leaders. These are driven men who are hard-wired for success. It is very natural for our conversations to begin with their career history and how they got to where they find themselves...

In a Time Like No Other, The “Essential” Role is the Working Mother

In a Time Like No Other, The “Essential” Role is the Working Mother

The time is overdue to address the scenario that has been playing out since March and will continue into the foreseeable future. The scenario involves one parent whose flexibility is “essential.” This parent is currently the “fall back” when schools decide not to open...

The Back Story

The Back Story

I had a big week last week.  On Monday, it was announced that I have been chosen as a National Coach Ambassador for Girls on the Run.  I am honored to be one of 16 women chosen for this role in the United States. And then on Friday, very unexpectedly, a beautiful post...

Take the Vacation

Take the Vacation

A few years ago, in my travels to work with one of my clients, I met a wonderful receptionist, Rachel. My routine when I arrived at the company was to press a button in the lobby that connected me to her desk. When I pressed this button, Rachel’s voice boomed across...

New Beginnings

New Beginnings

Today marks four years since I left my former company. Four years since I worked within the corporate structure for a Fortune 500. Four years since my success was tied to one stock price. Four years since I had a team surrounding me. Four years since I had a...

Leading Saturated Sponges

Leading Saturated Sponges

Chances are in the middle of this pandemic you have been doing the dishes more frequently. I pulled out a new sponge from the packaging yesterday to assist me in this process. The new sponge was perfectly formed, clean and ready to do it’s job. When I soaked it in the...

The Four P’s of Leading in Uncertain Times

The Four P’s of Leading in Uncertain Times

I am continuing to go "old school" with tips on managing change as we establish our new normal. Last week, I emphasized the importance of taking care of yourself and your people, while over-communicating. We are now in week 2 of remote working without a fixed end...

Start with the People You Trust

Start with the People You Trust

These words were spoken by Molly Barker, the founder of Girls on the Run, in a commencement speech last spring at Cedar Crest College.  The program that Molly created many years ago has touched nearly 1.5 million young women. I have witnessed the impact of it as a...