Dear Curious Leader (and Leader-to-Be):

“You may be able to walk on water, Leigh, but your staff needs to take the bridge,” a management consultant observed in 1986. As president of a small public relations agency in Boston, Leigh was an inspiration to her employees and the backbone of the business she worked 24/7 to build. However, her own playing field was not level. Leigh’s leadership didn’t produce tangible results, her style wasn’t effective with developing staff, and her emotional intelligence left room for improvement.

In April 1987, Leigh made a dramatic shift. She decided to give up her business and relocate to New York City. While taking a time out from leading, Leigh worked as a temporary secretary. Ego issues aside, she felt, how better to learn what effective leadership was really about? Leigh’s temp assignments landed her positions working with (and learning from) former U.S. cabinet members, esteemed global financiers, and senior executives at Hertz Rent-A-Car, Merrill Lynch & Co., and other industry leaders.

Each assignment became a ‘training room’ for her. She studied the cultural geography of varied environments and learned about leaders’ workplace behaviors, operating polices, and decision-making criteria, etc. The astute student did her own 360° assessments on leaders’ effectiveness by interacting with a broad range of their colleagues, direct reports, ancillary staff, and family members.

After a series of well-received consulting and training assignments, Leigh began her company with the title Leadership Training Room in 2000. LTR now helps other leaders level their playing field so that they, too, can realize their leadership potential.

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Leigh Henderson, Managing Director, Leadership Training Room, LLC, helps leaders level the playing field. Her method is straightforward: structure learning in resonance with each individual’s background and experiences in order to maximize retention of knowledge and adaptations to cultural shifts.

Clients that utilize Ms. Henderson’s change management consulting services, customized leadership development programs, and executive coaching initiatives range from Fortune 50 corporations, industry leaders, and non-profit organizations to small businesses and individual professionals. Executives and entrepreneurs retain Ms. Henderson on their own in order to achieve greater effectiveness in their current positions, to fulfill long-held ambitions, or to make plans for expanding current projects. Her clarity and on-point advice addressing complex organizational and individual change efforts are exceptional and have earned her praise as a trusted advisor.

On March 29, 2008, Leigh will be a member of a panel presenting on the topic of "Irreplaceable: How to Make Yourself Count in the Workplace" during the Intercollegiate Women's Conference of Baruch College, part of the City University of New York.

On April 4, 2008, Leigh will deliver the keynote address on, "Leadership: If She Can Do It, I Can Do It" at the American Association of University Women's California Convention in Sonoma, California.