Early in my career, I thought success meant being perfectly polished all the time.

You know the look: tailored suit, calm voice, always in control, never showing emotion.

I believed that was what executive presence meant - and honestly, a lot of us in HR were taught to think that way.

But that version of leadership? It’s outdated.

Today’s workplaces are craving something different. Leaders who are real. Leaders who are relatable. Leaders who are human.

The real secret to executive presence? Drop the act.

In this episode, I’m going to talk about how to be a truly authentic leader and why being vulnerable is a game changer.

Kristen Wade helps HR professionals who want to reach the executive level,
to stop putting out fires and become more strategic with their time. For individual support, apply for Kristen's Signature Program here and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call.

Or if you're ready to ensure your unique values shine, grab a Personal Branding Strategy Session with Kristen here.

When you’re asked the question – Are you dying from a thousand HR papercuts? You may automatically think about all the little administrative tasks that steal your time and energy.

And that is an entirely fair assumption. We all get stuck in the daily minutia that is essential, but doesn’t necessarily move the needle in your career.

Today, however, I’m talking about your Personal Brand.

That’s right. In today’s highly competitive business world, having a strong personal brand is essential to breaking through the noise and positioning yourself for executive opportunities.

If you're stuck dealing with endless HR "papercuts," you might be missing the opportunity to establish yourself as a leader and influencer in your field.

So, let’s dive into why your personal brand matters and how you can begin to build it -because it’s one of the most powerful ways to move from “just” a good HR professional to a great HR leader.

Kristen Wade helps HR professionals who want to reach the executive level,
to stop putting out fires and become more strategic with their time. For individual support, apply for Kristen's Signature Program here and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call.

Or if you're ready to ensure your unique values shine, grab a Personal Branding Strategy Session with Kristen here.

Have you ever heard of a limiting belief? It’s that little voice inside your head that tells you that you aren’t good enough or smart enough or too old or too young or you don’t have enough time.

Those beliefs can stem from past experiences, criticisms, or societal expectations. But the worst part, is that you believe them to be true.

Those beliefs stop you from achieving, accomplishing or even pursuing your dreams.

A limiting belief can also manifest as making you think that the things that you’re currently doing don’t matter or aren’t good enough. That the little steps aren’t important and, unless you’re making big moves, you aren’t successful.

I’ve certainly had my share of limiting beliefs over the years. I can even remember a vivid example of one of my first limiting beliefs when I was 6 years old.

Kristen Wade helps HR professionals who want to reach the executive level,
to stop putting out fires and become more strategic with their time. For individual support, apply for Kristen's Signature Program here and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call.

Or if you're ready to ensure your unique values shine, grab a Personal Branding Strategy Session with Kristen here.

Regardless of your religious or spiritual affiliation, you’ve probably heard the story of Noah’s Ark. Where God told Noah that he was going to destroy the world and Noah should build an ark and put two of every kind of animal on it.

I want you to think about something for a minute - It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but when you really think about it, there’s a deep lesson here. Noah didn’t wait for the storm to hit before he started preparing.

He didn’t wait until the skies darkened, the winds picked up, or the floodwaters started rising. He took proactive steps well before disaster struck, which ultimately allowed him to survive and thrive when the storm came.

As an HR leader, you’re likely no stranger to uncertainty. The landscape of work is always shifting.

If you're only reacting to the storm though as it happens, you’ll find yourself constantly scrambling to stay afloat. But like Noah, the key to success is preparation before the storm hits.

Kristen Wade helps HR professionals who want to reach the executive level,
to stop putting out fires and become more strategic with their time. For individual support, apply for Kristen's Signature Program here and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call.

Or if you're ready to ensure your unique values shine, grab a Personal Branding Strategy Session with Kristen here.

Whether you’re already leading a team or on the path to becoming an HR executive, you know that the road to success can sometimes feel like a series of hurdles—challenges you’re expected to solve on a daily basis, decisions that require your expertise, and the constant balancing act of leading others while also managing your own career growth.

But here’s the thing: When you're so focused on pushing forward, there's a tendency to forget one critical component of growth. That’s the need to occasionally hit pause and reset.

Has your computer ever started glitching or running slowly? I know it has. And when you call IT support what is the first thing they ask you? Say it with me – did you turn it off and turn it back on again???

Seems simple, right? Yet, this simple action can often solve a number of problems and help the system get back on track. Well, the same principle applies to your career.

Kristen Wade helps HR professionals who want to reach the executive level,
to stop putting out fires and become more strategic with their time. For individual support, apply for Kristen's Signature Program here and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call.

Or if you're ready to ensure your unique values shine, grab a Personal Branding Strategy Session with Kristen here.

In today’s episode, we’re diving into a topic that speaks directly to the heart of what you do every day: balancing priorities.

As an HR leader, your role is filled with decisions that affect your organization, its people, and your own professional growth.

Whether you're juggling recruitment, leadership development, compliance, or employee engagement, there’s never a shortage of things on your plate. On top of that, you're expected to advance your career, develop your executive skills, and, of course, maintain a strong personal brand.

It can often feel like you're spinning plates, constantly reacting to the next urgent task that demands your attention.

So, how do you keep it all in motion without feeling overwhelmed? How do you avoid burning out while still making meaningful progress toward your goals?

The truth is, it comes down to how you manage your energy, how you navigate your time, and—most importantly—how you shift between acceleration and reflection.

In today’s episode, I’m going explore what I call the One-Foot Principle. A simple but incredibly powerful concept that can help you understand when it’s time to push forward and when it’s time to pull back.

It’s all about finding the right balance between action and pause, between growth and reflection—so you can navigate your career with more intention and clarity.

Kristen Wade helps HR professionals who want to reach the executive level,
to stop putting out fires and become more strategic with their time. For individual support, apply for Kristen's Signature Program here and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call.

Or if you're ready to ensure your unique values shine, grab a Personal Branding Strategy Session with Kristen here.

One of my favorite things about summer is spending time around a bonfire at night. There’s something almost magical about watching the flames dance under the stars. But there’s an interesting process that happens when you're making that fire that always gets me thinking about communication.

When you build a fire, you start with a few small embers—maybe from a match, or some dry twigs. Then, you blow gently on those embers to encourage them to catch, to grow, to ignite into a full-fledged flame. But if you blow too hard, too quickly, the fire can go out. You’re left with nothing but a pile of cold ashes.

Now, I know this sounds like a strange analogy, but think about your communication like the ember in a bonfire. Your words—the things you say to others—are the breath of life, but how you say them can either nurture or extinguish the energy and connection you’re trying to create.

In this episode, I’m going to talk about the two crucial components you need to master in order to effectively approach those inevitable difficult conversations.

Kristen Wade helps HR professionals who want to reach the executive level,
to stop putting out fires and become more strategic with their time. For individual support, apply for Kristen's Signature Program here and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call.

Or if you're ready to ensure your unique values shine, grab a Personal Branding Strategy Session with Kristen here.

Welcome back to my HR Higher Version podcast where I want you to become a higher version of yourself. No matter what stage you are at in your career, or what level you want to achieve, you can always strive to be a better version of yourself.

If you’ve been listening to my podcast, you probably know that I have worked in the field of Human Resources for over thirty years. Early on in my career I knew a few C suite professionals who had executive coaches. I thought it would be amazing, but left it at that and didn’t explore it further.

Knowing what I do now – I wish I would’ve looked into the prospect seriously. But to be honest, back then, I didn’t know exactly what an executive coach was and how instrumental one could’ve been in my career.

Now that I have invested in my own coaching and become an executive coach myself, I want to dissolve the mystery of executive coaching for you. So what the heck does an executive coach do anyways and why is it important for your career success? Let’s dive in.

Kristen Wade helps HR professionals who want to reach the executive level,
to stop putting out fires and become more strategic with their time. For individual support, apply for Kristen's Signature Program here and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call.

Or if you're ready to ensure your unique values shine, grab a Personal Branding Strategy Session with Kristen here.