this work is who I am.

I’ve never cared where the bus was going; I just wondered what I had to do to get on it. I wouldn't get my school work done because I was helping people with whatever was distracting them from theirs; I've typically ended up in charge because I see things, think "it doesn't have to be this way" and speak up; I end up forming teams because I make people know they're seen & valued.

I first leveraged these traits as District Manager for a major retailer. I oversaw 12 stores, dozens of managers and a multi-state team.  Facing our own elephants, we turned an underestimated, underperforming district into a top-performing, revered one.  That’s where I learned that talent and the quality of interactions were everything.

Since then, leaders and their team members have been pulling me aside to make sense of what’s keeping them up at night, to coach them through their difficult conversations, and to help make the daunting do-able.

I am a proud UNH Alum, a certified Gallup Clifton Strengths coach, trained in Brené Brown Brown's Dare to Lead, Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership, and Franklin Covey's What Matters Most among other frameworks. But, perhaps what sharpens my skills the most is being married for over twenty years and having two teen boys.

Let's meet your elephants, grapple with what they offer and be more resilient because of it. I've got you.

Clients

I’ve marched in parade with some pretty incredible clients. Here are just a few.

Working with Holly on my own executive leadership skills as well as our experience with her helping to shape our leadership team has been some of the most insightful and inspiring work I've done in my career. Holly brings a combination of her own special strengths and professional development tools that she has honed over years of engaging with individuals and large teams. The work is intense and yields meaningful and practical approaches to improving how we maximize our individual and collective strengths.

-Tina Sawtelle, Executive Director, The Music Hall

Holly combines her deep knowledge of planning and facilitating with her outstanding ability to really listen to and understand her clients, to help them achieve new levels of productivity.

-Debbie Dutton, Vice President for Advancement and President of the UNH Foundation

As our organization confronted the new normal we recognized the importance of engaging with our team in new and different ways. Holly and Talking Elephants helped us with this critical organizational initiative. Holly did a deep dive to understand our team and designed a program focused on our goals and objectives. Holly’s enthusiasm and professionalism comes through in everything she does including the delivery of fun and productive programs that allowed every member of the team to be involved and engaged.

-Pat Closson, Director, Chair of Corporate Department, McLane Middleton

The university recently restructured the traditional research office into the office of research, economic development, and outreach. This change brought together 400 staff from across many program areas that serve both the research and public service mission of the university. We needed help bringing together leaders from across the newly formed division and had trouble finding a place to begin. Holly quickly assessed our needs and provided a roadmap that would bring leadership together to identify strengths, weaknesses and the common threads that will move the division toward greater impact. Holly was practical, professional, and easily related to our faculty, staff, and leadership throughout the process.

-Kenneth J. La Valley, PhD, Vice Provost for University Outreach and Engagement, University of New Hampshire