Developing senior managers to lead high-performing agencies | Leadership coach | Scaled from start-up to 8-figure agency

I help companies grow by developing their most valuable asset: their leaders.

For over a decade, I've worked at the intersection of leadership development and data-driven results, showing organizations that investing in people isn't just good culture but good business.

My approach is straightforward. I design performance management systems that actually motivate people while building cultures where psychological safety and accountability coexist. I strip away leadership fluff to focus on what works: targeted people development that connects directly to business outcomes.

As a consultant, I partner with companies looking to transform their leadership teams through practical skill-building and honest feedback systems. I help organizations create environments where diverse perspectives are valued and teams feel empowered to innovate. My clients appreciate that I don't sugarcoat challenges, but I'm always in their corner.

My background in digital marketing gives me a unique perspective on measuring what matters, whether that's campaign performance or leadership effectiveness.

I'm passionate about sharing what I've learned from studying influential thinkers like Daniel Goleman, Robert Greene, Dale Carnegie, and Kim Scott. More importantly, I share what I've learned from being in the trenches myself as an executive balancing business demands with family life.

The best companies know that leadership excellence drives business success. If you're ready to make that connection explicit in your organization, reach out and let's discuss how I can help.

Kim Fitkin

🤝🏾 Collaborating with you to establish💡strategies that improve employee training outcomes 📶 Immediate solutions and 50% long-term growth.

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗣𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻."Culture shock" and "organizational hesitation" aren't people problems—they are structural failures.When new leadership steps in, the gap between their vision and the organization’s current capability often leads to internal breakdowns. 

Communication fails, trust erodes, and strategic initiatives stall.I specialize in closing this Leadership-to-Learning Gap. My approach treats training not as an HR function, but as a strategic imperative that aligns leadership behavior with organizational capability. We solve the root causes of disengagement by creating a transparent, excellence-driven learning system.

How We Work:💫 Internal Breakdown Recovery: Addressing poor employee relations and operational inefficiencies at the source.💫 Strategic Training Architecture: Designing the systems that allow your strategy to be executed at every level.💫 Values Integration: Ensuring that "accountability" and "transparency" aren't just posters on a wall, but a lived reality.

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗶𝘀 ?➡️ Take my free Training Assessment Quiz at www.drcarriegraham.com. You'll get a scored report that pinpoints where your training is misaligned and what to do about it.

📍 Charlotte Metro | COG Learning and Solutions, LLC  🔗 www.drcarriegraham.com

Carrie Graham, PhD

Shia (pseudonym) runs a 50-person consulting firm. Her training wasn't bad—it was just scattered.

New hires learned client management in onboarding. Then learned a different approach in their technical training. Then got contradictory guidance in professional development sessions.

Not terrible training. Just confusing training.

We spent 8 weeks in the Training Accelerator restructuring her programs to tell one consistent story. Not adding content—connecting it.

The result? Her onboarding time dropped by 35%. Her team retention improved. And she stopped getting the same questions over and over.

Same training budget. Different structure. Completely different outcome.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀.
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Wondering where your training stands? → https://tally.so/r/nr8GDR
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👋 Dr Graham - 🤞 hoping your score is over 80/100

💫 Strategic Training Infrastructure for Executive Transitions 💫 Bridging the Leadership-to-Learning Gap 💫 Specializing in Org Dev (Training ROI) for New CEOs with 5-200 Employees

What do you think I learned last week in 1st grade?

Your #board wants results. Your team needs development. And you're caught in the middle wondering how to deliver both.

Sound familiar?

This tension isn't a sign you're doing something wrong. It's actually a signal you're ready for something better. When professional development structure is missing, board meetings get uncomfortable and talented people start looking elsewhere.

But here's the optimistic truth: organizations that align training and development with business outcomes don't just satisfy #boards—they exceed expectations. SHRM research shows that companies with structured professional development plans see 34% higher retention among high performers.

Your team doesn't need a complete overhaul. They need a clear framework that connects their growth to organizational goals. When that alignment happens, board presentations become celebrations instead of explanations.

Video courtesy of David Thompson, CFI of Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates and Truth Be Told Podcast
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What would your next #boardmeeting look like if your team's development was as structured as your business plan?
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𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

You're spending $1,254 per employee on development this year—right in line with the SHRM average. The budget's approved, programs are running, people are completing courses. Everything looks fine on paper.

Until you ask: What actually changed in how the business performs?

Here's what's happening beneath that tidy number:

 • 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘁 $𝟭𝟲𝟱 (𝘂𝗽 𝟯𝟰% 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿)
 • 75% of organizations rate their leadership development as "not effective"
 • Companies with comprehensive training see 218% higher income per employee
 • Most training exists disconnected from strategic priorities

The gap between those four realities is where organizational capability goes to die.

I worked with a CEO last year who'd invested $45,000 in leadership training. Solid content, engaged participants, high satisfaction scores. Six months later, none of her operational metrics had moved. The training existed in isolation from the business challenges it was supposed to solve.

The real cost isn't the $1,254 per employee you're spending. It's the opportunity cost of development that doesn't translate into performance. When your competitors are seeing double-digit returns on training architecture while you're measuring completion rates, that gap compounds quickly.

Your training budget should be connected to your growth trajectory and strategic bottlenecks. If you can't draw a direct line from development investments to business outcomes, you're funding activity instead of building capability.
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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗢𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿?
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Problem by the numbers for SMB CEOs and Presidents

𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

Last month, I sat through 2 board meetings for 2 different organizations. The reporting details were different but the leadership feeling was the same. 

𝗔𝗡𝗫𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 because "𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡" and the leader is at capacity.

Regardless of a leader's need to step away temporarily or permanently, if there is no one to confidently step up and hold the reigns the existing leader and organization suffer.

A stagnant organization is a failing organization. 

The way to consistently move your organization forward internally requires a cohesive team development strategy.

Can you or your organization risk not having qualified people in place to lead?

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Subscribe to read this week's C.A.L.M. Email Industry Insights will explore this issue from 3 perspectives: CEO, Founder and Executive Director.
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When rapid growth outpaces your ability to develop leaders internally. 

You had the business idea, took it to market and generating revenue. 

You’ve contracted support or have a small team to meet the growing demands of production. 

But it isn’t enough. You need an internal leader who can take on advanced responsibilities.  

If you don’t develop leaders internally you risk not being able to keep up with growth.  

You cannot keep being the only decision maker in your business. Either your business will fail or you will. 

Here’s how to development the first leader within your organization: 
1) Prioritize the most important processes 
2) Document the business processes that live in your head 
3) Use Large Language Models (LLMs like ChatGPT) to format and refine your processes 
4) Train your soon-to-be leader using the documented processes  

The danger of not developing leaders internally is that you waste precious time and money.  

The pace your business grows is the same pace you should identify and develop leaders within.  
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As the founder are you ready to develop leaders from within? 
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The silent cost of inconsistent leadership development across departments.  

The trend is to invest in executive coaching for a high-profile leader.  

Executive coaching supports individual development which expands that person’s capacity. 

The increased capacity of one person will not change the team’s collective performance.  

When you invest in executive coaching for only 1 or 2 leaders but not all leaders and team members you’re investing in inconsistent leadership development.  

Your leaders are not growing together. Leaders across departments are not supporting one another. 

Here are some additional limitations from inconsistent leadership development that you may be missing: 

❌ Decreased vertical and horizontal communication  
❌ Siloed operational inefficiency  
❌ Team disengagement  
❌ Fragmented culture 

The silent cost – operational breakdown and organizational dysfunction. 

The bottom line – you cannot invest in 1 or 2 people and expect organization wide change to occur. 
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➡️ What is the silent cost to your capacity as the CEO? 
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The problem is never the problem. The is the approach.

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