Laura Flessner

Mindtap LLC

Be Recognized. Be Valued. Being You. 

Mindtap helps diverse professionals break through unconscious bias so their authentic leadership can be seen and valued using proven innovation techniques and applied neuroscience. 

Change how others see you, without needing to change who you are. 

Mindtap offers services for professionals at all levels, from entry to CEO. 

Reach out to explore how we can help you reach your next level of impact!

Founder & CEO

Forbes

Coaches Council

Global Innovation Advisory

We help move stuck innovation in corporations by cutting through years of internal layers. We help corporate innovation leaders to simplify and fuse inter-company connections to drive growth, without incremental costs. 

How can you do more with what you already have?

www.GlobalInnovationAdvisory.com

Partner

GSK Consumer Healthcare
Co-Founder of 3 Startup Businesses: CBD & Hemp, Functional Food & Beverage, Personalized Supplements. Dedicated hands-on business building, from strategy and execution of MVP to pivots based on learnings; Venture Board pitches and buy-in.

New Venture Founder / Insights Lead

Pfizer

Pfizer Consumer Healthcare
Led New Business Innovation strategy and implementation within Global Wellness white space category, resulting in a consumer-grounded Immunity Innovation pipeline and a strategic plan to grow the business by $500M in 5 years.

Director, R&D Product Design for New Benefit Innovation

Actively grew new function (Products Research) within R&D: set strategy, created procedures, grew internal awareness and demand, pushed for deeper insights through cutting-edge methodologies across dietary supplements, analgesics, respiratory, & personal care.

Senior Manager, R&D Products Research

Procter & Gamble

Spearheaded upstream product development, new consumer modeling, and new business models.

Senior Products Research Engineer

Designed packaging for PUR Flavor Options launch, which won 2009 Consumers' Choice Product of the Year.

Packaging Engineer

I Help Diverse Professionals Break Free Of Bias And Level Up Without Changing Who You Are // Ready To Do More, Be More? Register for my Personal Branding Masterclass, July 7 (free) -> Link in Featured Section

I help diverse professionals to break through unconscious bias so they can be seen, heard & valued. 

Essentially, I help you to be recognized as a leader in your organization, no matter your level, experience or role.

What is a diverse professional? Women, minorities, introverts, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse… anyone who looks, sounds, or thinks different from others in the workplace. 

Is this you? 

It’s me. I’m a woman, Asian, an introvert, who looks really young. 

In past corporate roles, I felt frustrated, like I could do more, but I wasn’t always given the chance. The confusing thing was, I was getting fantastic feedback. 

There wasn’t any obvious bias or anything overtly intentional… but that didn’t change the fact that I wasn’t where I knew I could be. 

Unfortunately the traditional advancement system puts diverse professional at a disadvantage. Unconscious bias sneaks in, without people noticing - because it disguises itself as logic. 

It took me a while… but I found a way to break through - outside of the system. 

If the normal path to advancement:
- giving your all in quality work, 
- increasing your expertise, 
- directly asking for more

isn't allowing you to move forward... 

--> You need a different strategy. 

Transform what makes you “diverse” from a disadvantage to a superpower.  Your competitive advantage. 

I use neuroscience to help my clients break through unconscious biases their leadership and peers don’t even know they have. 

I use proven innovation tools and processes to help you to lead an idea, something you know will make a big impact, a meaningful difference. 

This strategy works at any level, in any industry, and at any organization.

Here’s 3 ways to work with me:

📚 Take a self paced course: Daring Different is a video based course with a step-by-step process to establish your authentic leadership. For the pre-manager and new entrepreneur. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/daringdifferent

🚀 Join a live training cohort: Rise is a 8-week program where you will rise to your next level and people will notice a difference in you, guaranteed. For the committed pre-manager and new entrepreneur. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/rise

🎯 Partner through coaching: Individualized guidance to create your next level of impact and personal power. For senior managers and business owners. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/catalyst-coaching

It’s time for your voice to be heard. 
For your authentic leadership to be seen. 

Send me a DM (direct message) to explore your options!

💜 Laura

When what you’re given… isn’t perfect. 
(And it rarely is.)

The people on the team 
aren’t the ones you would have picked. 

The tools are outdated. 
The process was built for a market that no longer exists. 

It looks a lot like the messy sketch 
the artist started with. 
All potential… but no clarity. 

But here’s a truth professionals can forget: 

Leadership doesn't wait for ideal conditions. 
Leadership creates something valuable 
with what you’re given. 

To be resourceful. 
To see potential others overlook. 
To hold a vision of what’s possible 
before anyone else can see it. 

Leadership isn’t about perfection. 
It’s about perspective. 

It’s the ability to look at a broken process 
and notice the opportunity hiding inside it. 

To look at a team that feels mismatched 
and spot the strengths waiting to be shaped. 

To look at outdated tools 
and reimagine what they could enable. 

Adjust. Support. Add. Subtract. 
Piece by piece. 
Bit by bit. 

When you stay committed to the vision, 
not the circumstances, 
you create something extraordinary. 

Not because you had the perfect starting point. 
But because you led it into something better. 

That’s the work. 
That’s the impact. 
That’s leadership.

Leadership Coach for Diverse Professionals // Lead authentically at any level, using Innovation & Neuroscience // Get your free copy of "7 Steps to Authentic Leadership" --> DM me ‘Unlock’

Some think changing your goal is giving up. 

I think it's dangerous not to...

Your goals can change. 
And they should. 

What you defined as “success” 10 years ago… 
likely isn’t what success means to you now. 

A lot can shift in a decade. 
These days, a ton can change in a year.

And when things change, 
change also happens in you.

Here’s how my own career goals unfolded, 
chapter by chapter: 

0–5 yrs: Get a strong start + grow as fast as I can 
5–10 yrs: Deliver great work, and grow my family (3 kids born!) 
10–15 yrs: Become a subject matter expert + aim for VP 
15–17 yrs: Follow my passion in Innovation + broaden my experience 
17+ yrs: Build my own business 

Every chapter fit who I was and what I valued 
in that moment of my life. 

None was “better” than another. 
And letting go of a goal (like aiming for VP)
wasn’t quitting. 

It was adjusting. Listening. 
Learning more about what mattered to me. 

Because things do change: 

Your life situation 
(family, health, economics) 

Your focus 
(advancement, breadth, pivoting) 

Your definition of success shifts with each chapter. 

But here’s the biggest watch out: 
When life changes, but your picture of “success” doesn’t. 

That’s when frustration grows. 
That’s when people feel stuck. 
 
Like they’re swimming upstream 
against a current that’s getting stronger. 

A goal that served you well before 
no longer serves who you’re becoming now. 

But that next goal? 
It isn’t always obvious. 

This is why so many clients come to Clarity Coaching, 
to design their next chapter with intention, not pressure. 

To step into their next level of leadership 
in a way that fits. 

Like Sarah—who chose to leave her current role 
to be a strong female leader in cybersecurity. 

Like Penny—who found a path to prioritize family 
and support her career at the same time.

Like Amanda—who discovered a culture 
that embraced her authentic leadership style. 

Your next chapter will ask something new of you. 

The question is: 
Is your next chapter built for who you are today—or who you used to be?

Setbacks don't have to be the end. 

(They're a secret beginning)

"Setbacks are a setup for success."
A quote from Dr. Ruth D. Jones perfectly captures the start of my business Mindtap. 

It began the moment my role was eliminated. 

My company entered a joint venture. 
Suddenly, there were too many innovation groups… 
and mine was the one dismantled. 

So what now? 
(That question kept looping in my mind.) 

Then I realized: 
My last role, 
which had been my favorite of my career, 
had quietly been teaching me (for 2 years) 
exactly how to build something new. 

We were launching brands from scratch. 
Creating product lines from zero. 
Designing, experimenting, iterating. 
I had the blueprint. 
Why not use it for myself? 

So I did. 

Now, I could stop here and make it sound effortless. 
It wasn’t. 

The first business model I tried? Failed. 
The second try? Failed. 
The third? Worked okay… 
but deep down, I knew it wasn’t the work I wanted to do. 

Those attempts weren’t mistakes. 
They clarified what mattered. 
They helped me build the business today. 

The business that aligns with my strengths. 
The business that connects to my personal passion. 
The business that provides real value. 

Mindtap didn’t start with certainty. 
It started with what looked like an end. 

See setbacks as what they secretly are. 
A new beginning.

The hardest part of leadership? 

(It’s not the plans or presentations)

Strong leaders know… 

The technical challenges are the easy ones. 
The people challenges are the hard ones. 

And there’s only one thing 
that truly shifts a people challenge: 
A conversation. 

This is what I've seen most people avoid:

→ We schedule another meeting— 
instead of addressing what went wrong in the last one.

→ We change the subject 
the second things get uncomfortable.

→ We use jargon like "let’s circle back"
to avoid saying: This isn’t working.

→ We cc half the team on the email— 
hoping someone else will say it.

→ We blame “timing” 
instead of being honest.

→ We stay “nice” 
instead of staying real.

All different ways of saying: 
“I see the elephant… but I’m hoping it disappears.” 

Your brain thinks it’s keeping you safe. 
Conflict = threat. 
Silence = protection. 

But in reality... 
The scariest thing isn’t naming the elephant. 
The scariest thing is letting it grow. 

Big enough to: 
→ squash your team 
→ derail your project 
→ quietly erode your vision and impact as a leader 

Brave leadership is being willing to feel uncomfortable, 
and addressing issues head-on as soon as they arise. 

Your brain may scream “danger.”
Your leadership says “go, this is important.”

Why do I incorporate neuroscience into leadership?

I get asked this often.

In this video, I give 5 ways
knowing how your brain works
can accelerate your leadership. 

Lead smarter. Lead calmer. 
Lead in a way your brain was built for.

Alicia A. Ayala, LLC.

Founder, Transformation Coach

Birchwood Blue Hills Charter School

President of Governance Board: Birchwood Charter Schools

University of Minnesota College of Continuing & Professional Studies

Participate as an Advisory Board Member for the U of M College of Continuing Education and Professional Studies. Advising on CCAPS courses and curriculum. Providing insight, trends, and perspective on their portfolio of programs and make recommendations on possible changes based on industry trends and adjustments.

Member Of The Board Of Advisors

York Solutions, LLC

Participate as an Advisory Board Member for the Barrier to Entry Program. The program is dedicated to removing the barriers to enter Technology by underrepresented workforce groups. The participants are professionals with transferable skills to enter Technology but they do not have the required experience. This program offers training, consulting, and support both to the program participants and the business hiring the consultant. 

As a board member I provide insight and perspective on the program offering. I also participated in the final day of activities being a part of the mock interview panel and spoke at one of the graduation ceremonies about transition, grit and passion in pursuing our path.

Barriers to Entry Program - Member Of The Board Of Advisors 

Life Time - Healthy Way of Life

Leading a team of project management professionals to execute the company's strategic plan. 
Establishing project management governance, IT project intake and demand management, and creating an environment of project management quality aligned to the organizational maturity.

Senior Director, Portfolio Management Office

Program Manager

Sr. Project Manager

Target

Senior Project Management Consultant within the Target Technology Services / Guest - Stores area.  Primary goal to manage and turnaround a key initiative of upgrading and enhancing custom software on Mettler Toledo scales located across all stores in the U.S.  

Facilitated the replanning and restructuring of the program in order to stabilize the overall effort and execute within the revised timeline delivering key functionality to all locations.

Sr. Project Management Consultant (Beacon Hill Technologies)

Wells Fargo

• Worked in the Investment and Fiduciary Services division within the Wealth Management organization.
• Responsible for the central system used to track soft dollar contracts, users, and trading commissions.  Managed system issues, system enhancements, and testing.
• Analyzed trading and other investment data to determine compliance with internal policies, procedures and guidelines.
• Systems analysis to improve the trade import process from the Wealth Management Data Warehouse to the central soft dollar commission tracking system.  Implemented and automated the process for trade export reporting used in Best Execution decision-making. 
• Evaluated the tri-party process between Wells Fargo Wealth Management, research platform vendors, and the various exchange reporting entities.  Implemented a process improvement effort that reduced the overall budget and reduced risk to the firm. 
• Responsible for the day to day operations of the Investment and Fiduciary Services soft dollar and research budget of $10M - working with brokers, the trading desk, along with various vendors.

Risk Management Consultant/Product Manager

• Merged Legacy Wells Fargo and Legacy Wachovia Investment Management research and market data tools into a cohesive platform. Coordinated with 8+ projects to implement the 62 go forward tools and remove tools deemed unnecessary in the combined organization. 
• Managed the Factset system migration and implementation to 600 Investment Managers.
• Worked in conjunction with Investment Risk Management to ensure the project aligned with soft dollar regulations.
• Coordinated a team of professionals to renegotiate 130 market data contracts to reflect the strategic model of the combined organization that contributed a savings of over $2M.

Project Management Consultant (Novon Consulting)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

• Project Management Consultant in the General Counsel’s Project Management Office 
• Assisted in managing a $12M program, implementing SunGard’s Protegent Surveillance software tool designed to mitigate the company’s internal and regulatory risk. Allowing the organization to improve their compliance, surveillance and supervision processes by automating components of their risk management strategy.   
• Assisted in the reengineering effort of the PMO financial management process. 
• Contributed in the development of training materials and facilitating best practice session for 30 project managers.

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