Therese Miclot LLC

I'm all about helping leaders up their game. I offer skills and coaching that accelerate results. I provide dynamic, top-notch facilitation and I can deliver it in-person or virtual. I collaborate with my clients to create custom learning experiences that shift behaviors and mindsets for maximum impact.

Leadership Development Consultant

Proteus International

Director, Facilitation Excellence

I worked with organizations to ensure their employees have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, by supporting clients to build and then deliver Proteus' practical, skill-based learning solutions.

Practice Director, Building Skills and Knowledge

Rockwell Automation

Manager, Global Learning & Development

Manager, HR Strategy & Planning

Manager, Talent Acquisition

Brilliant at the job. Struggling with leadership.
That’s the gap that stalls growth, burns out top talent, and slows execution.

I’m an executive coach for technical leaders who want to stop firefighting and start scaling.

For over 25 years, I’ve coached 4,000+ managers and executives across technology, SaaS, pharma, banking, media, and manufacturing. Most were promoted for technical excellence and left to figure out leadership on their own. That’s when performance dips, timelines slip, and teams get stuck reacting instead of driving growth.

I close that gap.

I help technical experts become strategic leaders who can:
• Communicate with influence in high-stakes rooms
• Build authentic executive presence (without pretending)
• Delegate effectively to remove leadership bottlenecks
• Lead through constant change without burnout
• Align technical and business stakeholders for faster decisions

This isn’t theory, it’s leadership development built through executive coaching, peer group programs, and facilitation skills pressure-tested in real rooms where leadership actually happens.

💡 Follow me here and subscribe to [The Shift], my weekly LinkedIn newsletter for practical strategies on:
• Turning technical experts into strategic leaders
• Building executive presence that sticks
• Delegation, feedback, and accountability that drive results
• Navigating high-stakes moments with clarity and calm
• Scaling leadership capacity in fast-growing companies

If your top talent is technically brilliant but struggling to scale their impact, let’s talk.
If you want tools and insights that make you a better leader every week, hit 🔔 and join The Shift.

Therese Miclot

Some programs deliver content.
 
This one delivers a shift. In voice. In presence. In what women believe they’re capable to do.
   
This was the third Rising Leaders EMEA cohort and I’m struck again by what happens when women have the space, structure, and support to lead on their own terms.
 
It’s a privilege to facilitate this program alongside my Proteus International colleague Marie Holive and to partner with The WICT Network Europe and The WICT Network who’ve made it their mission to grow not just women leaders, but transformational ones. 
 
These programs matter because they don’t ask women to lead like someone else.
 
They ask them to lead like 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.
 
To the participants (tagged in comments), you reminded me what that looks like in action.
 
Here’s to cohort three and to many more to come!

I help technical experts expand their impact, across teams, functions, and priorities. Believer that work moves at the speed of influence. Executive Coach. Facilitator. Leadership Development.

She thought she was being a great manager.
Until her team started avoiding her.

The fix?
She stopped helping.

One shift.
Zero hand-holding.
Everything changed.

🎥 Watch the clip. You’ll see exactly what I mean.

They got the title.
The team.
The trust.

Now they’re floundering and no one wants to say it out loud.

This week’s edition of The Shift is about what happens after the fast promotion when momentum fades, and confidence goes quiet.

He was the obvious choice. Promoted fast. Trusted to lead a large product team. Known for getting things done. The one leadership always counted on to

Open article: When Fast Promotions Backfire by Therese Miclot • 2 min read

It wasn’t a breach.
It wasn’t an incident.
It wasn’t a tool rollout or a long-awaited reorg.

The biggest unlock came from one cybersecurity leader who decided to show up differently.

Here’s what changed:

For 30 days, he practiced one simple habit:
→ Slow down before stepping in.

And as he did, he started noticing things he normally missed:

• Was I reacting, or actually leading?
• Did I explain the “why,” not just the “what”?
• Did I adjust to how others think, not just how I think?
• Did I move the work forward or just move it faster?

Not a checklist. A 30-day habit.

Here’s what shifted around him:

✅ Alignment happened early, instead of after the fact
✅ Fewer escalations, fewer interruptions
✅ Decisions held, even as new information came in
✅ His team stopped managing him and started managing the work

In his words:
“I finally created the clarity my team needed to stop spinning.”

This is what happens when a technical leader stops jumping into the weeds
and starts leading at the level their team actually needs.

Because when senior technical leaders stay stuck in execution:

• Teams overwork the wrong priorities
• Cross-functional efforts drag
• Rework multiplies
• Progress slows, even when the people are talented

Multiply that by 3, 5, or 12 leaders...
and the system slows down from the inside.

I’ve coached dozens of high-performing technical and security leaders through this exact shift. It’s not magic.
It’s a behavioral reset that drives real business outcomes.

If 2026 needs to move faster than 2025, make sure your top people aren’t unintentionally slowing the system.

👇 Where do you see leadership habits costing your team clarity or speed?

No alternative text description for this image

Your leadership program isn’t broken.
It’s just allergic to pressure.

In the room? Everyone agrees on what “good leadership” looks like.
But when the tension hits:
👻 Feedback vanishes
🧹 Conflict gets swept
🧍🏻♂️ Silence wins

We fixed that.
Not with more frameworks.
With one habit, repped daily, under real heat.

👇 Here’s how it worked.

YuR2ZJMnv

A leader once told me, “I’m never wrong about people.”
That was my first red flag.

Ever feel like you’re shouting into the void after flagging a risk to stakeholders?

You raise the red flag.
Everyone nods.
Then, nothing.

Crickets.
No next step. No reply.
But the problem is still sitting in your lap.

Here’s the line to crack the silence (steal this):

"Appreciate the convo, [Name]. I’ll sketch a quick summary with options impacts, something you can gut-check. Let me know if I’ve missed the mark."

Why does this work?
→ It keeps things light, but moves the ball forward
→ Shows you’re a partner, not a nag
→ Makes it simple for them to take action (or at least say yes/no)

In security, the real power move isn’t escalation.
It’s making the next step painless, so people want to say yes.

Stakeholders aren’t ignoring you on purpose.
Most are just overloaded and allergic to friction.

So next time the thread goes quiet, drop this line.
Watch the conversation pick back up.

Got your own magic line?
Share it below.

Cyber Leadership Coach | Security work moves at the speed of influence, not expertise | Helping Directors & future CISOs lead across teams, functions, and priorities.

I had a three-second cringe moment.
It stayed with me for hours.

Here’s why it matters and what it taught me about leading in high-pressure environments.

👇 Read this week's edition of The Shift

I had a moment this week. A small cringe. Barely a half-second long. But enough to follow me into the night. At 3:07am, my brain hit replay. Again. Ag

Open article: The 3am Leadership Trap by Therese Miclot • 2 min read

He was getting everything done, except what mattered most.

A technical leader I coached was known for execution.

🚩 And that was the problem. 🚩

He’d become essential for output, not for leadership.
People came to him for answers, not alignment.
He was solving problems, not shaping direction.

I’ve seen this pattern across the technical leaders I coach:
When their impact plateaus, it’s rarely a capability issue.
It’s an altitude issue.

So we focused on one habit over 30 days:
→ Set the altitude. Then lead from there.

That meant:
•Zooming out before weighing in
•Leading cross-functional conversations early, not reacting late
•Getting clear on the business priority before deciding on the team activity

He didn’t need more tools. He needed a shift in how he showed up.

And here’s what changed:
✅ Buy-in came faster
✅ Resistance dropped
✅ His own words: “Collaboration across peers got easier and faster.”

I work with fast-moving technical orgs to help high-performing leaders shift from doing to driving.

Because execution won’t scale your business. Leadership will.

If you’re watching someone on your team work twice as hard to have half the impact, they’re not underperforming. They’re just leading from the wrong altitude.

👇 Seeing this in your org? DM me and I’ll send you the habit we started with.

li_at

JSESSIONID

Talks about #leadershiptips, #leadershipskills, #executivepresence, #facilitationskills, and #presentationskills

You could feel it, even if no one dared to say it.

One leader’s communication style had quietly reshaped how the whole security org operated.

He never said “my way or the highway." He didn’t have to.

❌ He jumped in with answers before the team finished their thought.
❌ He re-wrote decisions at the last minute.
❌ Always had the sharpest take in the room.

So the team adjusted:
 •Escalated every decision
 •Softened every update
 •Spent more time managing his reactions than managing the business

From the outside? It looked like high performance.
Incidents handled.
Audits passed.

But under the surface:
 •Decision quality dropped
 •Cross-functional meetings doubled
 •Trust quietly dried up

We spent 30 days building a single habit:
→ Lead from the right altitude.

He stopped jumping in to solve.
Started asking better questions.
Stopped being the exception everyone had to work around.

What changed?
✅ Faster incident response
✅ Tighter alignment across IT and business units
✅ Meetings ended with decisions and not more questions

His words:
“I thought I was protecting the org. I was actually limiting it.”

In security, the cost of invisible influence is real:
👉Latency
👉 Burnout
👉 Risk exposure

If you’re the technical expert everyone trusts, make sure you’re not also the bottleneck everyone’s tiptoeing around.

High-performing leaders don’t stall because they’re unmotivated.
They stall because the system lets them stay siloed.

One org brought me in when it became clear:

“We’re not having the conversations we need to have.”

The issues weren’t obvious at first.
But under the surface?
 • Priorities kept misaligning
 • Decisions were getting reworked
 • And leaders were busy, not connected

So we tried something simple and different:

🟢 Each person chose one visible leadership behavior to practice
🟢 They got paired with a peer for accountability
🟢 They tracked their progress weekly, in real conversations, not hypotheticals

Here’s what happened:

✅ 70% made a clear commitment
✅ 100% with an accountability partner followed through
✅ Those who worked on “flexing” saw an 80% behavior shift

But what mattered most?

Their teams felt it.
 • Meetings moved faster
 • Direction got clearer
 • Less time spent decoding leaders who didn’t know how to adjust

This is the gap most leadership programs miss.
You don’t just need smarter leaders.
You need them to build new habits that the org can feel and trust.

👇 If your leaders are still being rewarded for speed, but not for how they lead, you’re not building capacity. You’re burning it.

🟢 I build behavior systems inside high-pressure orgs so leaders don’t stall growth.
If that’s what you need in 2026, DM me.

If you’re praising all-nighters, you’re rewarding your own broken system.

Watch this before your next ‘hero’ story goes viral inside the company.

Cyber leadership changes quietly.
 
 
One day, what got you promoted
 
is no longer what you’re evaluated on  and no one tells you the rules changed.

Accuracy Trap_Dec 15

Most high performers don’t burn out from the work.
They burn out from being the only one who can do the work.

Grateful to Teresa Conroy-Roth for inviting me into a conversation on why over-performance often makes leaders invisible and how to change that narrative.

This one’s for anyone feeling stuck between doing the work and leading the work.

Trusted Advisor - Board Member - Executive Engagement - Coach

⚡ Lightning Leadership - Therese Miclot - “Is Excellence Limiting Your Leadership?”
Therese challenges a belief many CIOs and senior executives hold: that excellence always accelerates your career. But what if being exceptional is actually making you invisible?

Far too many high performers become the “go-to super-doer”—the person who quietly carries the weight of the organization, delivers flawlessly, and solves every problem… often at the cost of being seen as a leader rather than a workhorse.
 🔹 Why excellence can become a trap—and how over-performance hides your strategic value
 🔹 The turning point when being indispensable actually limits influence, growth, and opportunity
 🔹 How overwhelmed high achievers can step out of execution mode and step into leadership identity

Therese offers one powerful step you can take today:
 👉 Stop saying yes automatically.  Create space—mental, emotional, and strategic—by pausing before you commit. Leadership requires capacity, clarity, and the ability to operate above the work, not inside it.

This episode is a must-listen for CIOs, executives, and emerging leaders navigating the tension between excellence and elevation.
#LightningLeadership #ExecutivePresence #CIOLeadership #HighPerformance #LeadershipGrowth

You look at your team and think,
“They’re good. But are they ready?”

Every growth-stage company hits this point:
The business scales faster than the leaders.

And suddenly, you’re stuck managing the people who were supposed to help you scale.

This edition of The Shift is for the founders, CEOs, and execs who’ve locked in next year’s budget but are staring down a bigger question:

Who’s actually ready to carry this?

Most leaders set goals to do more.
The smart ones set goals to be different.

If you’re mapping development goals for yourself or your team,
this question will change the conversation
and that’s exactly the work I help leaders do.

Founder at Actionable.co | I help Leadership Consultants deepen client relationships by proving the impact of their programs.

I help leadership & change consultants deepen client relationships by proving the impact of their programs.

I believe that great consultants KNOW that their purpose isn't to deliver content, but to drive real, measurable change.

Actionable.co exists to help them prove that change.

When a consultant joins the Actionable Consulting Partner (ACP) network, they get:

1. Technology to sustain and prove the behavior change impact of their work.
2. Training on the Impact Certainty methodology; ensuring that ALL their programs drive real change.
3. A global community of like-minded peers.

We've helped over 400 consulting firms prove, sustain and amplify their impact to:

a. Differentiate themselves from their "edutainer" competitors.
b. Prove the impact of their client work.
c. Deepen their client relationships.

As I get a little older (and find myself keeping up with two growing boys), we've become more discerning in who we work with at Actionable.  Working in small cohorts, 4-6 times / year, we help founder-led consulting firms transform their value proposition and get off the treadmill of trading time for dollars.

If you're a consultant and curious to learn more, I invite you to visit Actionable.co

While we're here on Linkedin, you should know I write mostly about:

- Behavior Change (how to drive it, how to measure it)
- The shifting value prop of the L&D function
- Learning ROI (how to prove the business impact of well designed learning programs)
- The antics of 7 and 4 year olds

Thanks for being here.

Chris Taylor

We analyzed 8,654 training workshops. 
Here's everything we learned about how to sustain and prove Impact.

HOT off the presses, this is the big one... 

Elevate Your Training Impact (Actionable's 2025 Annual Insights Report) is ready for your consumption. 

"It's looking so good! Tight, digestible, with immediately applicable data." ~ Kate Marlow's feedback on an early draft (and no, she didn't know I was going to post this ;)

In the report, we cover the why and how of:
⭐ Optimal Group Size
⭐ Ideal Session Duration
⭐ Linking Learning Programs to Business Objectives
⭐ Nudge Frequency (with a caveat)
⭐ "Week 1" Sustainment Activity
⭐ Leading vs Lagging Proof of Impact Metrics
⭐ Beginning with the End in Minds
⭐ The Opportunities and Risk of Self Assessment
⭐ Converting HR Measurement into Executive Language
and more...

Pulling data from programs run in:

🇨🇦 Canada
 🇺🇸 USA
 🇦🇺 Australia
 🇪🇺 Europe
 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
🇨🇴 Colombia
🇯🇵 Japan

Including data from virtual and in person, small org and enterprise, soft skill and technical training, long format and 60-minute sessions... 112,286 participants from programs at 1,735 organizations and 8 countries are included. 

PLUS!

Embedded access to our three deeper dive reports from earlier this year AND 8x "micro-trainings"; short videos and worksheets to help you actually apply the best-practice data into your own programs.

It's all here.

Make sure we're connected, then comment "ELEVATE" below and I'll DM you the link. (Please have patience - we’re doing this manually)

Your work matters. Let's turn on the lights.

===
👋 Hi! I'm Chris. I help leadership consultants sustain and prove the impact of their training programs. Since 2008.

Prove the impact of your leadership programs.

The WORST time to try to measure the impact of a training program is after it's conclusion.

Tell me I'm wrong.

What actually works (pulling data from close to 9000 workshops) is to start with questions, and then a hypothesis.

The Questions (abbreviated):
1. Is the goal to deliver content or drive change?
2. What does that change look like?
3. How would that change impact the business?
4. Is that impact a priority?

The Hypothesis:
1. We're going to run these interventions, to catalyst these behaviors.
2. Those behaviors should eventually impact these internal metrics.
3. Measure Behavior Change (self reported and observed) + KPIs to invalidate.

More in the video. 
Even more in the workshop I'm running on Thursday. 
Details here: https://lnkd.in/gGigYmnC

We're looking at a good turn out for this one. Would love to see you there.

Most people in L&D agree that learning should drive business impact.
But ask a room of professionals who actually owns that outcome… and the answers get weirdly vague.

Is it L&D?
The facilitator?
The business unit leader?
Someone else?

Everyone nods at the idea of sustainment and measurement.

But as an industry, we still pour most of our energy into what happens in the room.

...Completion rates.
...Smiley sheets.
...Debriefs… and then on to the next program.

Meanwhile, the thing that actually matters - whether anyone applies what they learned - gets left behind.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

When ownership is ambiguous, nothing happens.
When ownership is claimed, momentum follows.

And in a space where nobody’s quite sure who should own impact… there’s an opportunity for the people who decide they will.

Whether you’re an external consultant or an internal L&D pro who’s tired of running great programs that disappear after the workshop buzz fades - this is your opening.

Because intent doesn’t drive sustainment.

Systems do.

Measurement doesn’t magically appear after the fact.

It’s designed.

Most people want to own impact.

They just don’t have the playbook.

On Wednesday, I’m releasing our latest Actionable Insights report.

It’s built from work with 1,800 organizations across nearly 9,000 programs.

Not perfect (what is?) - but it’s the clearest playbook we've produced for sustaining and measuring behavior change consistently... then connecting that change back to business priorities.

Anyone can use it.

Anyone can own it.

The only real question is… will you?

This industry needs more leaders.

===
👋 Hey! I'm Chris. I help leadership consultants prove the impact of their learning programs so they can deepen client relationships. Links in bio.

I don't have "Black Friday" deal.
Here's what I'm doing instead.

EVERY year for the last decade or so, I've had a rising sense of anxiety as late November approaches.

Yes, I feel the pressure to finalize Christmas lists etc. to "TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ONCE A YEAR DEALS!!!" (The promos always feel like they're yelling at me)

And I also feel the pressure to "do something".

I run businesses.

I have clients.

Shouldn't I be leaning in and offering crazy discounts?

This year, I came to peace with the fact that no... I don't need to run a Black Friday deal.

I don't need to appeal to bargain shoppers or impulse buys.

In fact - in my experience - doing so can tarnish the experience for both parties... at least in my case.

AND, I do have something... if you want it.

For the past 5 years I've used a reflection and planning system called "The Pre-loaded Year". I learned it from Taki Moore, and I've adapted it to suit my needs over the years.

I run it with clients.

I run it with my wife as we plan our year.

And I can safely say it's one of the most effective, efficient planning processes I've ever come across.

Like all planning processes, it helps business owners prioritize key activities for the year ahead.

The twist?

It balances financial goals with fun goals.

It considers the holistic business owner, and helps create balance while achieving growth goals.

It's my go-to.

After last year’s great success with it, I'm running it again publicly.

Open to anyone. Absolutely no "pitch", no "funnel", no behind the scenes "business why".

It's my give to the community.

Some won't care.

For others it could be transformative, as it has been for me.

It's happening in 2 weeks.

Here’s the link: lu.ma/xtbbtsqb

Would love to see you there!
And - if you’re so inclined, share and bring your friends. This is a fun one. 

Enjoy(?) the shopping in the meantime.

Last week a group of clients invited me to an impromptu meetup. 
Super casual, last minute sort of thing. The ask -

“Chris, can you walk us through how you approach obstacles?”

I doodled something on my ipad in the Uber on my way there, frankly surprised how quickly it flowed (turns out I've overcome a lot of obstacles in my life ;)

It landed for them, and so I thought I'd share it, in case it's useful for you, too.

The Three Levers I consider when tackling a problem:

1️⃣ Proximity
Sometimes the problem isn’t the problem - it’s your distance from it.

Zoom out: What’s the real outcome you’re trying to achieve? Is there an easier path around the obstacle entirely?

Zoom in: Which specific part isn’t working? Often the “big obstacle” is actually one tiny stuck gear.

Playing with proximity brings clarity. Clarity breaks inertia.

2️⃣ People
If another human is involved, the real issue is usually misalignment.
Do you both see the objective the same way? With the same level of detail?
Once proximity matches between people, solutions show up quickly.

3️⃣ Process
And if the process still feels heavy?
Invite others in.
We’re not trying to colonize Neptune here. Someone has solved your exact problem before. Tell some people: “Here’s my goal. Here’s what I’ve tried. What have you seen that works?”

That combo unlocks solutions fast.

Use it next time you're stuck. Works a treat.

====
Hi! I'm Chris. 
Through Catalyst, I help earlier stage solo consultants establish strong foundations in their business (lead gen, sales and cornerstone program design)

Through Actionable, I help more established leadership consultants and trainers deepen client relationships by proving the impact of their programs.
 
Both audiences might enjoy the Pre-Loaded Year session I'm hosting next week. We're going to lock in a plan for 2026 that feels clear, focused and a little bit fun. It's completely free, with no pitch. (My annual gift to the community). Would love for you to join us. Details here: https://luma.com/xtbbtsqb

This one surprised even me (and I look at behavior change stuff all day):
Cohorts with less than 10 people average more than 95% behavior change commitment.

Ninety-five.

That's 35% more participants committing to change than with a cohort of 20.

When groups get bigger, the commitment rate drops fast.

And if the goal of our programs is "driving change" then... that kinda matters.

And yes - I know we can’t always control cohort sizes.

But we can design for intimacy, connection, and psychological safety… even in large rooms.

We can "think small to impact big"
(I don't think that will catch on)

Regardless of our reality: 
Small rooms... 
Big rooms... 
Hybrid rooms...

Our impact increases when we think about (and optimize for) behavior change.

Supporting data and practical "how tos" are in the 2025 Insights Report if you want to dig deeper. 
https://lnkd.in/gEqpYxxy

"I'm going to digest that for a bit" ≠ change.

Wednesday's Insights Report (112,000+ learning participants) showed us a couple particularly illuminating trends.

The most interesting to me (and those consultants focused on driving lasting change with their programs) revolved around week 1 activity.

Specifically, the frequency of actions and reflections during the 7 days following a workshop have a disproportionate impact on their 30 day activity.

5+ check-ins in week 1 translates to 90% greater engagement over the following month than 3 check-ins... 

and a staggering 216% greater engagement than just 2 week 1 check-ins.

The takeaway? 
We want to encourage participants to check in on their progress as often as possible (target of daily) during that critical first week, when their knowledge and motivations are most fresh.

As an added bonus, it’s more manageable for participants to mentally commit to one week worth of daily practice than a longer (or indefinite) period.

Here's the challenge I offered in the report: 

On your next facilitation, set up a challenge for your participants to practice daily for 7 days following the workshop. Create a feedback loop where they can see the regularity with which their peers have practiced.

Nothing like a little healthy competition to keep people motivated in the early days.

===
👋 Hi!  I'm Chris. I help leadership consultants sustain and prove the impact of their learning programs.

Twenty-five years ago, Marketing hit a tipping point.
My take? L&D's going through the same transition right now.

I worked at a marketing agency at the turn of the millennia. 
Suddenly, leaders didn’t just want “great creative.”
They wanted data. Insight. Proof.

Agencies who understood the transition thrived.
Those who didn't... didn't.

Everything I see today suggests L&D is at the exact same inflection point.

The consultants who learn how to show impact - not just deliver great content - are separating themselves from their "experience" driven peers.

If you’re feeling the shift over the last 18 months, you’re not imagining it.

The new data makes it undeniable.

I unpack the parallel (and provide data-driven insights on what to do about it) in the 2025 Insights Report. 

Data from ~9,000 workshops on how to make your learning stick, and prove that it's happening.

A little light reading for your long weekend :)
https://lnkd.in/gEqpYxxy

=====
👋 Hi!  I'm Chris. Canadian. (We had our Thanksgiving a month ago).
I've been helping consultants sustain and prove impact for 17+ years.  And it has never been as exciting as it is right now. In the immortal words of Bob, "The times, they are a-changin'."

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