Blog - Lisa D. Foster, Leadership Coaching & Training

Portrait representing Jim, a VP learning that leadership starts with the little cues

Leadership Starts with the Little Clues | Customer Journey: Jim, Part 1 of 6

August 14, 2026

Paying attention to the little clues will help you get ahead of situations better. Customer Journey Series: Jim This article is part of a customer journey series following “Jim,” a VP of Research and Development in a multi-national pharma company navigating shifting organizational demands, rapid leadership changes, and pressure to adapt and keep his team functioning. His journey explores leadership presence, empathy, decision making, managing low performers, and helping talented employees grow. Each post explores a real coaching conversation or…

Karen had been labeled as a difficult employee when she came to me

How to Resolve Conflict | Customer Journey: Karen, Part 4 of 5

August 12, 2026

Customer Journeys

Listening resolves conflict. People need to be heard to be happy and productive at work. Customer Journey Series: Karen This article is part of a customer journey series following “Karen,” a first time manager in a small non-profit learning how to manage a team, motivate people, and promote collaboration. Her journey explores empathy, communication, conflict resolution, and learning how to manage people—not just tasks. Each post explores a real coaching conversation or leadership challenge from that journey. This is the…

Karen learns how to use pre-meetings to get more influence

Pre-Meetings Help Meetings Be More Productive | Customer Journey: Karen, Part 3 of 5

August 7, 2026

Customer Journeys

Use pre-meetings to find out what difficult people want and get aligned. Then in the meeting, things fall in line more easily. Customer Journey Series: Karen This article is part of a customer journey series following “Karen,” a first time manager in a small non-profit learning how to manage a team, motivate people, and promote collaboration. Her journey explores empathy, communication, conflict resolution, and learning how to manage people—not just tasks. Each post explores a real coaching conversation or leadership…

Karen learns about impulse control and conflict resolution

Learning About Impulse Control | Customer Journey: Karen, Part 2 of 5

August 5, 2026

Customer Journeys

Sometimes people hear you better if you find a softer approach. Customer Journey Series: Karen This article is part of a customer journey series following “Karen,” a first time manager in a small non-profit learning how to manage a team, motivate people, and promote collaboration. Her journey explores empathy, communication, conflict resolution, and learning how to manage people—not just tasks. Each post explores a real coaching conversation or leadership challenge from that journey. This is the second post in Karen’s…

Manage People, Not Tasks | Customer Journey: Karen, Part 1 of 5

August 3, 2026

Customer Journeys

Karen, a first-time manager, was valuable to the organization but considered a difficult employee—on track to get fired if she didn’t improve her people skills. Customer Journey Series: Karen, A Difficult Employee This article is part of a customer journey series following “Karen,” labeled as a difficult employee. She was a first time manager in a small non-profit learning how to manage a team, motivate people, and promote collaboration. Her journey explores empathy, communication, conflict resolution, and learning how to…

Carrie learns how important it is to have confidence in yourself

Finding Confidence in Yourself | Customer Journey: Carrie, Part 6 of 6

July 31, 2026

Customer Journeys

The biggest leadership lesson Carrie learned was that finding confidence in yourself comes from trusting yourself to handle whatever comes next. Customer Journey Series: Carrie Carrie is a finance executive who came to coaching during a career transition. Over the years that followed, she navigated new roles, organizational change, layoffs, difficult bosses, and periods of uncertainty. Her journey explores self-leadership, resilience, confidence, and learning to take ownership of her own growth. Each post in this series examines a real coaching…

Carrie's career resilience pays off as she is reassigned to a new team

Career Resilience: Rebuilding and Moving Forward | Customer Journey: Carrie, Part 5 of 6

July 29, 2026

Customer Journeys

Even though she is being pulled in a lot of directions and very busy, Carrie is happy. “I know I’m in the right place.” Customer Journey Series: Carrie Carrie is a finance executive who came to coaching during a career transition. Over the years that followed, she navigated new roles, organizational change, layoffs, difficult bosses, and periods of uncertainty. Her journey explores self-leadership, resilience, confidence, and learning to take ownership of her own growth. Each post in this series examines…

Carrie learns what happens when you have a bad boss

Learning from Hardship: A Bad Boss | Customer Journey: Carrie, Part 4 of 6

July 27, 2026

Customer Journeys

Many leaders learn a lot from hardship or a bad boss, even if they learn what not to do as a leader. Customer Journey Series: Carrie Carrie is a finance executive who came to coaching during a career transition. Over the years that followed, she navigated new roles, organizational change, layoffs, difficult bosses, and periods of uncertainty. Her journey explores self-leadership, resilience, confidence, and learning to take ownership of her own growth. Each post in this series examines a real…

Carrie learns as she learns an important lesson: lead yourself

Learning to Lead Yourself | Customer Journey: Carrie, Part 3 of 6

July 24, 2026

Customer Journeys

In many roles, it’s up to you to pursue your own growth and lead yourself. Customer Journey Series: Carrie Carrie is a finance executive who came to coaching during a career transition. Over the years that followed, she navigated new roles, organizational change, layoffs, difficult bosses, and periods of uncertainty. Her journey explores self-leadership, resilience, confidence, and learning to take ownership of her own growth. Each post in this series examines a real coaching conversation or leadership challenge from Carrie’s…