LeAnne Lagasse Coaching and Consulting

09/11/2026

I had such a wonderful time in Nashville this week with the 2026–2027 Maxine Smith Leadership Series Chancellor’s Fellowship cohort! 🤗

We spent the day exploring a question that sounds simple but can have a big impact on the way we lead: Who am I as a leader?

Using CliftonStrengths as our foundation, we dug into how our natural talents can influence the way we communicate, make decisions, work with others, and navigate some of the challenges that come with leadership. We also talked about the other side of our strengths—how the very things that help us lead well can sometimes get in our way when we’re not paying attention.

This group brought so many thoughtful ideas, reflections, and connections throughout the day. There’s nothing like understanding not only what you naturally do well, but how you can use those talents with greater confidence and intentionality.

Thank you to Deanna Morris-Stacey and the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) for inviting me to spend the day with your incredible group. It is such a privilege to be part of your leadership journey, and I’m already looking forward to being back with you all for our next workshop in January! ❤️

09/10/2026

Next week, I'm heading to Kansas for the 2026 Kansas State Council of SHRM, Inc. Annual Conference! 🎉

I'm looking forward to spending the day with the Kansas HR community and getting to lead two conversations around topics I care deeply about:

🎤 Becoming a Congruent Leader: How to Align Your Intentions and Impact
🎤 Three Reasons Your People Manager Training Falls Flat: How to Boost Engagement and Impact

It's going to be a full day, and I can't wait!

If you'll be at Kansas SHRM next week, let me know. I'd love to see you there! ❤️

09/09/2026

A little employee listening reminder from my backyard today. ☀️

I've been debriefing a recent employee engagement survey, and one of the results reminded me of something I see organizations do all the time:
We see a number and immediately start creating a story about what it means.

The problem is, the same survey result can mean something completely different from one organization to the next.

That's why quantitative data is often the beginning of the listening process, not the end.

Before you jump to conclusions about what your employees are telling you, keep digging. Ask follow-up questions. Hold a focus group. Conduct stay interviews. Create space for more conversation.

The more context you have, the better equipped you'll be to take meaningful action.

That's my hill to die on for today. 😂

09/08/2026

Manager training is one of the most common investments organizations make in their people, yet it doesn't always lead to the lasting change we hope for.

Why?

On September 15, I'm joining Betterworks for a free webinar about what it takes to move beyond one-time manager training and make continuous coaching part of the way work actually gets done.

We'll talk about the manager habits that have the greatest impact on performance and engagement, practical ways to build coaching and feedback into the flow of everyday work, and the systems and support HR can put in place to help those habits stick.

Because most managers don't need another thing added to their workload. They need simpler, more sustainable ways to create clarity, provide feedback, and develop their people.

If developing stronger managers is on your priority list this year, I'd love to have you join us!
📅 September 15 at 1 PM CST
🎟️ Register here: https://betterworks.registration.goldcast.io/webinar/1daf3b3b-c3b8-45bb-8523-33dd2fe471da

09/04/2026

It was such a good day at Leadership Connection with my friends at Lubbock SHRM AND almost 400 HR and Business professionals in our community. ❤️

I had the deep honor of facilitating a panel conversation with Mark Funderburk, Coach Krista Gerlich, and Emmanuel Ramirez.

I meannnnn, come on. 🤩

They made my job SO easy. 💯

They were thoughtful, prepared, honest, and incredibly intentional about what they shared. We talked about building great teams, culture, clarity, followership, lessons learned the hard way, and what they’re still learning as leaders.

What a gift to learn from their wisdom and experience.

Our keynote speaker, Dr. Tony Bridwell, was phenomenal, as always. He’s such a gifted communicator and so much fun. But even more importantly, he’s a wonderful human being.

I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to serve alongside my friends on the Lubbock SHRM board, under the leadership of our amazing chapter president, Maggie Maxwell. I really love this group of people (many of whom aren’t pictured here!). 🥹❤️

Also! Shoutout to Kecia Jackson, who was a FANTASTIC emcee today. 👏👏

Just a great day! So grateful.

09/03/2026

Could your team benefit from a little more clarity around how you work together? 👀

I've worked with a lot of teams that genuinely like and respect one another but still find themselves getting frustrated over things like communication, accountability, decision-making, or follow-through.

Sometimes, the problem isn't that people aren't trying. They simply have different ideas about what “good teamwork” is supposed to look like.

That's one of the reasons I love creating Team Charters with groups.

A Team Charter gives everyone an opportunity to talk openly about the expectations that often go unspoken: How do we want to communicate? How will we make decisions? What does accountability look like here? How do we want to handle conflict when it happens?

And the conversation you have while creating it is often just as valuable as the document you walk away with.

I recently put together a free Team Charter Guide that walks you through the process, with questions you can use with your own team and an example charter to help you get started.

If your team could use a little more clarity around how you work together, you can download it here: https://www.leannelagasse.com/how-to-build-a-team-charter

09/01/2026

09/01/2026

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with the Texas Tech University System CFO Division for a leadership retreat. 🗓️

We spent much of our first day looking ahead and having some really thoughtful conversations about the division's vision, mission, and values.

One of my favorite exercises asked the group to imagine the headlines they would want written about their division in the future. In small groups, they created their own versions of that future and then came back together to identify the ideas that felt most aligned with where they want to go and what energizes them about their work.

We also explored the different stakeholder groups they serve and what each of those groups needs from the CFO Division. Later, team members shared more about their individual roles and responsibilities to build greater clarity around how all of their work fits together.

We've been working together over the past several months on a broader employee listening engagement, and I loved having the opportunity to shift from listening and learning into conversations about who they want to be as a division moving forward.

Thank you to James Mauldin and the entire CFO Division team for inviting me into this process. I'm looking forward to continuing the work together! ❤️

08/27/2026

Some of the most important conversations a team can have aren't about the work itself—they're about how they want to work together.

In today's newsletter, I'm sharing five conversations I think every healthy team should make space for. 👇

Have you ever noticed that teams spend a lot of time talking about work, but very little time talking about how they work together? We meet to review projects, discuss deadlines, solve problems, and plan for what's next. Those conversations are necessary.

08/24/2026

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend my lunch hour with the team at Primitive talking about Navigating Conflict and Tough Conversations Through a Strengths-Based Lens.

We explored how understanding our own strengths—and the strengths of the people around us—can help us approach difficult conversations with more awareness, curiosity, and intention.

A big thank you to my friend Annie and the Primitive team for inviting me in! I always enjoy getting to spend time with teams who are willing to lean into the conversations that aren't always the easiest, but are so important. ❤️

I didn't get many pictures while I was there, but I did manage to snap a quick one with the Primitive sign before I left! 📸