Corporate Compass Training, LLC - Dr. Kitty Brandal

08/28/2026

I have to share this awesome opportunity! This is an excellent agency doing incredible work in their community. They have a top-notch staff and leadership team! Check it out! 😃

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴!📣

Huron County Board of DD is looking for a 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 (𝗦𝗦𝗔) to join our team!

If you’re organized, a strong communicator, and passionate about helping people work toward their goals, this could be a great opportunity for you.

Full-time
$23.23/hour
Benefits included

Ready to learn more? Check out the full job description and apply today! https://hurondd.org/service-support-administrator-ssa/
Candidates should send a resume to Beth Schanke, Human Resources at [email protected]

08/27/2026

I’ve sat in enough meetings to know that people can be very confident and very wrong at the same time. I include myself in that, by the way. I’ve been confidently wrong with impressive enthusiasm! 😆

I offer a three-hour workshop called Developing Core Critical Thinking Skills: A Practical Introduction for managers and employees who need to make better decisions, solve problems more effectively, and think more clearly when the situation isn’t obvious.

The ability to think critically is more essential than ever. Humans tend to move fast in today’s workplace! Hasty decisions, overlooked details, and ineffective problem-solving can hinder productivity and lead to considerable mistakes.

This interactive 3-hour workshop equips managers and employees with practical critical thinking tools to make better decisions, solve problems more effectively, and drive smarter business outcomes.

The team will learn how to challenge assumptions, identify biases, and apply proven strategies to approach workplace challenges with clarity and confidence. Through real-world scenarios, engaging discussions and activities, this session empowers teams to think critically, communicate more effectively, and foster a solution-focused mindset.

Topics of discussion:
⚜️Understand what critical thinking is and why it’s vital for success.
⚜️Identify common barriers to effective thinking and how to overcome them. The Ladder of Inference.
⚜️Apply practical techniques like Socratic questioning and the Six Thinking Hats.
⚜️Strengthen decision-making and problem-solving skills through interactive discussions.

Every decision your team makes impacts productivity, performance, and results. This session can help empower managers and employees to break free from autopilot thinking and approach problems with clarity and strategy!

[Currently booking into April 2027. Virtual sessions are available earlier and throughout the year.]

08/20/2026

Somewhere in every workplace, two people are currently avoiding each other with the precision of a military operation! 😁

Conflict management is one of those parts of management that sounds fairly simple until you’re the person who actually has to handle it.

There are many leaders who struggle with conflict management because no one ever taught them how to navigate tension without losing momentum, morale, or their sanity!

That’s exactly why I built "The Conflict Compass: Guiding Teams Through Turbulence", a three hour, high impact workshop for companies who want leaders who can handle tough conversations without spiraling into drama, avoidance, or overreaction. Those skills can be developed.

This isn’t a “kumbaya” session. It’s a practical, logic driven session that gives supervisors tools they can use the same day:

🧭Causes of conflict in the workplace (Healthy and damaging conflict).
🧭Mitigating conflict in the first place
🧭Resolving conflict as a manger!
🧭What about healthy conflict?
🧭Drama Triangle: How can managers help tear down the triangle?
🧭The brain during conflict. Self-Control.

People walk out with real strategies to use…not clichés, motivational posters, or fluff.

If your leaders are dealing with tension, miscommunication, or team friction, this workshop can help them build capacity in conflict management….because ignoring it and hoping it dies has a 0% success rate! 😁

08/18/2026

A lot of people get promoted into supervision because they were good at the work. Then suddenly the job changes!

Now they’re expected to delegate, give feedback, motivate different personalities, set boundaries with former peers, handle uncomfortable conversations, and figure out what “good leadership” actually looks like while everyone is watching. Yikes!
That’s a significant transition, and most people don’t walk into it naturally knowing what to do.

As managers, please be cautious of the “plug ‘np play” leadership method: We just plug someone into a leadership position for the first time and expect them to ‘play leader’. It’s risky! 😬

I designed a special workshop just for first-time supervisors. Also, many mid-level and senior managers have taken this workshop over the years as a refresher. The world is changing and leaders need to change with it!

“Step Up to Success: Leadership and Supervision for the First-Time Manager” is a three-hour workshop I offer for new supervisors, people preparing for their first management role, and experienced managers who could use a solid refresher to the fundamentals.
We cover the things supervisors deal within real workplaces:

• Making the transition from frontline employee to supervisor.
• Setting appropriate boundaries.
• Delegating effectively.
• Motivating people who aren’t motivated by the same things.

One of the comments I hear regularly after this program is, “I feel much more prepared to be a supervisor now.”

That really matters to new supervisors. A promotion gives someone the position, but it doesn’t automatically give them the tools.

If your organization has new supervisors, emerging leaders, or managers who’ve learned mostly through trial and error, 'Step Up to Success' gives them a strong foundation they can put to work immediately!

08/12/2026

Workplace communication would be a lot easier if our brains would simply stick to the facts. Unfortunately, the brain is too ambitious for that! 🥸

Someone gives us feedback and, within seconds, we’ve analyzed the tone, assigned a motive, reviewed the history of the relationship, and reached a conclusion that may have very little to do with what was actually said. Apparently, the brain enjoys doing investigative work without waiting for evidence.

That’s the 'Meaning Gap'.

It shows up in the space between the event AND the meaning we attach to it. A comment becomes an insult; a question becomes criticism; a delayed response becomes proof that someone is irritated.

Before long, we’re reacting to an interpretation that has been promoted to “fact” without questioning anything. Yikes!😬

A useful question can slow that down: What do I ACTUALLY know, and what have I added?

It’s good to question ourselves on the ‘evidence’. While feelings are valid, they aren’t always factual.

That question won’t solve every communication problem, but it can keep us from creating a few that weren’t there to begin with.

Our brains are fast! Accuracy sometimes needs a second draft to run through. 🙂

07/29/2026

The work will outlive us! We’re all temporary. (Yikes)! The deadlines will regenerate like weeds. But humor? Humor is the one workplace resource that renews itself instantly, costs nothing, and makes the workplace healthier!

One day, someone will clean out your desk and throw away a file you were convinced was irreplaceable. Perspective has a great sense of humor. 😁

***Evidence-based research keeps pointing to the same thing: when humor is respectful and inclusive, it makes our workplace better. It helps people feel safer speaking up, asking questions, sharing ideas, and admitting mistakes. When the environment feels human, people act human, and that’s when communication actually opens up!***

Humor also helps teams get through tense moments. A well timed comment can break the pressure just enough for everyone to breathe and get their perspective back, without brushing off the seriousness of the situation. I’ve witnessed this throughout my career...it works! 🙂

But like anything else at work, humor requires judgment.

If someone ends up embarrassed, singled out, or turned into the punchline, the joke already missed the mark. Sarcasm and personal digs don’t make people more comfortable, it makes them feel excluded, more guarded, and less willing to contribute. We can be funny…AND…stay legal.

The best humor at work is simple: natural, respectful, and shared. It reminds people that we’re human. It’s okay to be competent AND have a sense of humor at the same time.

Let’s face it…one day, every email you've ever sent will be completely irrelevant. That's oddly comforting! Research continues to confirm that the human experience has a 100% checkout rate. That seems like strong evidence for adding more humor to the time we spend at work! 😁

A sense of humor doesn't make us less professional. Sometimes it's the very thing that makes people want to work with us again tomorrow.

07/23/2026

Check out this opportunity! This team is kind, hard-working, and fun! 🙂

After 25 years of dedicated service, our Fiscal Coordinator is preparing for retirement, creating an opportunity for someone new to join the Ashtabula County Board of Developmental Disabilities team.

We're looking for a Fiscal Coordinator who is organized, detail-oriented, and passionate about making a difference.

While this position focuses on financial operations, its impact reaches far beyond the numbers. From helping ensure responsible stewardship of public funds to supporting the services that children and adults with developmental disabilities rely on every day, you'll play an important role in strengthening our community.

If you're looking for a rewarding career where your work has purpose and makes a lasting impact, we'd love to hear from you.

Start your journey with us today! Apply at: t.ly/yZbd6

07/22/2026

The corner office isn’t the prize it used to be!

According to Deloitte’s global data, only about 6% of Gen Z professionals say reaching a traditional executive leadership role is their top career goal. Interesting.

It’s easy to dismiss this as a "lack of ambition," but that's a lazy take. When you look closer, the reality is much more tactical:

They’re watching executives miss family events, answer calls during dinner, carry three phones, and spend Sunday night preparing to discuss everyone else’s work-life balance!

Then someone says, “This could all be yours someday.” Gen Z…. “Ummmm….no thank-you.”

They still want to grow and build a career. But they are redefining success to mean sustainable impact, autonomy, and high psychological safety rather than corporate climbing. At least…for now.

The old career ladder assumed everyone wanted the top rung. Now employees are looking up and noticing the person standing there hasn’t slept since 2018!

As leaders and business owners, this means our traditional carrot-and-stick methods won’t work. If the ultimate reward you are offering your top talent is a grueling executive seat they don't even want, you’ll lose them.

What does work? Clear expectations, useful feedback, fair compensation, flexibility, and opportunities to build expertise, leading important projects, learning new skills, and earning more without being pushed into management.

As a sidenote: I remember the 1990s. When Gen X was entering the workforce, we were called 'cynical slackers' for wanting balance!

We didn't track it with fancy data analytics back then, but the feeling was similar. This isn't a new 'entitled trend.' It’s a predictable human reaction to watching the generation before you burn out because they ‘live to work’.

Organizations might need a broader definition of ambition. Some of their most valuable employees are building careers that leave room for achievement, identity, and a life beyond the job!☺️

07/15/2026

One of my favorite places is hiring! Check out these opportunities! 🙂🙂

07/07/2026

One area of leadership we need to shake the trees on more is ‘enterprise thinking’.

Enterprise thinking means we make decisions with the whole organization in mind, not only our own team, department, budget, or workload. We like to think we do that already.

It sounds easy until it’s your department that has to share resources, adjust a timeline, give up a strong employee, or support a decision that creates short-term pressure for your own team. We give ourselves very good reasons to protect our turf.

This is where leadership maturity matters! A manager can care deeply about their team and still understand that the organization might need something bigger than what one department prefers. We can’t manage a business based on ‘preferences’.

Enterprise thinking requires managers to look up, look across, and think beyond their own department. The best managers don’t just ask, “What does MY team need?” They also ask, “What does the organization need from me right now?”

We also need to make sure we are promoting people into management positions who understand enterprise thinking.

That mindset shift changes the way we lead!

Our responsibility as managers is to develop enterprise thinking within the frontline team. We build enterprise thinkers by teaching employees to see how their decisions affect other teams, customers, resources, and the larger mission.

When people understand the WHOLE system, they make better choices than they do when they only see their own role.

We all believe in the ‘whole organization’ until the budget conversation starts. Then people start guarding their supplies and resources like the last helicopter out of Saigon! 😁