Alaina Love

North Carolina, Washington, D.C., United States

Blogger, Purpose Linked Consulting at Freelance

Speaker, Author, former HR Exec. I help leaders & teams thrive by discovering and leveraging their passions. Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches member.

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Articles

Retaining your best talent during economic uncertainty

2 weeks ago | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

5 min read LeadershipWorkforce According to a recent AP News report, the S&P 500 has tumbled more than 12% so far this year. At the same time, US markets are being outpaced in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, suggesting a softening in confidence in the US market as a safe place to invest.
What you owe the leader who develops you

1 month ago | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

Recent research shows that engaging younger workers continues to be a challenge. Gen Z and Millennials are struggling the most, fervently seeking a deeper connection to purposeful work and opportunities to learn and grow. Some organizations are getting it right, and their leaders are investing in the development of less experienced employees.
Are you trapped in a singular story?

2 months ago | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

5 min read CommunicationLeadership Nick was elated to be newly appointed to a VP role in a high-tech firm. Surprisingly, it was the first position he’d ever held that would require him to manage a large, multidisciplinary team, including some people in customer-facing positions.
Grooming your successor: When talent and temperament matter

Jan 27, 2025 | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

5 min read LeadershipStrategy The most effective leaders I know are keenly aware of an important objective that defines their legacy: developing a successor that will shepherd the organization to an even greater level of success and impact.
What to do when your top performer resigns

Nov 25, 2024 | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

“I knew what he was going to say the moment he walked into my office,” Joe told me. He was reeling from the resignation of Alex, his top performer, who a competitor recruited to a VP job with a seat in the C-suite. Joe desperately needed to vent, and as luck would have it, we were scheduled for our weekly coaching discussion the same day he received the news. “I’ve been dreading this moment since the day I hired Alex,” Joe admitted.
Honoring a leadership legacy

Oct 28, 2024 | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

At the conclusion of a recent development session with a senior leadership team, we discussed the moment that all leaders eventually face: It’s the last day of their tenure in the organization, the day they’ll retire or move on to another role in a different organization. These are pivotal moments of passage that every leader should ponder well in advance of them happening, so I asked participants to consider what their final words to their team might be on that momentous day.
Expanding the “inner rings” in your organization

Sep 23, 2024 | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

6 min read DevelopmentLeadership In 1944, best-selling author and scholar C.S. Lewis delivered the Memorial Lecture entitled, The Inner Ring, at Kings College in London.
Why your company needs humble leaders

Aug 26, 2024 | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

5 min read DevelopmentLeadership Jeff is a C-suite leader with a string of success stories in start-ups. More recently, he joined a mid-size financial firm and was struggling to understand the turnover numbers in the company’s research division. The division VP insisted the turnover was normal, but something wasn’t adding up.
Tips on developing the mental mastery for success

Jul 22, 2024 | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

In a recent Mentor Mastermind session with a client, I invited participants to pose questions to a panel of experienced senior leaders, all of whom had served as mentors to several young professionals. In early queries, mentees sought tips on better time management and insight about how to establish balance when working on demanding projects (block time on your calendar for strategic thinking, one mentor suggested).
Are you sacrificing passion to fit in at work?

Jun 24, 2024 | smartbrief.com | Alaina Love

6 min read DevelopmentLeadership For years, I have studied and written about passions. Not things you love pursuing like tennis, golf or dance, but the deeper passions that emanate from a driving purpose you feel you’re destined to achieve.