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Michelle Powers (MA/MBA) is a fractional chief of staff who partners with experienced executive coaches and nonprofit leaders in support of their needs for strategic planning, operations, marketing, communications, business development, and project management. Buoyed by additional experience as a career coach, executive recruiter, and former nonprofit leader, Michelle brings a 360 perspective to leaders and their businesses. Michelle is driven by helping clients focus on that which brings them energy and joy. 


Michelle Powers

Here’s a list of inner strengths you can tap into right now to stay positive, stay motivated, and move forward, regardless of what the headlines are saying.

Stay Positive in a Tough Job Market: Tap Into Your Power, Perseverance, and Joy

It’s time to train your sales teams in consultative selling skills.

New Research Reveals Power of Consultative Selling Skills

The first post in a series that will highlight government-focused learning programs.

Power Through Learning: Government at Its Best

Michelle Somerday outlines how mindfulness can help leaders accomplish the critical things in their day-to-day lives.

The Power of the Present

Michelle Prince is senior vice president of talent management at Randstad North America. She provides strategic human resources leadership in the areas of talent management, leadership development, employee engagement, organization design, organization effectiveness, career development, expatriate management, and innovative learning techniques. Prince brings more than 25 years of national and global experience from a variety of industries, including technology, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and medical device, having worked for market leaders including Siemens, Novartis, and First Data. Prince currently leads the talent management and learning and development teams who deliver more than 50 professional development programs that build organizational competencies, strengthen management capabilities, and develop a strong pipeline of talent for Randstad North America. Prince earned a BS in management from Binghamton University, an MS in human resources from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a doctorate of management in organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix. Her passion for supporting the professional development of women leaders is demonstrated in her various coaching, mentoring, and volunteer efforts. She is a regular contributor to the online magazine Women Powering Business, a repeat mentor for Pathbuilders Inc., an Advisory Board member for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Atlanta Chapter, and was a founding member of a successful corporate women’s networking group.

Michelle Prince

How are you feeling today? Talent leaders know that emotional intelligence (EI) is a contributor to professional success. Awareness of one’s own emotions and the emotions of others is essential to managing feelings and relationships in a productive and empathetic way.Yet many sales leaders focus on building their team’s hard skills and neglect emotional intelligence or “soft skills.” Emotional intelligence matters for every field—especially sales. When sales professionals understand and act on emotions appropriately, they can connect and communicate more effectively with their colleagues and customers.This ability has a significant impact on job satisfaction and sales performance. Find out why emotional intelligence is essential for sales professionals today and how to develop this critical skill.The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Sales Having a great product is no longer a guarantee of a successful sales career. Today’s sales professionals need to position themselves as strategic advisors—resources to help solve their customers’ business problems. This is known as “consultative selling.”A consultative sales professional puts the buyer’s needs ahead of their own. Instead of leading with a sales pitch, sellers discuss options, provide insights, and guide buyers.Emotionally intelligent sales professionals are well suited for consultative selling because they’re aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, able to adapt to the emotional states of others, and proficient at building rapport and maintaining strong connections.5 Ways Emotional Intelligence Affects Sales PerformanceThere are five categories: self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy, and motivation. Each of these contributes to the success of highly emotionally intelligent sales professionals.1. Self-Aware Sales Professionals Manage Their Emotional StatesSelf-aware sellers can identify and understand their emotions and the impact they have on others. They can manage their mood, are less likely to clash with others, and recover from rejection faster than sellers who don’t recognize or manage feelings. 2. Self-Regulated Sales Professionals Control Their ImpulsesSelf-regulated salespeople don’t bring negative emotions—anxiety, discomfort, or irritation—to sales conversations. They adapt their behavior to the needs of their job and can motivate themselves over the long term. 3. Socially Skilled Sales Professionals Make Meaningful Connections Sales professionals with strong social skills make meaningful connections, build rapport easily, and maintain relationships over time. They know how to “read a room” and adjust their own behavior to get the outcomes they desire. 4. Empathetic Sales Professionals Understand Others’ EmotionsEmpathetic sales professionals identify other people’s emotions—and are good at adapting to fit the situation. Empathy helps sellers understand customer needs, goals, and pain points so they can address them most effectively.5. Motivated Sales Professionals Work to Achieve Their GoalsMotivated sales professionals get more done in a day and seek out training to improve their skills. They pursue promising leads and follow up on opportunities more assertively than less-motivated peers. They embrace coaching that helps them reach their goals.Developing an Emotionally Intelligent Sales Team Emotional intelligence can be developed to improve sales team performance and harmony. Look for these five building blocks of emotional intelligence when hiring and developing sales professionals:Self-Awareness: Do they seem able to recognize their own emotions and tendencies? Emotional Regulation: How do they describe handling stressful or challenging situations?Social Skills: Do they make eye contact? Do they pick up on social and non-verbal cues? Empathy: Can they see things from another perspective? Do they actively listen?Motivational Skills: Do they have techniques or habits to keep themselves energized? You can help your sales professionals increase their emotional intelligence and perform to their maximum potential with an emotional quotient (EQ) assessment. Assessments help team members gain self-awareness, reveal strengths and gaps, and help talent professionals develop low-competency areas. Consider the level of emotional intelligence within your sales organization. Are there customer satisfaction issues, personal conflicts, or tensions? It may be time to assess the team’s ability to understand and apply the power of their own emotions to improve sales performance and satisfaction.Want to learn more about emotional intelligence and sales training? Visit The Brooks Group blog for expert advice.

Emotional Intelligence: Why It’s Essential for Today’s Sales Professionals

Transformational change is an inevitable part of any growing organization. This type of change is not just about minor tweaks or incremental improvements; it involves a fundamental shift in the organization's culture, operations, and strategic direction. Leadership plays a pivotal role in this process. When leaders model the behaviors and attitudes they wish to see, they set the tone for the entire organization. Change is also a time for middle management to shine. Middle managers are closest to the employee perspective. Getting your middle managers on board with change will help demonstrate shared values and commitment. But even with middle managers, there needs to be transparency, communication, and empathy. Leaders who are transparent, communicative, and empathetic can inspire their teams to adapt more readily to change. Satya Nadella's leadership at Microsoft illustrates how a CEO's vision can transform an organization's culture from one of competition to one of collaboration and innovation. His emphasis on a growth mindset and continuous learning has been instrumental in Microsoft's resurgence and ongoing success (Nadella, 2020). The responsibility for managing change does not rest solely on the shoulders of management. In 2023, the Harvard Business Review reported that “Only 57% of managers report having enough capacity in their day-to-day work to support their teams through change.” This is where HR and L&D can step in. HR and L&D teams are essential to ensure the message of change is effectively communicated, learned, and implemented throughout the organization. These teams serve as the bridge between management and the wider employee base, making sure everyone understands the rationale behind the change and their individual role in it. The landscape of change management is evolving rapidly in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). AI can analyze vast amounts of data to predict potential challenges and areas of resistance, allowing for more proactive and targeted intervention. It can also facilitate personalized learning experiences that help employees acquire new skills more efficiently, thereby supporting the change process. And while these advancements are impressive, it is still the human aspect of managing change that remains the most important. AI can provide tools and insights but cannot replace the need for human empathy, understanding, and support. Change fatigue is resistance or passive resignation to organizational changes on the part of an employee (Atlassian). On the other hand, change resilience is the capacity to adapt to change positively and constructively. HR and L&D can play a significant role in mitigating change fatigue by implementing structured support systems. Regular check-ins, feedback loops, and providing resources for stress management can help employees manage the pressures of change. Google's approach to change management includes fostering a culture of psychological safety, where employees are encouraged to voice their concerns and ideas without fear of retribution. This openness helps to build trust and resilience, enabling the organization to navigate changes more smoothly (HBR, 2017). Transformational change in the age of AI requires a balanced approach that leverages technological advancements while prioritizing human elements. Leadership needs to model the desired changes, and HR and L&D must ensure clear communication and support throughout the organization. By addressing change fatigue and fostering change resilience, organizations can navigate the complexities of modern change management effectively, ensuring long-term success and sustainability. At ELB Learning, we believe in the transformative power of learning. Our leadership courses, such as Making Change Happen, Leadership Agility, and Adapting to the New Working Model are just some of the courses designed to nurture and grow leaders. Editor's note: The blog was previously published at https://blog.elblearning.com/resiliency-in-transformational-change.

Resiliency in Transformational Change

Providing effective sales training is critical. But how can you ensure your programs are targeting the right skills gaps? In this webinar, you'll learn how to accurately assess individual and sales team strengths, pinpoint development areas, and deliver more effective training. Join us on August 27 at 2 p.m. EDT for a complimentary ATD webinar presented by The Brooks Group. In this session, you will gain actionable insight to improve your sales training programs.
Register to learn:

Strategies to drive meaningful performance improvement
How to benchmark competencies of top performers
Ways to use assessments to create personalized sales training roadmaps
Best practices for selecting reliable, predictive assessment tools
Whether launching a new training initiative or refreshing an existing program, attend this session to learn a powerful approach to enhance sales training effectiveness and bottom-line impact.

Primary Capability Covered: Consulting and Business Partnering
Participation in this event, either live or recorded, can be reported for one (1) professional development point toward initial certification or recertification requirements for the APTD or CPTD credential.

Mind the Gap: How to Address Sales Skills Gaps with High-Impact Sales Training

As businesses look to retain top talent and fill their talent pipeline, building effective leaders becomes integral to all learning and development strategies. And to build effective leaders, organizations must turn to leadership coaching. Coaching allows employees to develop key power skills, like communication, strategic thinking, and empathy, to enable them to lead in the modern workforce.
But how can organizations turn the idea of coaching into action? Join us for a conversation with CRH Americas on building a successful coaching program for leaders. They will share their experience developing a coaching program from the ground up, from getting stakeholder buy-in to launching the platform across their business.
In this session, we’ll cover how to:
• Define the coaching program’s objectives.
• Assess different types of coaching options and identify the best one for your business.
• Implement and manage a coaching platform that scales with your organization.
• Build and maintain learner and manager support for the program.
• Measure progress and learner impact.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Primary Capability Covered: Coaching
Participation in this event can be reported for one (1) point of professional development for initial certification or recertification for the APTD or CPTD certification.
 

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