So many people I work with are incredibly talented, smart and accomplished executives. To look at their titles, their scope of responsibility or their backgrounds, it would be easy to think they have it all and that they’ve made it. And yet this isn’t always the case, at least in their own minds.

Our brains – with approximately 86 million brain cells with ~10,000 neural pathways (connections) each are simply AMAZING. AMAZING. And – what’s one thing or brains need to operate at peak performance?

So few hours – so much to do!

Sound familiar? So many people I work with are in a state of total overwhelm – and how can that be when we’re only in the first quarter of the year!? In our 24x7 connected world, with competing demands from work, family, friends, etc etc ETC - how can you cope?

If you’re trying to increase your credibility, strengthen your executive presence and make a bigger impact in a leadership role, an underrated trait to develop is sincerity. When you can cut through all the noise that often accompanies high level decision making, you’re not only more effective as a leader, you also save everyone time. Here are three ways you can be more sincere in the workplace.

Read this Forbes Coaches Council article featuring insights from our very own Kathleen Woodhouse.

This 40-page workbook will walk you through all of the necessary self reflection and planning needed to define and launch your own personal brand. Packed with inspirational quotes, beautiful imagery, and easy to tackle questions, this workbook is designed to get any professional up to speed on creating their own brand.

Nova addresses leadership from the inside out, working leaders to identify and leverage their unique skills and capabilities. We know that each leader has innate gifts which can be used to better the organization.

When I saw that Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project had a book about developing habits, I raced out (well, to Amazon) to buy Better Than Before with high hopes that she could help me continue the good habits she’d convinced me to start in the first place.

Check out Kathleen’s article published on Forbes.

"All I am is a number to them, and all they are is a paycheck to me." How many of us have felt that way? More importantly, what can you do about it? I’ve found that even if your current work situation feels dire, these 4 actions are ones we can take to stay motivated and happy.

I realized in a moment that everything had changed. I thought, “I was asleep and didn’t even know it and now I’m awake.” I felt energetic, happy. I was present.  Even the colors of everything I saw seemed richer and deeper. It was, to borrow a term we like to use at Nova, illuminating.

We’re excited to announce that our guide to personal branding is now available for download from our website store.

If you are a leader who can provide clarity, remove boundaries, and create a collaborative working environment...wouldn’t that be true brilliance?

Millennials and older workers can learn from each other in the office. Chances are high that you’ve invited a millennial into an established workplace, with its own culture and way of doing things. Friendly reminder, you can be younger than 30 and still have good ideas. Second friendly reminder, an old dog can and probably wants to learn new tricks.

I was thrilled to see so many strong women and role models in In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs by Grace Bonney.  I like it so much that I gave copies to a handful of younger women that I mentor and I’ve added it to several of my recommended books lists.

We spend so much time focusing on making our clients successful that it's not often that we talk about what drives us. We took a moment to reflect on a few key questions on passion, purpose, and how we wield our skill.  We hope you enjoy reading this, and invite you to share your perspective on these questions too!

One of the simplest ways of improving your executive presence is through clarity. What does clarity mean in the context of executive presence? Clarity is the ability to tell your story in an intuitively clear and compelling way.

Like a gymnast on the beam, one of most important executive presence factors is poise. Calm under pressure. Balance in the face of uncertainty. You’ve got to be able to handle the stress, challenge and, sometimes, platitudes without flinching and without letting it get in the way of your work.