To kick off Season SIX of the show, past ManagerMirror guest Nicole Townsend RETURNS!   Nicole joined me originally in the summer of 2022 outlining her successful retail-industry leadership career and teaching us about defining our leadership style. This past October, Nicole published her first book, “Just Be Real – A Managers Field Guide to Making Work Count for Employees and Companies”, and she’s joining us again to highlight some of the leaders experiences she’s included in her book.  In our discussion, Nicole shares an introduction into what her acronym “R.E.A.L.” leader means, and she offers some tactics for accountability that support leading with heart and mind.  Please welcome my guest, trusted team-builder, proven people-leader, Experience Counts Founder and President, Nicole Townsend!

Each season I bring one past ManagerMirror guest back to the show, and this year I wanted to kick off Season 6 with Nicole because her work researching and documenting people-management best-practices has intensified since our we last recorded.  Nicole’s corporate career included successful terms as Sr. Manager of Corporate Communications, Director of Marketing Communications, Vice President of Talent, and Vice President of Team Member Experience at Raley’s.  Today, Nicole supports companies in leadership & culture evolution for people-focused results delivery, and in her work, she’s developed a framework for day-to-day management and published these in her new book, “Just Be Real – A Managers Field Guide to Making Work Count for Employees and Companies”. In her book, Nicole doesn’t ask the reader to simply take her word for it – though she could as she’s performed at high-level as a people-leader through her career.  Nicole instead infuses her framework with tactics shared by top industry leaders she’s interviewed… and I’m honored to have been included in that group (yup, I’m in the book, too!)   Nicole shred some of these insights and a few stories in our episode, but I’d highly recommend getting a copy of the book, and following her on LinkedIn to stay current with her proven leadership content.