This feature is a question-and-answer session with a new Blount County Chamber member. So, here we go with our 209th installment visiting with Natalie Crede, owner and consultant of Bloom Leadership Development and Consulting, LLC, which helps leaders reach their full potential so people and businesses can thrive and create a better, brighter future.
Tell me more about your business. As a point of passion, I’m in the business of people. Without people there’s no business. So, I work with CEOs, entrepreneurs, HR, and leadership teams to connect people to business strategies, shape their company cultures and develop their leaders through leadership consulting, personalized coaching and leadership development workshops.
Describe your customers. My clients are typically decision-makers, i.e., CEOs, entrepreneurs, HR, and leadership teams at small, mid-size, or large organizations who are looking to strengthen their company culture and/or leadership capability, whether it’s for an individual leader, leadership team or a company-wide initiative. They already recognize the importance of leadership to their business success, especially in today’s rapidly evolving business climate, but may not have the internal resources to support or help them build their development strategy
How did you get started? While building my career in organizational health and human resource management, I’ve led all the components those things encompass. But my passion has always been leadership development. I’ve learned that you can have the best products, services, policies and programs in place, but business success comes down to having great leaders who inspire people to bring their best. That’s when the magic happens. So, after a dynamic corporate career, I walked away to pursue my passion and pay it forward by helping others succeed.
What is your background? Years and years of ongoing research, study, hard work, and experience. I started on the ground floor, which felt like the basement, as an HR clerk and worked my way to the top. It helped that I’ve been very fortunate to work with fast-growing national and global businesses where work experience is gained in dog years and you find yourself wearing hats you never thought you would. Couple that with the benefit of working with brilliant people (with and without titles) and I’ve wound up with a ton of experience as life’s best teacher.
What impacts your business environment? The requirements of effective leadership have dramatically changed, even within the past five years. The days of simply having functional expertise and managing people by telling them what to do and when to do it are gone. Although basic business goals are generally the same, HOW leaders go about achieving these goals couldn’t have changed more. Today’s leaders are expected to inspire and influence people in an era of broadened perspectives and changing values in a multi-generational workforce, supersonic technological advancements, industry globalization, information overload, political tension and ambiguity as we look toward our future. As demands increase, my work is about helping leaders navigate and get in front of today’s challenges with relevant and practical skill-building to support their success.
What do you enjoy most about your career? It’s hard to narrow down what I enjoy most about owning and operating my own business. It’s invigorating to fully concentrate on my passion and purpose, stimulating to learn something new every day, and fulfilling to know that I just might be able to make a positive impact. What’s not to enjoy?
