Colleva

Imagine a world where every employee at your organization had: - Coaches that are available 24/7 - that are personalized to you,  - and that are trained on your company’s values. Sometimes you just need a sounding board. This is possible with AI.  But what does an AI coach look like? Check out how I use my coach to get ideas on how to approach a sticky situation with a colleague. It’s a brave new world but one I’m fired up about. My early professional years would have been a lot less stressful with a coach to help me work through tricky situations. 

609,242 people have been laid off this year in the US. And I hate that we’re referring to them as a lump sum, because these are: • Parents wondering how to pay next month's rent   • Recent grads watching their student loans pile up   • Experienced pros having to start over at 50  Each of these individuals has their own story (and probably some degree of crippling anxiety). Each deserves a shot at nailing their next interview. Each needs all the help they can get. That's why we've made our enterprise-grade AI interview coach available for FREE to anyone who needs it right now. Here’s how it works: 1. You upload your resume and the job description   2. Our AI avatar (NOT a chatbot!) reads and understands both, tailoring the interview to your background/role   3. You choose your interviewer’s persona (practice with multiple ones to prepare you for any kind of interview) 4. You get real-time feedback on your delivery, body language, and content   5. You keep practicing (on-demand; yes, even at 3 AM in your pajamas) until you start feeling real confidence You can even customize your practice by keying in specific areas you're insecure about and setting the interviewer's persona. And because it’s AI, there’s no judgment and no awkwardness. Just improvement. This is the SAME SOC 2 certified enterprise technology we provide to Fortune 500 companies. But right now, it's free for ANYONE affected by layoffs. (And no, we DO NOT train on your data—your information stays private) I’m doing this because I've been on both sides of high-stakes interviews. I know how much they matter. And I believe everyone deserves the tools to show up as their best self. Ready? Here’s the link (again, NO strings attached, COMPLETELY free): https://lnkd.in/eqxK6su8 P.S. Please like, comment, and repost so this gets to those affected. Let's turn as many of those 609,242 layoff stories into ones of resilience and new beginnings 💪

I was talking to the Head of People Analytics at a large firm who said something that blew my mind... We were talking about the challenges of giving performance reviews. She reflected that, “First line managers are notoriously bad at delivering performance reviews.  It is enormously valuable to be able to practice and learn how to do it effectively.” That part I knew. The mind-blowing part was that to help solve that problem, her team rented out a large warehouse, brought in a legion of actors, and had the managers role play with the actors on giving performance reviews. 🤯 The challenge? While the exercise turned out to be super impactful, she said that there was no way to scale it across the entire firm.  Isn’t this the kind of problem AI is supposed to solve?  (Sorry, Juilliard).

I've done tons and tons of performance reviews. They still stress me out! They were even tougher to give as a first time manager. One of my goals has been to make it easier to be prepared for these conversations. It's better for those giving the reviews  and better for their colleagues. Colleva provides one solution.  A coach that’s there for you whenever you need it. And it’s super easy to use. Here’s how I did it: - First, I drafted the review; - I wrote about their successes and areas to improve So far, so good, it’s what I always do. Now it gets fun: - I loaded the performance review directly into Colleva - My coach ‘read’ the review and was ready to chat! - We bounced a bunch of ideas back and forth - I felt much better. Now I just need a way to practice what I learned (hint, stay tuned for the next post!)

My last performance review included one question that's directly related to the gender pay gap: “What exactly was YOUR role in these achievements?” And it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Like most women, I hate tooting my own horn. In my mind, a team is greater than the sum of its parts. The self-assessment I’d turned in was filled with sentences such as: • “*We* implemented a new strategy” • “*We* increased efficiency by X%” • "*We* delivered early" But without taking credit for my own contribution, I’d be rated poorly, impacting my comp and bonus, and potentially getting passed over for promotions. This is a massive problem. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research had both genders take the same test and found that on average, women rated their performance at 46 out of 100. Meanwhile, men rated themselves at 61. What’s really messed up? Both groups performed *equally well* on the test. What’s wild (and heartbreaking) to me is that I’m privileged to be an executive coach to some of the sharpest women in corporate America. We’re talking Director, VP, and even C-suite roles at F500 companies. And even *they* struggle with taking credit for their exceptional contributions to these huge organizations. Brutal. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I believe that as women, we can retain our wonderful team and kudos-to-others-oriented qualities, AND learn to advocate for ourselves. Especially with year-end performance reviews looming. Here’s how: 1. Realize that there’s nothing wrong with you for thinking in "we" terms. It's a starting point. 2. Push yourself to identify your specific contributions. What exactly did YOU do? 3. Be fact-based. Review your calendar and emails. Focus on metrics and specific outcomes. 4. Use frameworks like CAR (Context, Action, Results) to structure your statements. 5. Remember: You're not bragging. You're providing necessary information for others to understand your value, while advocating for yourself. Getting comfortable with these things takes practice. Which brings me to something I’m extremely excited about. I’m an advisor to Colleva, a soft skills training platform that lets you practice scenarios on-demand with AI avatars. We’ve developed a year-end review scenario specifically designed to help you advocate for yourself and talk about your accomplishments. And we’re giving access to ANY woman for FREE. If you’d like to practice in a safe, non-judgmental environment until you feel 100% confident advocating for yourself, use this link: https://lnkd.in/eKGRqKsF P.S. Please like, share your experience with the gender gap as a woman, and repost so we can get this to as many women as possible. Speak up, stand out, and shine on.

Gen Z employees stay in sales positions for just 27 months on average. But it takes 13 months to fully onboard and train them. That's a massive problem for companies' ROI. (According to a study by Korn Ferry) It's also a symptom of a deeper issue: the death of apprenticeship in sales. Back in my early days at Morgan Stanley, learning to sell wasn't just about memorizing product sheets. It was about shadowing the veterans, watching them work their magic, and getting real-time feedback when I fumbled. Today, we've got siloed roles, rapid turnover, and senior sales folks too swamped to mentor. We're expecting Gen Z to become sales ninjas after a few workshops and some e-learning modules. Spoiler alert: It's not working. Spoiler alert #2: Gen Z learns differently. They want on-demand, tech-enabled, personalized learning experiences. They're used to YouTube tutorials and, increasingly, ChatGPT. Not death-by-boredom-inducing three-day seminars in government-beige conference rooms. We need a new apprenticeship model for sales. One that combines the best of both worlds: 1. The personalized, hands-on learning of traditional apprenticeships 2. The on-demand, adaptive tech that younger generations crave Imagine a world where: • New hires practice high-stakes client conversations with AI avatars • They get instant feedback on their pitch, tone, and body language • Senior sales leaders can review and comment on these practice sessions asynchronously It's not about replacing human mentorship. It's about augmenting it. This new model could slash onboarding time, improve skill retention, and maybe—just maybe—keep Gen Z in sales roles long enough to see an ROI. At Colleva, we're building this future. But whether you use our platform or not, the message is clear: Adapt your sales training, or watch your talent walk out the door after 27 months. TL;DR:  We need a new apprenticeship model in sales that combines traditional mentorship with AI-powered, on-demand learning. It's the only way to onboard faster, retain talent longer, and stay competitive in the age of Gen Z.

Let's face it: enterprise-scale skills assessment has always been a colossal pain in the ass. (aka “competency mappings” or “leadership frameworks” or “core behaviors”) First, HR teams and managers spend countless hours orchestrating and conducting them.  And, it takes months to get the whole thing done. Time that could be spent on strategic initiatives. Then there's the data quality issue. Human bias creeps in, consistency wavers between interviewers, and you're left wondering if you're making high-impact decisions based on flawed information. Finally, you’ve got the engagement problem. Employees are never excited about these time-consuming interviews or written surveys. People rush through them and feel self-conscious. The result is superficial responses that don’t do justice to people’s true competencies. That’s where I believe one of the more compelling GenAI enterprise use cases comes in. AI doesn't get tired, bored, or biased. It can handle hundreds of in-depth interviews in a uniform manner. And because it’s… AI, people aren’t anxious about being judged, so they actually open up and share freely. The science behind this is that AI lacks the emotional complexity of human interactions, and people feel like they’re in control because they can pause and stop at any time. AI also doesn’t do office politics: It doesn’t have favorites, and it’s not trying to “get” anything out of anyone. Case in point: We recently helped a client with their skills assessment, using our friendly AI avatars to interview them. In only six weeks, we: 1️. Customized our AI to their competency framework 2️. Interviewed 400+ employees (average interview time: 10-15 minutes) 3️. Analyzed 5,500 minutes of conversations (that's 1,700 pages of insights!) 4️. Delivered a comprehensive competency map that would have taken months to create manually It went well: — 80% time savings on competency mapping — 400+ hours of high-value employee time reclaimed — 30,000+ data points harvested across 9 core competencies — With all the insights being actionable and linked to personalized learning plans — The client said: “Amazing… couldn't have done this ourselves … would have needed a hundred people on my team.” What blew my mind is that the AI didn't just map competencies. It uncovered: — A strong collaborative culture hiding beneath the surface — Early warning signs of employee burnout — Hunger for clearer career progression paths Insights that traditional methods might have missed, but were profoundly valuable to the client. P.S. I’d love to know your thoughts. Creepy? Duh-esque use case? Let’s have at it ⤵️

Thanks to Rusty Vanneman, CMT, CFA, BFA™ and Orion for having me on the Weighing Machine podcast. In the podcast, we talk about the various ways AI provides much needed scale, amplifying and extending what firms are already doing to train their teams. Check it out!

Super excited to announce that Colleva is OFFICIALLY out of beta, and that for a limited time, we’re giving FREE access to the platform! 🎉 Soft skills, and especially the ability to handle high-stakes conversations (closing a sale, navigating a challenging conversation, or giving/receiving a tough performance review), are a career game-changer. I wouldn’t have succeeded in my career without the kind of executive coaching that helped me improve those skills. That’s why when GenAI went from gimmick to “Wow!” I knew what I wanted to build (along with the inimitable Michael Patchen): An AI avatar platform that allows you to practice any kind of conversation, with live feedback and post-mortem tips on how to do better. Basically, like having a personal executive coach on demand. But building a startup is HARD. Over the past year we’ve: — Sunk thousands of hours (including weekends) testing, simulating, and iterating — Built a unique cognitive architecture to ensure the interactions with our platform feel natural, truly engaging, and alive (vs. just simple Q&A with a chatbot) — Automated a grading system to assess responses, with domain experts providing oversight to ensure accuracy — Iterated on prompts based on identifying unnatural or inappropriate responses for a ‘choose your own adventure’ experience rather than a simplistic ‘if A, then B’ decision tree — Built proprietary tooling to scale this process and shorten the cycle to achieve higher time-to-value for clients And now, we’re confident enough to open the gates and let you experience the power of soft skills coaching in a safe, non-judgmental setting. Normally, we sell this solution to enterprise companies with hundreds of seats at a minimum. But because I really appreciate the LinkedIn community and I know this can make the difference between getting a job and not, or landing a new client, I’d love to let you try it for yourself. 👉 Want to try Colleva for FREE?  1. Connect with me 2. Comment "Colleva" below 3. I'll DM you with access details Boom.

I joined McKinsey as an experienced hire and was ultimately promoted from associate to Engagement Manager. The one surprising secret to their success other than innovation, rigorous problem-solving methodology, and an obsession with client success: Effective feedback. Think about it: You can hire the smartest people on the planet, but if they're unable to collaborate and communicate effectively, projects are dead on arrival. Let's deep-dive into McKinsey's unique feedback model: 1. Observation: Start with specific, factual observations of behavior. Example: "In yesterday's client meeting, I observed that you spent the first 15 minutes giving background info before presenting our key recommendations for the work proposal." 2. Impact: Describe the impact of that behavior on you, the team, or the organization. Example: "I noticed the client checking their watch twice during this time, and was worried we’d lost their interest in the new project we’re proposing" 3. Expectation: Clearly state what you expect going forward. Example: "Going forward, I'd like you to focus on the 80/20 of the background, cutting it to no more than three minutes." 4. Support: Offer support and resources to help achieve the expected change. Example: "I'm happy to review your presentation structure before our next client meeting. I’ll also reach out to a senior team member you can shadow.” What sets this model apart: — Specificity — Non-punitive — Emphasis on objectivity — Constructive guidance — Real-time, ongoing practice for continuous improvement — (vs. waiting for a year-end review) But like any skill, delivering effective feedback takes practice. That's where tools like Colleva come in (an AI-avatar-led coaching platform), offering a safe space to hone these critical communication skills. P.S. What's your experience with feedback in your organization? Have you tried structured models like this one? Would love to know your thoughts ⤵︎