Shayne Fitz-Coy

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In unpredictable conditions, these leaders have found reliable ways to stay focused, energized, and clear-headed. The demands of leadership don’t pause when the ground shifts. For those guiding teams through uncertainty, staying present and motivated is vital to making sound decisions, maintaining team morale, and sustaining long-term momentum.  In volatile environments, personal clarity can be hard for leaders to hold onto. To understand how experienced leaders maintain focus, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members share what keeps them steady and inspired. Their answers highlight the habits, values, and real-world reminders that help them lead through disruption without losing direction.

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If given the chance to start over, these are the moves seasoned entrepreneurs say they’d make to build their businesses differently today. Hindsight can be a powerful teacher, especially for entrepreneurs who’ve weathered the highs and lows of building a business from the ground up. From financial decisions and branding strategies to selecting the right partners and saying “no” sooner, many business leaders have learned what they’d do differently if they had the chance to start fresh. To that end, Fast Company Executive Board members reflect on those hard-earned lessons and share the changes they’d make if they were launching their companies today. Here's how they've used what they've learned as a valuable roadmap for building stronger, more resilient companies.

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Your first big interview with the press can feel intimidating, but the right preparation can turn it into a defining moment for you as a brand leader. Whether it’s a podcast, panel, or live social media event, stepping into the spotlight for the first time as a brand leader can feel like walking into a conversation where everyone else already knows the script. But with the right preparation, these moments can become powerful opportunities to share your story, connect with your audience, and elevate your company’s message. From refining your talking points to embracing authenticity and learning to handle tough questions, small adjustments can make a big impact. To help you feel confident and prepared, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members share their best advice for first-time brand leaders getting ready for a media interview or public appearance.

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Balancing global strategy with local nuance isn’t easy, but it’s essential for leading across cultures effectively. For managers overseeing teams across multiple countries, striking the right balance between global consistency and local autonomy can determine whether your team feels aligned or alienated. It requires clarity on what must remain uniform—brand values, strategy, success metrics—as well as the flexibility to adapt delivery, communication, and leadership styles to local norms. Leaders who master this balance can minimize friction while creating environments where innovation, trust, and performance thrive across borders. To that end, 17 members of Fast Company Executive Board share their top strategies for navigating this complex but critical dynamic.

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A successful product launch doesn't happen overnight. Take the time to get it right. In today's fast-moving world, it takes a spark of creativity to develop a unique product or service that will have a profound impact in the marketplace. But without a clear vision and structured path to take an idea from inception to execution, it won't make it across the finish line. However, breaking down the innovation process into manageable stages can help companies systematically develop solutions that address real-world pain points and create true value for every stakeholder involved. Here, 15 leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board each list the common mistakes some companies make when trying to innovate, and why these practices should be avoided.

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Apply these creative steps to find a resolution when the status quo doesn't cut it. In an era where complex business challenges often defy conventional solutions, leaders must think outside their comfort zones and consider alternative approaches to overcome their business obstacles. By fostering a mindset that embraces ambiguity and encourages experimentation, they can unlock innovative solutions to problems that don't fit the mold.  Here, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members offer insight to help other leaders become more creative in addressing problems that require more than a standard answer.

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Want to build stronger, more enduring client and customer relationships? Start by leading with the values that make people want to work with you—not just buy from you. Strong client and customer relationships are critical to business growth, retention and reputation—but they don’t happen by chance. They’re built over time through consistent leadership, clear communication and a deep commitment to the partnership. For leaders, that means modeling the behaviors and principles that earn trust and foster long-term connections. To help you foster strong, lasting relationships with your clients and customers, the members of Fast Company Executive Board discuss the leadership principles that guide each and every interaction.

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Gen Z doesn't need to be "fixed" or forced into traditional management paradigms. Instead, leaders need to adapt their approaches to leverage this generation's unique strengths.

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Here's how to master daily leadership responsibilities without burning out. What does an effective leader look like? Oftentimes, what comes to mind is an individual who can successfully balance daily workflow, foster positive team relations, and handle an unforeseen crisis calmly and collectively. But strong leaders have another secret ingredient up their sleeves. They realize how important it is to manage their most valuable resources: time and energy. As a leader, being intentional about where to invest your focus can significantly enhance your productivity.  Below, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members share their insights on other tried and true habits every successful executive should practice regularly.

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Leadership isn't just adapting to technology—it's being redefined by it. Technological advancements continue to push digital transformation forward and change the way businesses operate. In response to this, leadership styles and best practices are shifting toward greater agility, collaboration and real-time decision-making.  To help you navigate these shifts, the members of Fast Company Executive Board share practical tips for leading successfully in a technology-driven landscape. Here's how they recommend guiding innovation, balancing digital tools with human insight and building more flexible, connected organizations.

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Learn how to build strong, effective partnerships with virtual assistant agencies to support your business’s long-term growth. As the demand for virtual assistants grows, many companies are turning to VA agencies to access skilled support without the overhead of traditional hiring. However, building a strong, effective partnership with these agencies requires work beyond just hiring the first service provider you find. To help leaders establish the right foundation, Fast Company Executive Board members share their best practices for partnering with a virtual assistant agency. Their insights offer practical strategies to encourage clear communication, align expectations, and create a productive relationship that supports your business’s growth.

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For new leaders and entrepreneurs, success depends not just on innovation but on adaptability, resilience, and human connection. The modern marketplace is fast-moving, tech-driven, and constantly evolving. The business landscape looks a lot different than when today's top leaders first got their start, and the lessons they've learned along the way can help inform the leadership approaches of future executives and entrepreneurs. Below, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members share their best advice for the next generation of business leaders. From embracing failure to building authentic relationships, these insights can help rising professionals lead with purpose and thrive in an ever-changing world.

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Whether you're navigating a merger, restructuring a team, or launching a new initiative, it's important to be prepared to navigate change smoothly. Big organizational changes at work can stir up just about everything—nerves, questions, and even momentum. That’s why how you lead through change matters just as much as the change itself. Without the right approach, it’s easy for you and your team to lose clarity, confidence, and productivity along the way. To help you manage change effectively, Fast Company Executive Board members share 19 real-world strategies leaders can use to keep communication flowing, maintain trust, and move through transitions with purpose.

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Regardless of your industry, any company can benefit from forging deeper connections with its target audience. In a noisy digital world, engaging with your target audience online is the key to standing out and staying relevant. While different engagement tactics may work best for different industries, you can't go wrong by building strong relationships with the people who support your business. To help you do this, 20 members of Fast Company Executive Board share their most effective go-to engagement strategies and why engagement is so important. From leveraging employee voices to creating personalized experiences, these hands-on tactics have helped them build deeper connections and drive measurable growth.

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As inflation continues to challenge industries across the board, businesses are being forced to make difficult decisions about how to manage rising costs without sacrificing customer trust or long-term growth. An organization's ability to adapt in the face of ongoing inflation — whether through adjusted pricing strategies, increased operational efficiency, or added value for cost — can mean the difference between losing market share and maintaining a loyal customer base. Navigating these challenges takes more than short-term fixes; it calls for thoughtful, industry-specific solutions that meet both business goals and customer needs. To help, Fast Company Executive Board members share how their brands are addressing inflation in their respective industries. Here are the steps they’re taking to reduce the impact of economic challenges, both internally and externally.

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When external pressures force internal change, how you respond can either protect or reshape your brand, operations, and client relationships. Every business encounters moments when industry shifts demand a fast, thoughtful response. Whether it’s a regulatory change, market disruption, or evolving client expectations, adapting effectively is rarely straightforward. If you’ve faced this kind of pressure, you know how complex it can be to make operational changes while maintaining trust and continuity. To that end, Fast Company Executive Board members discuss real-world challenges companies have faced and how they’ve adjusted without compromising their brand or service quality.

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AI is a powerful tool—one requiring strong guardrails to ensure responsible use. CISOs play a key role in making this happen. As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into daily operations, the need for strong governance grows alongside it. For many companies, that responsibility increasingly falls to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). But effective AI governance isn’t just about risk mitigation—it’s about building systems that are transparent, secure, and aligned with business and regulatory expectations from the start. Below, the members of Fast Company Executive Board share how CISOs can help shape compliant, ethical AI adoption without stifling business innovation.

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Building bridges behind your screen is easier than you think. Introverted leaders often thrive in quiet, reflective environments, but the challenge of leading remote teams may sometimes feel cumbersome. In a fully virtual company where in-person interactions are limited, creating a sense of community and connection is essential, but engagement is still incredibly difficult for those who prefer to keep their head down, letting their work speak for itself. However, when introverted leaders need to step out of their comfort zones, there are strategies they can apply to foster a stronger, interactive virtual team. If you consider yourself an introvert and are trying to establish better points of contact with your virtual team, the leaders of Fast Company Executive Board each share their best practices for building a stronger digital community, creating more deliberate, thoughtful, and personal connections on the job.

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Here are five proven ways to keep your team engaged on Friday afternoons, plus two powerful strategies to jumpstart Monday mornings.

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In the face of change, here's how to keep your company thriving from the inside out. To remain relevant in the marketplace over time, an industry evolution is necessary from time to time to stay competitive and avoid being left behind. Whether through the latest technology, product or service updates, companies will continue to grow with their clients and customers if they discover the best way to fix their problems.   But with industry change comes growing pains that need to be addressed in every field to get stakeholders on board with the daily operations and company goals. Here, 18 business leaders from Fast Company Executive Board discuss their industry specialty, trends, and challenges they've had to overcome. Through their insights, other colleagues will learn how to navigate internal and external industry changes and updates that impact their day-to-day workflow.

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If your business reputation is lacking, consider the following factors to work on building it up. Executives are the face of their companies, and their presence in the market can influence everything from partnerships to consumer trust. But what happens if that presence is lacking?  Below, 10 business leaders of Fast Company Executive Board explain why market visibility is necessary and discuss key tips for other professionals looking to expand their business influence.

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Apply these expert strategies to improve team collaboration and project outcomes. Effective communication is vital to successful project planning, whether you manage a remote team or commute to work in person from the office each day. It will deliver rewarding results and move the company forward. Ensuring everyone on your team and across departments stays on the same page is especially important when working together on collaborative projects. Below, 15 Fast Company Executive Board experts share their strategies to create effective communication channels and workflows between designers, engineers, data scientists, and business stakeholders.

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13 tips to elevate your brand reputation with clarity and confidence.  Whether you are a new business owner in the industry or you've been at it for years, managing public relations can often feel like a balancing act—especially when your company is either unveiling a new product or handling a crisis. When hiring a professional PR team is not in the current budget, there are still several strategies you can implement to ensure your messaging remains effective and your brand’s reputation stays intact.  Here, 13 leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board each explore one best practice that can be immediately applied to elevate your brand's PR efforts.

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Learn to lead with confidence and teach others to do the same. You don't need to have all the right answers to be an effective leader. It’s about fostering a work environment where your team can thrive and collaborate on discovering better solutions. Executive coaching can help leaders develop a more adaptive and insightful leadership style, enabling them to better support their team’s growth and navigate complex challenges. From refining the corporate decision-making process to improving their interpersonal skills, coaching can have a profound impact on any leader's journey.  Below, 15 thought leaders from Fast Company Executive Board each share their experiences with executive coaching, how it transformed their leadership style, and why they highly recommend it to other managers.

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Apply these 9 strategies to stay agile in the face of trade and regulatory shifts. In today’s increasingly interconnected world, business leaders constantly navigate a complex landscape shaped by global tensions, trade disruptions, and shifting regulatory requirements. With geopolitical uncertainties and fluctuating policies creating added obstacles, staying ahead of the curve is difficult but crucial.  To operate successfully through turbulent times, adaptability and strategic foresight are the key ingredients for business health. Here, nine experts from Fast Company Executive Board offer their insights on how to thrive amid these everchanging international dynamics and ensure long-term success despite the challenges.

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Being short-sided on your business plans may dampen community relations and deter a positive brand reputation. A brand's partnership with a new community of interest can easily go south if the company's leaders are not transparent about their true intentions of moving into the area. However, when the focus is community over profits, and there is consistent communication with active listening between corporate representatives and community residents, it will likely be a positive opportunity for everyone the project will impact.  Below, nine leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board discuss how and why business organizations must tread lightly when bringing "economic development" to a small city or town.

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From RTW mandates to fully remote: Business leaders share their insights on making the change. Employers continue to debate the pros and cons of implementing a mandatory RTW status versus allowing their staff to remain remote on a full-time basis. However, some employees are drawing a line in the sand to protect their ability to maintain work-life balance, daily productivity, and a sense of team morale and connections.  Below, 15  Fast Company Executive Board members discuss why the benefits of transitioning from an on-site company or in-person role to working fully remotely outweigh some of the cons.

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Respect and communication are key to strengthening business relationships. In a tight economy and competitive marketplace, with consumers holding their pocketbooks closer and rethinking their spending habits, the last thing a brand wants to do is lose their trust due to a data privacy concern that slipped through the cracks. Complying with the state regarding privacy regulations and keeping clients informed about any changes or sudden breaches that may impact the information gathered is essential to earn their continued trust. To help marketing teams stay on the right course, 11 Fast Company Executive Board members each share one important factor every leader should know about customer data privacy for marketing outreach.

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 Are you getting a return on your high-tech investment? Here's how to determine the best digital solutions that will benefit your clients and stakeholders. To get ahead in today's marketplace, business teams must comprehend the benefits or pitfalls of specific technology in their search to solve client and staff pain points. Keeping up with the latest software gadgets can also cost a fortune. That is why it's best for companies to investigate their options before investing in a package that doesn't serve their clients or employees at all. Below, 14 experts from Fast Company Executive Board share their time and expertise to explain their approach to managing the cost and ROI of integrating emerging technologies they may choose to invest in.

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If staff members are unhappy and burnout, lean into these expert strategies to increase their morale and strengthen team relations.  Employee workplace winter blues are more common than not—especially after the holiday season ends and spring seems so far off. But if employee disengagement continues to linger, or workflow patterns are lagging, there may be more going on than meets the eye that a leader must address. Employee wellness should actually begin from the top down, with leadership teams demonstrating their commitment to improving the entire organization's culture. To encourage a positive mindset and regain trust, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members each share a strategy to promote employee wellness and reduce absenteeism on the job.