Manage Like a Mother
Leadership Lessons Drawn From The Wisdom of Mom
About Manage Like a Mother
Using a mother’s playbook, Valerie shares her no-nonsense approach to leadership by sharing stories and strategies that illustrate how leaders, men or women, can leverage “the wisdom of Mom” and enhance their leadership style.
A mother’s approach to training, building a close relationship with her kids, encouraging and supporting them, providing coaching and guidance when needed and dealing with crisis situations are just some of the many similarities that exist between raising children and leading a team effectively. Both endeavors require consistency, diplomacy, a long-term commitment, the willingness to adapt and learn “on the job”.
Valerie’s approach is easy to understand, relatable and memorable. Her readers can discover tools and tactics that are easy to implement in order to make an impact in their organizations.
Quotes from Manage Like a Mother
Hear Valerie Speak
Sizzle Video
Long Video
Valerie’s Bio
Valerie was born and raised in France where she graduated from Institut Pitiot-Lyon II with a degree in Business hospitality. She participated in the World Showcase Fellowship program at Epcot in 1987/88. After working in a bank in France as an investment advisor, she eventually joined Disneyland Paris in 1991 as a retail manager and ran multiple merchandise locations in the Resort division. She eventually joined the Merchandise Buying Office and oversaw the assortment planning for all Resort merchandise locations at Disneyland Paris.
Upon moving to Florida in 1997, Valerie worked as the Assortment Planning Manager at Downtown Disney and Epcot Center.
She eventually moved to Merchandise Brand Management for both Epcot and the Disney Cruise Line. Valerie left the company and started consulting for outside organizations in the retail world. She returned to Disney in 2013 to become a contract facilitator for Disney Institute. She facilitated professional development classes and custom programs in both French and English. She drew from her international management experience in retail and operations to teach Disney’s approach to Leadership Excellence and Customer Service.
Since May 2019, Valerie facilitates workshops with her husband Dan and shares her expertise in building great culture in organizations and delivering outstanding customer service.