Meet Courtney Seard

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Courtney Seard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
The truth is, resilience isn’t something I “got”, I earned it in the trenches—growing up, navigating environments that weren’t designed for me, stepping into leadership rooms where I was often the only woman, the only Black woman, and sometimes the only person willing to say, “This makes no sense.” Every time life handed me a setback, I had two choices: stay down or use it as gym equipment for my character. Spoiler alert: I chose the workout.

To me resilience isn’t about being unbreakable; it’s about learning how to bend with grace. Mine comes from faith, humor, and the quiet power of knowing that every ‘no’ is just shaping me for a louder ‘yes.’” I refuse to let adversity narrate my story. It’s fueled by humor—I can find a punchline in just about anything. (When you’ve been knocked down, and underestimated as many times as I have, you either laugh or buy stock in valium.)

My resilience is also ancestral. Carved from generations who endured the unbearable, and fueled by the unshakable belief that I wasn’t born to survive, I was born lead and thrive.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I work with the world’s leading startups and Fortune 500 companies to build, design, and deliver training and development solutions that further strategic business goals and transform people-related systems. By tapping into entrepreneurial strategies, behavioral leadership techniques, neuroscientific insights, and business best practices, I have created unique workshops and programs that blend empirical findings with powerful human narratives to deliver measurable results. My success has led me to the TEDx stage and representation from Live Nation’s SME division, with Forbes coining me as “one of the most-in-demand peak-performance coaches and trainers in the country.”

I have worked with companies spanning from Goldman Sachs, AT&T Global, Deloitte, FashionNova, GE, Hilton, EY, Mercedes Benz Financial, Microsoft, the NBA, Snap Inc., The Obama Foundation, and more.

Prior to refocusing on my own business, I served as the Head of Learning Development and Diversity and Inclusion for The Americas at Soho House & Co., where I was responsible for adopting a systemic view of learning, inclusion, wellbeing, and culture to ensure change and improvement were embraced across all functions and levels of the business.

I am the creator of “The Rise: Vision | Action | Planner”, where you can purchase your copy through www.theriseplanner.com. Later this year I look forward to the release of “The Rise: Roadmap to Resilience: A 28 Day Workbook to Rest Your Mindset and Build a Stronger, More Powerful You.”

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
“The three skills/qualities that have carried me through life are; self-awareness, adaptability, and communication.

Knowing yourself deeply, developing the ability to pivot without losing your core, and saying what you mean with kindness, so people actually hear it, are vital skills.

Titles fade. These skills remain, and will take you anywhere. And, a good sense of humor will keep you sane.”

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
“The Four Agreements” by: Don Miguel Ruiz

Freedom comes from mastering your word, thoughts, and choices, not the world around you.

“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill

What you focus on with clarity, belief, and persistence, you create.

“The Autobiography of Malcolm X” by Alex Haley

Transformation and truth-telling can turn struggle into a powerful force for change.

“Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell

Success isn’t luck—it’s preparation, opportunity, and culture colliding.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Dr. Maya Angelou

Even in the face of pain and limitation, voice and spirit can never be caged.

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