Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dana Neiger. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Dana, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome was very real for me, especially as a small business owner in the Greater Metro Atlanta area. As a white, Jewish woman co-founding a firm with my incredible Black, lesbian business partner, we often found ourselves stepping into rooms and industries where we didn’t see many people who looked like us, or who had built something quite like HIVE Talent Acquisition Firm.
There were certainly moments of self-doubt, where we questioned whether we belonged in the rooms we had every right to be in. What helped us overcome that was intentionally surrounding ourselves with strong female mentors, especially within our specialty niche of transportation engineering, and building a circle of like-minded women and allies who uplifted us and reminded us of our value.
I also had to do the internal work. Rewiring my mindset to shift from insecurity to self-belief has been an ongoing process. I’ve trained myself to thrive in positivity, to manage my emotional responses, and to manifest calm, clarity, and the outcomes I want. I’ve learned that it’s a waste of energy to focus on negativity or try to prove yourself to naysayers. When you’re building something rooted in purpose, integrity, and impact, that’s where your energy belongs.
Imposter syndrome hasn’t disappeared completely, but I’ve learned to recognize it, name it, and move forward anyway. And I’ve found that owning my story, our story, has been one of the most powerful ways to take up space with confidence.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
For the past eight years, I’ve had the privilege of co-leading HIVE Talent Acquisition Firm, a boutique HR consultancy rooted in heart, strategy, and impact, especially within the transportation engineering industry. What made HIVE so special was our ability to create deeply customized, human-centered solutions that transformed entire workplace cultures. We didn’t offer cookie-cutter programs. We immersed ourselves inside our clients’ environments, learned what made their people tick, and built solutions that reflected the unique beauty of every individual on the team.
The part I’ve always loved the most, and will miss deeply, is the creative journey of reshaping culture from the inside out. When we were brought into companies with little to no existing HR structure or sometimes even fractured, contentious workplaces, we saw those as opportunities. Through listening, training, trust-building, and a lot of employee relations work, we’d guide teams from disconnection to cohesion. Watching team members begin to anticipate each other’s needs, collaborate effortlessly, and truly enjoy working together, that’s when I felt most fulfilled. That’s when I knew we created something meaningful.
As bittersweet as it is to share, HIVE is now winding down. This was not a decision we made lightly. As founders and business partners, my co-founder and I had to reflect on our personal health and well-being at this stage in our lives. Owning a small business, especially one as hands-on and emotionally involved as ours, isn’t for the faint of heart, and that’s both literal and figurative. We knew it was time. But what makes the transition easier is knowing we’re each stepping into exciting in-house roles with clients we’ve come to deeply respect and admire.
What I want people to remember about HIVE is that we were never about checking boxes, we were about people, perspective, and possibility. That spirit will absolutely continue in my next chapter in corporate HR and operations. The setting may change, but my passion for building inclusive, emotionally intelligent, and high-performing workplaces will always be at the heart of my work.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, three key lessons made the biggest impact on my journey, and I’m more than happy to pass them along to anyone coming up in their career.
1. Strategic Networking with Purpose
There’s a huge difference between showing up to random events and intentionally building a network that values what you bring to the table. One of the most powerful moves I made early in my business journey was joining a closed networking group, not just any, but one where the members genuinely respected my skillset. Yes, you usually pay to participate, but if you find the right one, the return can be exponential: meaningful partnerships, hiring and recruiting connections, sales growth, brand exposure, you name it.
My advice? Choose wisely, give as much as you take, and when you’ve outgrown the space, thank it and move on. Overstaying can actually dull your momentum.
2. Communication: The Ultimate Culture Shaper
If I had to choose one skill that will never stop being relevant, it’s effective communication, specifically tone, tact, and timing. I’ve seen 90% of workplace issues stem from poor communication or assumptions around it. At HIVE, we made over-communication a core practice. We trained teams constantly, not just on process, but on how to talk to one another, how to manage expectations, how to write emails without stirring up drama. My advice? Don’t wait for conflict to happen to teach people how to engage. Set the tone early, reinforce it often, and model the behavior yourself. And if you’re tempted to get drawn into emotional chaos, don’t. Your reputation is your currency.
3. Own Your Career Like a Business Plan
Too often, people wait for someone else to define their next step. That’s not leadership, and it’s certainly not sustainable. One of the biggest shifts in my own growth came when I started treating my career like a strategic roadmap. I’d ask myself: What role do I want next? What skills do I need to get there? Who do I need to talk to? Then I’d make it happen, proactively and without apology. If your company has an HR team, get to know them. If not, become your own HR. Build your own personal staffing plan. You are your best advocate, and the sooner you embrace that, the faster you’ll grow.
To sum it up: invest in meaningful connections, master your communication, and drive your own development. Do those three things with intention, and you’ll go further than you thought possible.
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?
One book that’s had a profound impact on both my personal growth and the way I train others is Stephen Covey’s Trust and Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others. I recommend it so often during leadership trainings that I probably sound like a walking endorsement, but with good reason. My copy is dog-eared, highlighted, full of notes in the margins. It’s not just a book; it’s one of my most weathered tools.
What stood out to me immediately was how Covey gives language to the kind of leadership I’ve always believed in but hadn’t always seen in action. He breaks down the fundamental difference between traditional “command and control” leadership and what he calls trust and inspire. That resonated deeply with me, especially as someone who’s spent years helping teams unravel why things fall apart and where leadership goes off the rails.
There’s one concept in particular I’ve carried with me and built into my own coaching: the idea that leaders should stop trying to manage people with fear or false incentives, the old stick-and-carrot routine. Instead, unleash their potential by giving them the space to actually do what you hired them to do. Let them make real decisions. Let them fail in a safe, psychologically supported environment. That’s where the growth happens. That’s when people rise.
When I’m working with managers or executive teams, I often paraphrase Covey’s insights in my own voice to spark real conversations, about autonomy, accountability, and trust. And I’ve watched those conversations flip entire leadership mindsets. For me, that’s the real magic: helping leaders see that control isn’t power, trust is.
This book didn’t just validate the kind of leader I want to be; it gave me the language to help others become that kind of leader too.
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-neiger/
Image Credits
Ben Lipford, Ben Lipford Photography
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