ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jenni Clark Photography
M. TAMRA CHANDLER

M. TAMRA CHANDLER is the founder and CEO of PeopleFirm LLC, one of Forbes magazine’s 2018 “America’s Best Management Consulting Firms.” A nationally recognized thought leader, author, and speaker, Tamra has spent most of her 30-year career developing new and effective ways for people and their organizations to perform at their peak. In 2016, she wrote the acclaimed book How Performance Management Is Killing Performance—and What to Do About It, which has been published in three languages.

Tamra started PeopleFirm with a unique vision: to deliver measurable, meaningful results using people-centered solutions. Under her leadership, PeopleFirm has become a go-to partner for more than 125 clients, including Microsoft, Nordstrom, Alaska Airlines, Nike, WorldPay, Christiana Health Care System, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. PeopleFirm’s one-of-a-kind approach is grounded in research and delivers strategic, approachable, action-oriented solutions for nearly every industry. In keeping with the company motto, “Your people = Your success,” PeopleFirm consistently earns high marks from its regional and national clients, as well as recognition as one of the Pacific Northwest’s top places to work.

Tamra has devoted three decades to developing new methods for building aspirational cultures, aligning leaders and teams to compelling strategies, modernizing HR, rethinking performance management, and transforming organizational models. While helping organizations across the world modernize their performance management programs, she has applied that same focus to studying and uncovering the feedback dilemma and its implications for human performance.

Tamra draws continued inspiration and support from her husband, Jeff; their young adult children, Ivy and Wilson; her father, Al; and her faithful pedigreed mutts, Perry and Luna.

LAURA DOWLING GREALISH

LAURA is a senior consultant and executive coach with People-Firm and has spent the past two decades studying and applying the disciplines and science that help clients create thriving environments, high-performing teams, modern performance management techniques, improved organizational effectiveness, and customized learning and development programs.

Her career experiences have allowed her to embrace a “craftsman mindset” as she gathers insights across industries and people disciplines. Before partnering with Tamra at PeopleFirm, Laura’s career path included stops at organizations like GE Capital, Genworth Financial, the Cleveland Clinic, and Russell Investments.

Laura has a bachelor of arts degree in business management from the University of Montana and an MBA from Pacific Lutheran University. She and her husband, Jeff, live in the Pacific Northwest and enjoy having their two adult children, Evann and Logan, nearby, along with a growing tribe of little grandpeople.