Serving Central & Eastern North Carolina
A few of Our Partners
What Our Clients Are Saying
Kait Goalen, Strategic advisor, ashley christensen restaurants
Denise is one of the most unique and gifted organizational leaders I’ve ever had the privilege to work with. When I stepped into my first executive director role, Denise quickly became my go-to strategic partner and sounding board in developing my leadership vision and big-picture goals.
As a human resources professional, she has a special talent for creating meaningful workplace cultures that balance empathy with accountability and compliance. In this era where employee engagement is everything, she is highly skilled at creating a culture of continuous learning, belonging, and motivation. With her help, our organization overhauled and greatly improved everything about the employee experience through the development of customized programs, policies, and practices that worked for both the team and the business.
But what truly sets her apart is the support and coaching that she offers at the senior management level. Executive leadership and ownership roles are difficult, often isolated experiences, but having Denise in your corner can ease that burden significantly. The invaluable guidance I received from her during our work together was rooted in her strength in strategic planning, coupled with her understanding of my nuanced leadership style and the unique challenges that our team and our industry faced. Her ability to proactively distill complex issues into actionable strategies is truly impressive. So too, is her ability to work with visionary creatives to coax half-baked ideas into viable roadmaps. During the pandemic, one of the most challenging business cycles our industry had ever faced, she was absolutely instrumental in our business’s ability to weather the storm.
I owe so much of my development as a leader to her expert coaching. I wholeheartedly recommend Denise to any leader trying to navigate the complexities of today's business landscape with confidence, purpose, and care.
Colisha Stanford, Executive Director, StepUp Ministries
I can honestly say that my professional coaching experience with Denise Leerkes has landed me the executive level role I now hold. For years, Denise has partnered and coached me through difficult personal and professional scenarios, while teaching me to leverage my own personal strengths. Denise has the ability to help me stay focused on the end result and has proven I can trust her guidance over…and over…and over… It is the main reason I still continue to work with her years after we first began. The benefit to working with Denise Leerkes is that you have a dedicated partner who you can trust, who takes the time to learn you and the environment you are in. She has helped me see areas that I need to focus on and helped me craft a plan to achieve my goals. Denise is VERY good about seeing the entire picture and checking in about everything! When I go through my list of discussion topics, Denise has already put some thought into how she is going to support me and is always ready to dive into any topic that arises for me. Every time we end our coaching calls, I feel more confident in my abilities and my executive leadership. She is a valued partner.
Dawn Rohlik, Owner/Occupational Therapist, Pediatric Possibilities
I have worked with Denise since 2017. With her incredible knowledge, warmth, understanding, sense of safety, and support, she boosted my competency and confidence to advance me as a leader within my small business.
Molly Buist, Owner/Occupational Therapist, The Center for Childhood Development, Michigan
As a small business owner, Denise has been a lifeline of encouragement, knowledge, and support. I have worked with Denise for the past 5 years on issues related to human resources and management of staff. She has supported me with projects like handbook revisions/updates, all things that arose during COVID, staff turnover and hiring, and just the day-to-day occurrences that happen in the company. I know that, if I have a question or an issue, she will work with me in a positive and supportive way. I find her easy to work with and enjoy our discussions. I have learned so much and have been fully supported in the ways that I run my business. Denise completes projects in a timely fashion and works collaboratively to complete them in a way that is specific to my clinic. I cannot recommend her enough. I honestly do not know where my business operations would be without her support, encouragement and understanding of human resources and the way that people work best. Her support, kindness, and friendship are the values that I seek in working with others and value greatly in my daily business operations. Many thanks to Denise for keeping me going and helping me to get clearer and more concise. She is the best!!