Kim Nicol

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Cohort 1

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March 2026

April 2026

If you're rewarded for saying Yes all the time, it will take intentional practice and un-learning to break the pattern.

Exec Coach 🌎 The New Manager Podcast

Executive Coach 

The Gentle No

Adjunct Professor, Interaction Design 

Principal Planner

Equip yourself to communicate more effectively everyday, and enjoy your work (and life!) more.

Executive Coach & Host of The New Manager Podcast

Communication Strategies for Managers

Strategic Finance

Chief Curator & Director of Collection

Lead Product Designer

University teacher, relational mindfulness facilitator

Office Manager 

The Nature Conservancy

Alberta Government

NASA

Dentons

Science Friday

✅ People are human. Humans vary. Working with and leading a diverse team takes skill.✅ Skills are learnable. Soft skills like communication, executive presence, leadership mindset, and relationship building are critical for every manager in any organization.✅ Communication is an art and a science. It's not one-size-fits all. Learn what works for your style and context, even when you're working with different personalities.____What to expect.This course is designed for kind, busy people who want practical tools they can easily use at work now.(This is NOT a bootcamp style course that will leave you feeling overwhelmed or unsure of how to apply the material in your specific workplace.)____How to succeed.Students who get the most from this course:➡️ Come to class.➡️ Take small steps each week to apply what they learn.➡️ Read the material and write their answers to the Reflection Questions.➡️ Value a human-centered approach to leadership, and want practical, hands-on, project-based learning.____🌿 Personal growth and professional development go hand in hand. You communicate every day. You will use what you learn in class to enhance your work life and enrich your personal life.

Become a more calm, confident leader.

Manage different people and personalities.

Reduce resistance.

Be more responsive, less reactive.

Design better 1:1s and team meetings.

Prepare for tough conversations.

Speak up with authentic confidence.

Experienced leaders who want a fresh perspective and new ideas for leveling up and managing diverse teams.

New managers who want foundational skills to be more calm, influential, and effective with different people and situations.

Aspiring managers who want a head start on getting the skills and strategies that will help them advance in their career.

LinkedIn

General Assembly

LexisNexis

Boston Beer

Every good leader knows now to say "No."Great leaders can do it without breaking trust or damaging relationships.In this course you'll learn the Gentle No. It's a powerful way tool for protecting your time and energy, so you can focus on your priorities. You don't need go into battle mode, and you don't need to be a doormat by saying "Yes" to every request -- even if you really like being helpful.This is great for people who:<ul><li>Value harmony -- and often feel guilty about saying "No" when it seems easier to just say Yes.</li><li>Tend to put others needs first -- and then struggle to find time for what matters most to you.</li><li>Feel resentful, trapped, or just plain tired -- but the idea of letting someone down feels worse.</li></ul>There are a lot of ways to say "No," depending on the situation and goals. This is one that you want to have in your pocket, to use early and often.

Learn how to say "No" without feeling bad.

Let people down without feeling like a jerk or a sociopath.

How to say "No" when your default is to say "Yes."

Say "No" in a way that feels good.

Leaders who feel spread too thin and want to get better at saying No, without feeling guilty.

Heroes and Helpers who need a break, but don't want to let anyone down.

Kind People who struggle to put their own needs first and want to practice new ways of saying "No."

Learn directly from Kim Nicol

Kim Nicol

About Kim

Courses

Communication Strategies for Managers

The Gentle No

Lightning Lessons

The Biggest Boundary Mistake (and How to Avoid It)