The Powerful and Authentic Leader

Karissa is founder and president of Strategic Performance Solutions Inc., a management training and consulting firm dedicated to elevating people to reach their highest potential and career satisfaction. Over the past two decades Karissa has done just that for countless individuals, working with nearly half of the Fortune 500® companies to drive performance and leadership growth. She specializes in executive coaching and development that balances on-the-job performance with the need for sustained personal fulfillment.

Karissa is often quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Forbes, MSNBC, and many other major outlets, and is a sought-after authority on the subject of authentic leadership. Her articles have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Business News Daily, and elsewhere. She is the author of The Art of Authenticity (Wiley, 2016), a guidebook on how to transform your career by tapping into your authentic self.

Karissa earned her doctorate in psychology from Spalding University and later served as a researcher with General Mills in the strategic growth arena. She also served as a senior consultant at RHR International, a global executive-development firm. Currently she serves as an adjunct professor in the MBA program at the University of Delaware’s Lerner School of Business.

The Confidence Effect: Every Woman's Guide to the Attitude That Attracts Success by Grace Killelea (2016)

The Art of Authenticity: Tools to Become an Authentic Leader by Karissa Thacker (2016)

The New Advantage: How Women in Leadership Can Create Win-Wins for Their Companies and Themselves by Howard J. Morgan and Joelle K. Jay (2016)

Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Work by Jay Newton-Small (2016)

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (2013)

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William N. Thorndike (2012)

The Virtual Executive: How to Act Like a CEO Online and Offline by Debra Benton (2012)

How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life by Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston (2011)

360 Degrees of Influence: Get Everyone to Follow Your Lead on Your Way to the To by Harrison Monarth (2011)

CEO Material: How to Be a Leader in Any Organization by Debra Benton (2009)

Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO by Harrison Monarth (2009)

Your Next Move: The Leader’s Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions by Michael Watkins (2009)

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith (2007, 256 pages) or What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful — A Round Table Comic by Marshall Goldsmith (2011, 80 pages)

Secrets to Winning at Office Politics: How to Achieve Your Goals and Increase Your Influence at Work by Marie G. McIntyre (2005)

How to Act Like a CEO: 10 Rules for Getting to the Top and Staying There by Debra Benton (2003)

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936)