Dorothy Grandia combines her unique experience in the political arena, on the operatic stage, and in leadership and communication programmes to help leaders evolve their communication range and increase their leadership influence.

Leadership and Communication: On behalf of Steve Knight Business Communications, Dorothy coaches participants of the INSEAD Art of Communication course for Executive and fulltime MBAs on projecting clarity, engagement, and influence.

As Faculty for the Erasmus Centre for Women in Organisations, Dorothy helps women increase their influence. She delivers research-based and highly interactive Communication and Negotiation Programmes at organisations such as Europol, the European Central Bank, ING, and Pfizer, plus Open Programmes at Rotterdam School of Management Executive Education.

She is also Assistant Director of the RSM Career Development Centre, where she coaches post-experience MBAs toward more success and fulfillment in their careers.

On behalf of Crown International Mobility, she coaches Unilever expatriates on integration both into life in the Netherlands as well as into the multinational decision-making environment at Unilever.

Persuasion: As Committee Clerk and Legislative Aide to the Chairman of the Committee on international Relations of the State of Texas House, Dorothy learned the foundations of persuasive appeal to aide decision-making in complex environments. This experience enables Dorothy to coach clients on how to construct messages which engage and convince.

Performance: Dorothy has a Master in Vocal Performance from the Mannes College/New School University in New York City, where she studied voice, diction, and characterisation with stars of the Metropolitan Opera. As an operatic young dramatic soprano, she performed in lead roles in the Netherlands, France, and the US, where she was a finalist in the inaugural Seattle Opera Wagner Competition, the US ‘temple’ of Wagner. Drawing on the technical understanding of character embodiment and enunciation in large-scale theatre Dorothy is particularly skilled at coaching non-native English clients to articulate and deliver persuasive messages in international settings.

Presentation: Dorothy coaches leaders to deliver powerful keynote speeches at conferences and TedX events. In her own TedX talk “Authenticity is a Dangerous Word’’, Dorothy explores how feeling the need to be ‘authentic’ can be a disadvantage for women in leadership.