Jackie Insinger - Spark Brilliance Spark Memos
Your weekly boost of practical leadership wisdom - rooted in neuroscience, backed by data, and crafted for real-world results. Each memo offers a spark of insight to help you lead with clarity, empathy, and purpose - especially when things get messy.
I almost rushed through one of the best months of my life
I almost rushed through one of the best months of my life Hey Spark Family, I’m writing this on the last day of April from yet another hotel room. My suitcase is open on the floor and somehow looks both half-packed and fully exploded. There is a room service tray outside my door that I meant to put out earlier, but forgot, and I have reached that very specific point in a travel stretch where I am no longer completely sure which bag has my charger, my dry shampoo, or the one pair of pants I...
The manager breakdown no one is addressing
More of your team is struggling than thriving. Hey Spark Family, I want to talk about the people in the middle. Not the executives setting direction. Not the individual contributors doing the day-to-day work. The managers. Team leads. Frontline leaders. The layer of leadership most responsible for turning executive priorities into daily reality. The people who translate strategy into real conversations and turn priorities into action. The ones catching issues early and holding standards...
More of your team is struggling than thriving
More of your team is struggling than thriving. Hey Spark Family, I want to share something with you that I don’t think is getting nearly enough attention. Not because it’s new, but because it just crossed a line we’ve never crossed before. Gallup has been tracking whether people are thriving or struggling for years. Through economic shifts, the pandemic, and everything in between, one thing held steady. More people were thriving than struggling. Until now. For the first time in Gallup’s...
You don’t need more time. You need this shift.
You don’t need more time. You need this shift. Hey Spark Family, I’ve sat across from a lot of senior leaders who are genuinely exceptional at their jobs. They’re strategic. Decisive. Fast. They deliver results, and in most cases, they care deeply about the people they lead. They think about their teams. They want to do right by them. But somewhere in the climb, a quiet shift often happens. The pressure to perform starts crowding out the space to connect. Conversations get shorter. Check-ins...
You think you’re holding high standards. Your team feels something else.
You think you’re holding high standards. Your team feels something else. Hey Spark Family, I sat with a leadership team recently that was genuinely proud of their culture, and they had every reason to be. They spoke about it with clarity and conviction. High standards. Clear expectations. No tolerance for mediocrity. People were held accountable, and results were consistently delivered. It was thoughtful, intentional, and, on the surface, exactly what you would want to see. Then I spent time...
This Is What Growth Actually Feels Like
It wasn’t about the laptop Hey Spark Family, This week we are on Spring Break. On paper, it’s an exciting trip. We’re visiting incredible schools. Exploring new cities. Walking campuses that could shape Miles’s future. One of them is Duke, my alma mater, which makes it feel even more full circle. And yet, if I’m honest, I feel sick to my stomach. Not dramatic sick. Quiet, constant, in-the-background sick. Because this trip is not just a trip.It’s a marker. A reminder that in only a year and a...
The feedback leaders stop getting (and what it costs them)
The feedback leaders stop getting (and what it costs them) Hey Spark Family, I’ve watched this happen in real time more times than I can count. A leader starts their career surrounded by honest input. People challenge their thinking. Push back on decisions. Offer ideas that sharpen the work. The conversations are direct, sometimes messy, but incredibly useful. Then something changes. They get promoted. And the feedback gets softer. More careful. More filtered. Not because the problems...
Your Greatest Strength Might Be Holding You Back
Your Greatest Strength Might Be Holding You Back Hey Spark Family, Think about the last time something broke down at work. A deadline slipped. A client escalated. A decision stalled. A relationship got tense. Who fixed it? If the honest answer is “usually me,” this one is for you. Being the most reliable person in the room feels good. It builds trust. It builds credibility. Over time, people start to breathe a little easier when you’re there because they know you’ll catch what might fall. But...
Why Psychological Safety Is the ROI You Can’t Ignore
Why Psychological Safety Is the ROI You Can’t Ignore Hey Spark Family, If you want to know whether a strategy will succeed, don’t start with the plan. Start with the level of trust in the room. I’ve been in too many executive sessions where the strategy was solid. The talent was strong. The goals were clear. And still, progress stalled. Why? Because people didn’t feel safe enough to challenge ideas, admit risk, ask hard questions, or disagree openly. Psychological safety is not a...
It wasn’t about the laptop
It wasn’t about the laptop Hey Spark Family, On Friday morning, I cried over a laptop. A brand new one. The kind that is supposed to signal progress and growth. A fresh chapter. Instead, I was staring at a screen that said my data transfer would take 118 hours. One hundred and eighteen hours. At first, I actually laughed. It felt absurd. And then I felt the tightness in my chest. The heat rising up my neck. That familiar surge of panic that doesn’t come from the thing itself, but from what...
Your weekly boost of practical leadership wisdom - rooted in neuroscience, backed by data, and crafted for real-world results. Each memo offers a spark of insight to help you lead with clarity, empathy, and purpose - especially when things get messy.