About Transcend Management Advisors
Who We Are and What We Do
In order to improve, we must be challenged – with honest assessments, genuine feedback, and recommendations from experienced sources that have our best interests in mind. This is the goal of Transcend Management Advisors: to teach leaders how to be better, and create a foundation of real, effective growth.
Our advisors are experienced, educated, and invested in your success from the very start. With an objective approach and a commitment to permanent, positive results, TMA is your personal and professional stepping stone to better performances and strong, decisive, and insightful leadership.
Meet Wilma
I began my professional education and career with a Bachelor’s degree in physical education at the University of Calgary. As a believer in continuous learning, I returned to academia several times to further my education – earning a B.Ed. at the University of Calgary, a Master’s of Science in Management at Boston University/Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, and ultimately, my Ph.D. from Capella University in Minneapolis, with doctoral research focusing on the relationships between CEOs and their trusted advisors. Since 1994, I have been creating, managing, or building my reputation, my business acumen, and my coaching capabilities, with a drive for constant improvement and sharpening my offerings to the corporate world. In 1997, I founded Transcend Management Advisors, Inc. to do it more effectively.
Now, with more than two decades of experience, my areas of expertise are not only leadership and executive coaching, but also change management, strategic planning, organizational learning, training, and improving communications. I have built these skills through my work with hundreds of clients, ranging from small business guidance to multi-national, multi-million dollar corporate overhauls that require years of planning and follow-through effort.
I bring a refreshing honesty to every client, with the aim of challenging stubborn beliefs and unleashing their true potential. Every day, I help leaders at every level succeed and see their dreams come a little bit closer – and tomorrow, I can help you do the same.
My Most-Requested Services
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One-on-one coaching and strategic advisory for mid-to-senior level executives
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Assessing candidates and facilitating transitions into executive roles
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Group coaching for mid-level leaders with the Management Moments© series
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Strategic planning to achieve desired business results
Select Professional Experience
- Founder/co-founder of four companies over the last 25 years, in four different industry sectors
- YYC Calgary International Airport Authority: Provided coaching, strategic advisory services, leadership and organizational assessments, and models to enhance and improve leadership.
- Big Rock Brewery: Evaluated CEO candidates with proven psychometric tools and behavioural interviews, and assisted with robust strategic planning for a more sustainable future.
- Mitsubishi/Cima Energy, Ltd. Acquisition (Houston): Requested by Mitsubishi Corporation to facilitate and develop a five-year vision for the company supported by a five-year plan for execution.
- Capital Power: Change architect for the reimplementation of Oracle ERP system, new business processes, and a new chart of accounts. Also conducted sponsor assessments with executive leaders, developed plans for process reviews, and coached upper management on organizational change support.
- And much more!
Personal presence is critical to professional success. As a Presence and Presentation Coach, I support clients to authentically establish themselves as an authority and to motivate and inspire others. I use my extensive theatre education and experience as an award-winning director and acting coach to help clients meaningfully connect with their colleagues and confidently engage audiences.
Larry Welsh, MBA, PMP
Data & AI Lead for Western Canada, Avanade“I benefited greatly from the unique clarity Wilma brought to our sessions when she was my leadership coach. She was honest, wise and insightful as she helped me understand what drove me as a leader, what my strengths as a leader were, and what aspects of how I approached things were holding me back. She helped me be a better leader and be more honest with myself about what work I enjoyed and what an ideal career would look like for me. I strongly recommend Wilma for her leadership coaching.”
Bob Pysar
Former HR Director, Access Pipeline“Wilma supported Access Pipelines on a number of initiatives primarily at the executive level. She was especially effective as a facilitator and provided valuable guidance to the Senior Executive Team during the annual strategic planning process. Wilma was also a critical resource during the transition of a new president within the organization, providing change management and individual coaching through the process. Wilma has provided exceptional results on a number of projects which have included organizational redesign and change management at the executive, project and operations level. Her change management expertise helped to ensure a seamless change to a revised compensation structure to the organization. I value the opportunity I had to partner with Wilma through these numerous projects within the organization, consider her a mentor, and would highly recommend her to any organization.”
Jody Mosely
Vice President – Strategic Engagement and Communication, Habitat for Humanity“Wilma Slenders is a talented and insightful coach who has helped me redefine my ideas of leadership, refocus my professional goals and reframe my approach to building my career. Wilma’s experience and guidance has enabled me to better understand my strengths and blind spots as a leader, and provided me with tools to build strategies, leverage opportunities and overcome challenges as I continue to shape my career path. Wilma is trusted mentor and a talented executive coach, and I highly recommend her to anyone looking to take their professional goals to the next level.”
Val Buiac, P. Eng, MSc
Owner, PryCop International Inc.“While working for Intergraph Canada I was fortunate to attend one of Dr. Slenders’ very effective management coaching programs. It has had a very positive effect on my job performance. Other classes that I have taken seem pale in comparison. The knowledge we gained during this one-year course empowered us to deal more efficiently with our staff, clients, and one another. We were shown how continuous improvement strategies, sustained over time, affect core business metrics and contribute to the success of the organization. Dr. Slenders’ style of coaching is excellent, combining theory and examples from the field and extracting the valid points from the different contributions from the group. Her tremendous experience and deep leadership knowledge make the complicated task of instructing experienced professionals look easy. Her teaching style was engaging and superbly informative as the entire group was able to integrate the course materials into their own day-to-day operations. I look forward to future training opportunities offered by Dr. Slenders.”
Wade Batiuk
Managing Director, Successive Capital“Wilma has been transformational to my thinking and execution as a leader, and I am fortunate that she was my executive coach for 2 years. She brings a unique perspective on your current challenges by tying in context from past discussions, which adds to the richness of the conversation and in turn gives you a way forward. She was never shy to challenge my thinking, as her expertise allowed our conversations to not only go wide but also deep within the topic. I believe this has led to Wilma being a ‘disruptive thinker’ and a truly effective executive coach.”
Lorne O’Reilly
Lead Counsel, The Dow Chemical Company“Wilma Slenders is a brilliant and resourceful coach who motivated and inspired me to effect change and make decisions that have improved my life. I am grateful for a friend’s recommendation of Wilma, and for the insights and guidance she provided through challenging me about how I worked and interacted with others. Wilma is very personable and is an expert in leadership development. She is an authority on leveraging relationships and on providing trusted advice, and Wilma worked to enhance my existing decision-making skills and understanding to help me reap greater benefits at work and at home. I highly recommend Wilma to anyone who is looking to take charge of either their personal or professional life. My experience was incredibly rewarding and I look forward to continuing our work together in the future.”
Russ McClung
General Manager, Sustainability and Cost Control, YYC Calgary International Airport Authority“Dr. Wilma Slenders was key in our successful delivery of the new Enterprise Annual Planning & Status Reporting process. Through stakeholder analysis and change impact assessments, Dr. Slenders helped us quickly identify key stakeholder groups, requiring special consideration in dealing with change. This was not an easy undertaking as this displaced processes had been in place for many years and crossed all areas of the Enterprise. I highly recommend Dr. Wilma Slenders for any initiative requiring organizational change management expertise.”
Zuzanna Mazurek, PCC
President, ICF Poland“I had the privilege to invite Wilma to a special ICF anniversary conference. Her session was amazing! I received a lot of messages from the participants and valued members of the professional coaches’ community, saying that they appreciated Wilma’s honesty and authenticity. They just loved how she shared her knowledge and experience in an open and thought-provoking way, sometimes even saying something they felt but never dared to say it aloud. I couldn’t agree more! Wilma is a great presenter, coach and a person to work with. The communication before the conference was quick, clear and made me feel confident about the upcoming event. From the host’s perspective, I was really grateful for making people feel connected and engaged, which is not that easy in an online world we function in now.”