Yvonne Ryan spent over 25 years developing her understanding of what constitutes good leadership (and how best to apply it in a technical environment) while working in a variety of positions from engineering team leader to Director of Engineering and acting Vice-President of Engineering, with stints along the way as Program Manager, Project Manager, and consultant. In the middle of 2003 she founded Leader's Edge CA a consulting company dedicated to helping technical professionals advance their careers and become effective leaders within their organizations.

In general, the company focuses on team leaders, and first- and second-level managers (a.k.a. "middle management") who have had little or no access to the type of coaching and support that is commonplace at executive levels. Yet these managers are the ones that have the greatest impact on the productivity of the company, since they are the people that guide and motivate the engineering staff.

About the motivation for starting the company, Yvonne says: "I have always wanted to promote a better caliber of leadership among those technical professionals ("techies") who, through their creativity and innovation, are the backbone of our technological advancement as a society. I believe that techies can do more than simply survive in the often foreign territory outside their labs and cubicles -- they can prosper. Contrary to popular belief, techies can learn to lead and manage others effectively when given the opportunity, the education, and proper support."

As part of the services provided, the company publishes a newsletter, called "On The Edge". You can get a free subscription to it by visiting:
this site.