Why I Changed the Name. And What It Really Means.

Last year, I stopped dyeing my hair.

After decades of upkeep, I decided to let it go silver. Around the same time, I took myself on a solo retreat to reflect on my goals, my growth, and the direction of my work.

Neither decision was impulsive.

Both were intentional.

The retreat gave me space to think clearly. To assess what felt aligned and what no longer did. To ask hard questions about where I was playing small, where I was evolving, and what needed to shift.

One of the answers was my business name.

For years, I built and led under a different brand. That chapter mattered. It shaped leaders. It helped organizations grow. It built the foundation for everything I do today.

But during that retreat, it became clear that my work had outgrown the container it was in.

I was not just coaching individuals. I was helping organizations examine culture. I was not simply teaching leadership skills. I was rebuilding trust, accountability, and communication systems from the inside out.

The name no longer reflected the depth of that work.

Essdee & Co. does.

This is not a rebrand. It is a refinement.

It represents clarity. Clarity that culture transformation is my lane. Clarity that civility is not about being nice, but about operational excellence. Clarity that emotionally intelligent leadership is not optional in today’s workplace.

Through The Civility Code™ and The Modern Professional Playbook™, I work with organizations to build cultures where accountability and psychological safety coexist. Where leaders know how to repair tension instead of avoiding it. Where communication is intentional, and trust is protected.

Letting my hair go silver did not change who I am. It revealed it.

The retreat did not change my mission. It sharpened it.

Changing the name did not reinvent the work. It aligned it.

Not louder. Not flashier. Just clearer.

What is not changing is my commitment to emotionally intelligent leadership. My belief that culture is built in micro-moments. My focus on empowering women to lead with confidence, composure, and conviction. My insistence that civility and high performance are not opposites.

Essdee & Co. reflects who I am now as a leader and as a strategist.

It reflects alignment.

And alignment is powerful.