Tiffany Anclaire
Chief Operating Officer
Salus Talent

Welcome to the second installment of The Salus Spotlight — a series of conversations with the people who make up our network. Each edition, we sit down with someone whose work, perspective, or path offers something worth hearing. We're starting close to home.

Introducing, Tiffany Anclaire!

Q: Your path to Salus Talent wasn't a straight line — you came in as a consultant helping implement a CRM. How did that evolve into becoming COO?

It started with a CRM implementation — a contained project. I suggested one of my signature offerings (a Catalyst Session), and Meghann was happy to. We looked far out, into the future. What struck me was that she had a really clear vision of where Salus Talent was going, guided by much more than forecast reports. She also had strong values around how she wanted to be, or maybe more importantly, how she didn't want to be. That really struck the right chord with me. The company grew, and so did the need for scalable foundations. I feel genuinely lucky to have come in when I did, and to play an influential role in bringing Meghann's vision to life.

Q: You describe yourself as a systems thinker who works backwards from outcomes. What does that actually look like in practice?

I'm a systems thinker by nature. I'm always pulling on the thread of the problem — what hurts, and where it's actually coming from. And I work backwards to move towards goals. If I know the outcome we want, the question becomes: what do we have in front of us right now that we can activate to get there? As the company grew, and so did its needs for scalable systems. That's where I live. But the system is more than the interface or a CRM. It's the people who use it — getting everyone onboarded is a big part of what I do too. All the fancy bells and whistles are meaningless if the people using them feel hindered rather than empowered by them.

Q: Salus Talent went through a significant rebrand, and you've called yourself the "brand doula" for that process. What does that mean, and what was your role?

Graphic design has never made it onto my CV, that much I'll be clear about. But a brand doula doesn't design; she helps bring something into life. From early on, Meghann had painted a picture of what Salus Talent was and wasn't. We went deep on every detail — including the important work of separating the founder from the company, and letting Salus Talent develop its own distinct identity. What do we want to communicate without words? What would make our ideal client feel seen enough to reach out? Meghann and I were very much in the ether with all of it. What made it work was bringing in an incredible designer, Bart Fish, who could take all of those values and translate them into something visual. The three of us brought our ideas and experiences together, creating something that was genuinely art — very functional art. That project was just so fun.

Q: You talk about meeting people at the intersection of dreams and reality. What does that philosophy look like in your work?

Being a single mom taught me that everything is figure-out-able. That's not toxic positivity — it's a practical orientation. You don't get to opt out of reality, but you also don't have to let it shrink your vision. So when I'm working with someone, I'm not just looking at where they want to go, I'm looking at what's actually in front of us right now that we can work with. The dream matters. The reality matters. The job is to hold both at the same time and find the path between them. That shows up when I'm working with Meghann on Salus Talent's next chapter, and for a candidate navigating a major career inflection point. The question is always the same: where do you want to be, and what do we have to work with today?

Q: You're a fractional COO by trade — someone who works across multiple businesses. How does that outside perspective make you more effective inside Salus Talent?

Working across multiple businesses means you're constantly stress-testing your assumptions. What worked in one context might not translate, and that keeps you sharp. But honestly, this is a shared trait across much of the Salus Talent team. We have a lot of intelligent, dynamic, curious people who've worked across multiple industries — and that pool of diverse ideas and experiences is a real asset. It makes our toolbox for finding bespoke solutions much richer. My goals as COO are different from those of our execution team, but what we share is that all of those varied experiences make us both stronger and more nimble. That's not an accident, it's part of what makes Salus Talent effective.

Q: What does "personhood forward" leadership actually mean when you're making hard business decisions?

Often, it means listening to what’s said and even unsaid. If there's reluctance, I need to discover the origin — is it the process? The change itself? Nothing replaces time and experience with individuals. It may not always be the quickest path, but it creates the deepest roots and the sturdiest trees — ones that can withstand a storm.
My general philosophy is that things just don't need to be miserable. If something is, the question is always: what can we do? Because there is almost certainly a solution. And even when some elements are less than ideal, people tend to be okay with it when they understand the reasoning and the alternatives. It's about approaching challenges as a team against the problem — not people against each other. The core belief is simple: things don't actually have to hurt to be effective. I just don't subscribe to the idea that they do.

Q: You've built a career across nonprofits, international business, recruiting, and entrepreneurship. What's the thread that connects all of it?

Building something meaningful — that's the thread. What's evolved is my understanding of what it actually takes to sustain that. Early in my career I was a bit of a bleeding heart — I mean, I have a degree in Human Services — but what I've come to realize is that things that are important don't just need proper resources, they deserve them. That shift moved me toward business, toward creating quality products with viable balance sheets. Because a meaningful mission without a sustainable foundation doesn't last. You need both.

Q: Finally, what’s something interesting about you I can’t discover on your LinkedIn profile?

I grew up in a funeral home. My family owned the funeral home and managed the cemetery in our small town. It's something that shaped me more than I realized at the time. There's a special responsibility that comes with being present for your community in some of life’s most vulnerable moments. I learned early that showing up with care and discretion isn't optional, it's everything, and that's really stayed with me.