Leadership Reinvention | Ep #131

Hey, I'm Chris Placke, host of the Lead you'd Team podcast. Running a million dollar business is not easy. And whether you're just getting started with building your team or you've been at this for a while, I'm going to bring you honest, specific and clear practices you can use right now, today to improve how well you lead your team. Let's go ahead and get.

Foreign.

Well, hi, how are you? Welcome, welcome. I'm so glad that you're here. So this week I have a few things I want to share with you. First of all, if you haven't signed up for the team on it, go to how to ceoweek.com we're going to be doing really powerful, short, inexpensive course on really how to maximize and drive your team in a different way use giving you some tools on how to audit that team, how to really know what's going on, why is it happening, why are you getting the results that you're getting or not getting and then ultimately some action around it. And then we'll do a live Q and A with everyone who is in the audit and I can take your questions directly. 5 so I'm super excited. Howto ceoweek.com I'm also really looking forward to sharing with you some news. I am going to be rebranding and changing the name of this podcast and more to come, but I'm super excited about the direction that my business is going and this re invention, if you will. August is a personal month for me, which if any of you know, numerology, it's all about new beginnings. And this has been something that has been in the works for me for a very long time. And, and I'm really proud of the evolution of my own work. And so we're going to be, I guess let me give you a little backstory. So when I started, before I even started my business and I think I've talked about this before, but when my twins were like 2 years old, so I had a 2 year old and I had a 6 year old son and I was sitting in our playroom and it was a cold rainy day and they were watching the Backyardigans and I this was in 2006 and this was, you know, if it's hard to remember, but things, things were really different then, right? So I was figuring out how to make a website and I did, I made a website and I wanted to host retreats for women because I felt deeply that there were women on the planet like me who wanted to have meaningful, safe dialogues Connections with one another at the beach.

On the beach. And I had no idea what that was going to turn into. I just knew, I just felt it deeply. 2006, y'. All. And I was at a time in my life where, you know, I was very active in my community kind of. And you know, and I. Nothing, despair. I don't mean this disparagingly. It just wasn't my scene. It was, you know, a lot of women getting together, drinking, playing bunko. A lot of drinking, a lot of wine, a lot of beer, a lot of. And I was 36, 38 at the time. And you know, again, I don't disparage anybody that, that lifestyle. I just knew for me it wasn't, wasn't mine. I never had been. I. But I partied a lot in college and stuff, but I just didn't enjoy it. I didn't find it fulfilling. I was even in book clubs and I say, hey, let's do like self help books, you know, and nobody wanted to do that. Everybody wanted to do whatever Oprah was doing, right? And I like, can we do something like to help ourselves? Why do we gotta. Anyway, I just always had this sort of calling. So. But that was in 2006. And then I took a big job in the corporation I was working for. And yada, yada, yada, I ended up creating a whole coaching division. And. And then in 2012, I saw the writing on the wall. And for years I kept asking myself, how am I ever going to choose between this corporate job and what I know I really want, which is to start a coaching business? I just felt this pull, this calling, but it felt terrifying. Here I was married, three young kids. I was the primary provider for my family. My husband had a beautiful job. I just made a little more money. I had the benefits. So me, the idea of me like walking away from that just was terrifying. How could I do that? We had this house and we had. Anyway, and so I was always just asking myself a terrible question, right? And it was, how will I ever choose? How will I ever decide which is the right way to go? And I was asking a terrible question because that, that was never going to present itself, right? And so I wrote a different question which was, what does the relentless pursuit of the work and life I love look like? And it was from that question. And I was actually at a mastermind that Brooke Rand, Brooke Castillo ran. This was in 2012, I think 2011. No, I can't remember. And it was led by a gorgeous human, Lisa Sonora Beam. She did A creative entrepreneurs workshop. And so I wrote that question, and then I just wrote my whole vision for doing these coaching retreats on the beach and just creating this space for women to savor and go and be and connect and be real and authentic and seen in a way that I craved also. And I wanted to be with those women, right? And so I decided to do my first retreat and I called it Be Courageous. And I actually did it here in town. I didn't even take it to the beach. But simultaneously, what was also happening, because the universe is like, that is. My company that I worked for was going to do their first round of layoffs. It was going to be about 4,000 people. And as far as I remember, I might have that number wrong, but nonetheless, I was talking to my. One of my leaders at the time, and she said, you know, sometimes we need to ask for things that we want. And so I did. So I asked the chief HR person if she would please consider me as part of the layoff. And unfortunately.

She considered me and a lot of other people, but nonetheless, all of us are better off for it. But I left. And it was that fall in 2012 that I did my first retreat in Hawaii. And it was amazing. And 10 or 11 people came, and really cool things happened to all the people who came. It was really fun. Lots of great life change for a lot of people. So. So every year then I've done these Hawaii retreats, but then I was building this other business, right? I was building this corporate coaching training business, and I would go and do all the various areas, coping coaching, training workshops, and spoke at Microsoft and CVS and, you know, did all of that part. And yet I was still doing these retreats. Just craving this retreat element in my life. Like, what? This is what I want to do, but I got to do this other thing to pay the rent, right? Not that I don't love that. It's just, you know, Right. You all know what I mean. Like, you have a thing that just calls to you. So it wasn't until this year, because I had to take a break. It wasn't until this year that. And I guess I should say 2012, when I, excuse me, 2020, when I launched how to CEO, that there was something magical that happened with that program. And the women who have been coming into the how to CEO program are the women I have been calling to.

Spiritually for years. And they're all, they just keep coming. And God, you guys, for those of you who listen, and you're my client, I just thank you. You're like, amazing. And I have wished for you for years. Genuine, authentic, real, honest, vulnerable women. Oh, I'm a little touched. So because these women showed up, I was like, oh, they're really here. Like, this magic is here. It really exists. These women really exist. It wasn't just a fantasy that I had that there were women like me who wanted to experience the world differently and also lead differently. And so from there, I did another retreat which sold out in a week. And then I. I'm doing another one in a few weeks in September. It sold out less than a week. And I'm on to knowing that now. I get it. Okay. So then I birthed the idea that Leadership is Feminine. And you might recall that's a podcast. If you haven't listened to that particular podcast, I'm going to actually pull it up for you right now so that I can tell you what episode it is. I will reference that for you, but you might want to go back and listen to it. Leadership is Feminine because it is the inspiration for where we're going with the podcast and overall where a lot of the work that you will experience with me as you hang out over here and get to know what I do, if you're not familiar with what we do here. So Leadership is Feminine is a way for me to help teach the elements of leadership that we all have to understand.

When it comes to running a company and leading a team. I don't teach rocket science. I don't believe that developing high performing teams is elusive and that I somehow have like this brilliant knowledge. I actually think I just share with you knowing in a way that is just more palpable somehow. Maybe it's a little less confusing. I think people like to make things very confusing and I don't think it needs to be. Leadership is Feminine, by the way, is episode 81. Took me a while, but I found it August 31, 2020. And so we're diving into Leadership is Feminine, complementing that with how to CEO tips. I want to complement that with more chronicles from my clients, interviews with amazing women who model the leadership that I'm talking about and that I believe we need more of in the world. And so we will be rolling out a new podcast and you might be guessing with name of it is at this point. And it will, it will be a little different. And the first season, if you will, of the podcast will be focused on reinvention. And I'm doing that twofold. I'm doing that because there's a definite energy around Reinvention right now in the world. And there is a huge energy around it for me and it is also true for my clients and what I want to say about Reinvention in this podcast because I've been through, as hopefully you've seen through, how I've chronicled just the evolution of my business. There have been several reinventions that I've gone through. However, there's always a constant, there's a theme. And for whatever reason in my life, I've been kind of kissed with that need to tie what I learn and the wisdom I inherit and hear and want to share with you as it wraps into this leadership element that has never changed for me. Packaging and direction has changed, but not the element here. And so the nugget I want to leave you with here on Reinvention as we start to think about and launch this new podcast is that you can always reinvent. And I almost am hesitant to say re invent only because it's, it almost says that we, we're doing something again. And I actually think we're at a point in the world where it's less about redoing anything, it's more about inventing. And one of the core tenets of leadership is feminine, is that we have all been very insidiously infused with what we think the world and life and leadership and business should look like. And all of the models that exist exist because of men and what men brought to the table. And that is not to disparage them. That's just the way it's been. Right? And it's like Allie Brown said in our guest Experts conversation a couple weeks ago, right? Like, women are the ones who brought FlexType into the business. Women brought, you know, no nylons, more casual dress to the workplace. So and those are just basic examples. But even the structures of businesses we follow because that's how men created them. And I think, I believe that the world is ready for all sorts of new ideas about what it means to lead, run a company, create a company, manage people. And we need all of us to be at the forefront of that and to not shy away from change and new and different. Because it's scary, because there's this proven thing over here that works. The only way we've ever advanced is by somebody saying, no, I'm going to do it differently. And we're going to be doing some things differently in my business. And I'm terrified and equally excited. And I want to, I want you to join me in that. So we're going to be doing more of a season focus. And that focus will. First focus will be on reinventing. So whether you are in a. In a. Maybe a lot. I know a lot of my listeners are managers in companies. If that's you, this will apply. If you have your own business, this will apply. And if you are thinking about a business and you just listen because you like to learn all the things, this will apply. But at the heart of reinventing, recreating, creating, inventing, starting again, all of it is a belief that you can. That this isn't some sort of rule that you're not supposed to break. Right. Like, I've changed my podcast name. This will be the third time. The first time I did it, I was like, can you do that? And it was great. I got some great coaching from Brooke Castillo, who I know I talk about a lot. My girlfriend, she was like, yeah, you're just going to do it. You're going to take them all down. And I was like, what? I was freaking out. How can I do that? I had, like, 150 episodes, and it worked out perfectly. I mean, that's what's hysterical. Right? I was so afraid to take it down. What about the people who listen to it? Like, I think a lot of you are still here. I just changed the name and a little bit of the flavor. Yeah. So I think you'll find something similar, and I hope that you'll find this new invention of this new, exciting version of the podcast to be even more than it has been. That's my goal. So what would you like to invent or reinvent? What do you think about? You say, oh, if I could just start that again. If I could just take that down and do something different. If I could just do this and change that. If I could just get rid of that and do that. What is it? And not the flighty stuff that comes in and out. Listen, I have my days right, where I'm like, I think I'm gonna go mow lawns at the golf course by the beach. I have those days. But, you know, the things that really get your attention and they gnaw at you. Yeah. That's what we want to pay attention to. So start thinking about it, because we're gonna do this work together. And I'll be thrilled to have you join me. So more to come talk to you next time.

One more thing before you go. In a world of digital courses and online content, I like to work with my clients live. Because I know that when you have someone you can work with, ask questions of and meet with, you're so much more likely to get the success that you want. So head on over to howtoceolive.com to learn more about our very exciting, very exclusive program just for female entrepreneurs. We'll see you there.