8 Dec 2025 · 9 min
Kris Plachy argues managers need a clear map of practices to navigate people challenges: vision, values, job descriptions, KPIs, and difficult conversations. She uses a Disneyland metaphor and shares how she built this framework with her team and coaching clients.
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Hey, I'm Chris Plackey, 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.
Hello, how are you? I almost said good morning because it's morning for me, but it may not be morning when you're listening to this. So. Hi. How about we just start with that? How are you? I hope you're having a good day. I'm having a good day, and I'm happy to be here to share some ideas with you. So today we're going to talk about how management needs a map. And I am building this off of wisdom that I learned from a woman named Christine Caine. If you don't know who Christine Kane is, Christine with a C, Kane with a K. She's amazing. She is a mentor for women. And I think you would find her work. If you like my work, I think her work would resonate with you as well. So I certainly would love for you to know who she is. She's. She's just lovely. But years ago, so. So years ago, I heard her. I think I bought, like, one of her $100 products or something. And one of her phrases that she had is that money needs a map. And it always stuck with me. Money needs a map, Right? So when you think about it, it's like, you have to. If you want to make money, you have to have roads.
That. That bring money to you. You can't just want money. I know for all you manifestors out there, yes, you. You still want to have a great relationship with your money and all the other things. And that's another podcast, maybe, but this one is just about, like, you gotta create some arteries for the money to find you. Right. To get to you. We just had that happen in our business. We were looking at some of the goals that we had, and we're like, oh, okay, we might need a new road. Hey, here. So we built one, right? Okay. So this morning I was, as I was showering. Does anybody else have that happen? I think that does happen to a lot of people. Right. You're getting ready in the morning and, like, brilliant. Which is why I always have my phone, because I have to write things down. Maybe it's because I'm old. I'm not that old. But maybe it's Because I'm getting older or what? But I'll have this brilliant idea, and it will disappear if I don't write it down. I'm hoping other people have that problem. So I keep my phone next to me, and I was. I was in the shower, I had this idea, and I was like, okay, don't forget, don't forget, don't forget. And I got out, wrote it down. So I wrote this down. Management needs a map. And management leadership, really. But I like to think of you all as managing leaders. That's kind of how I put those two together. Could be because you're. You're not just leading. You have to also manage, right? So you have to set vision, set the course, hold the inspiration, you know, create the motivational environment, all those things. Plus, oh, by the way, did you follow through with your, you know, commitment to me or to the business? So management needs a map. And my colleague and amazing right hand, Michelle Arent and I last year were in Dallas just before the COVID breakdown. It was in March, and we were having a team meeting, and we were planning out kind of how would we be able to share with all of you what we knew we were helping our clients with in a different way? So we were having a team meeting, and we were planning, you know, how did we want to share the work that we do and what was the. What was the right way to put this all together? And I had actually been. I actually hired Ali Brown for a VIP day. So she and I came up with some really great ideas, which then stemmed into this meeting with Michelle. And I like things to be fun. I think hopefully those of you who've been listening for a while, you get that very clearly from me. And it's interesting. I've learned even more about why that is this year. But here's what I'm gonna say. So I love Disneyland. I love Disneyland. I love everything. I'm not a Disney person, meaning I don't have Disney decor all over my house, but I love going to Disneyland and having just that experience. And that's a big thing that I do with my family. And been a rough year. We haven't been able to go. But what we did together is we decided to create a map that is for managers that looks like the Disneyland map, right? So you have, like, these different lands. And as a manager, you have to develop skill in each one of those lands. And then, you know, you go through, and there isn't a particular necessary order, although there is a hub. But we had this whole vision Right. And then we ended up not doing it just because I don't. Because Covid. And then we were teaching people how to deal with disaster. And so it didn't seem quite as relevant in the time that. That right after we created it. But here's what I want you to think about. So when you are faced with a management challenge, I think what happens to most people who don't have a lot of development, a lot of support, they don't have the map. Right? You don't. You haven't developed a map with a key. All the things that you need to be able to know which way to go. And in fact, I think a lot of women don't even know which way's north, south, west, east. Right. Just to extend that metaphor, this thing happens, and you're like, what do I. How. What am I doing? How do I negotiate this? I don't know. Okay, so then what happens with. With when you work with me is you come to a coaching call, and we whip out the map, and we look at the map and we say, oh, okay, well, here's where you are and here's where you want to go. This is the shortest path to it. Let's use this road. Let's use, you know, your values, let's use your expectations, let's use the job description. Let's use the roles that you created. Let's use KPI, let's use a difficult conversation. Let's use your own mindset needs to change. Right. We have all sorts of roads that can lead you out of that challenge. And I want to extend this metaphor even more so because I believe that so many of you listening tend to struggle with the personal part of managing people in your company. Right? Like you. You struggle with that, which is why you're listening to this podcast. And probably. And my hunch is a lot of you who are listening to this who struggle. It's because you have a lot of empathicness to you, meaning you feel other people's feelings. It makes you really uncomfortable. You don't want to deal with it, and. Or you also just don't have the developed management muscle to negotiate these moments. And so they become very, very emotionally exhausting, and so you don't know how to handle them. So what I want you to know is just like, if we plopped you down somewhere in the United States, and I know not everybody's in the US So we're country of choice, wherever you are, if we plopped you down, but you had a map, you had a GPS on your phone, you could find your way back out. Yeah. And you'd know which one might be the shortest path out. It may not be the one you choose. You may choose a longer one, but, you know, you could get out of wherever you are. And that's what I believe is true about what we teach and coach women through, is that management does actually have a map, you guys. And it doesn't mean just to continue to extend this metaphor, if we plopped you down in the middle of nowhere in the US it doesn't mean you'd be happy about.
Doesn't mean you'd be like, yay, I am surrounded by red rocks and I don't know where the heck I am. It doesn't mean that's joy. It just means you have the confidence that you know you can get home. And I think, again, that's a parallel metaphor for managing. Like, yeah, Ew. I don't want to deal with this today. I don't want to deal with this behavior from this person. I don't want to have to this decision. Ew.
And yet I know that we could help you have that confidence. I know that that's possible. And I think, you know, it's kind of like, probably there's many of you listening to this podcast who don't even think twice now about generating revenue. Right. Like, it just comes. Like, you're like, it's not. You probably used to worry about it and now you're like, I'll figure it out. There's probably people listening to this podcast who don't even think twice about marketing. Yeah. That campaign we ran isn't working. I'm going to try something else. It's not a big deal. But then on the other hand, you might completely lose your mind over management challenges. And the only thing missing is the map. Now, if you are an avid listener of this podcast and you do everything I tell you to do, I've had so many clients hire me. There's many so, so proud of themselves because they're like, oh, I listened to that podcast and I already did that. I have my vision, I have my values. I did a re offer, you know, they did. It's so cute. And yet those women still continue to work with us because it's nice to always have someone sit down with you and whip the map out. Right. I imagine my dad and my husband and I think even my father in law. I have this image of everybody. No, I think it was my son. There was three of them. And they were all planning like a Like an off road trip here in California somewhere. And they all had, they had this big map out and they were like, okay. They were so excited to plan the trip. And that's what I know we do. We whip the map out. So every time we get together, we just pull out the map. Okay, let's figure out the best way out of this one. Right. So I want you to know the map exists. It's not elusive, it's not hiding. But it also is something that I think we can always continue to get better at. We can always continue to learn and understand the roads better and get them well worn so that we don't have to think twice, you know, oh, do I turn right or left? Like, we get better and we get better and we get better. But does that mean that sometimes we don't end up in places that we don't want to be? Absolutely not. We always are going to have that happen. When you sign up to be the leader and managing leader of other people, you will always have moments and people and you're, you might think, are you kidding? But that doesn't mean it's, you're wrong or it's wrong or you should quit immediately. It just means you need to get the map out. And I think that's why, you know, we just finished how to CEO and launched the official first launch for how to CEO Lab. It starts on the 1st of February. And in order to be in the lab, you have to have gone through how to CEO. And I already had quite a few clients in a previous program that I was running called the Founders Lab. And so we made extended this offer to everybody who was both in how to CEO and the existing Founders Lab program. And we have something like 76% retention. So people who go through how to CEO get all of the training that we provide plus the coaching will want to continue in the lab. And I love to take and say, well, it's because we're so amazing, but the truth is, it's because of the, I believe it's because of the, the conversations we're having. They're not getting them anywhere else. Nobody else is whipping off that map like we do. And I think it's incredibly important for all of you who are leading teams to have that place to go. So I'm gonna keep creating that place. All right? And I want you to know that the map exists. And the truth is, all these hundred and some odd podcasts that I have posted for you are part of the map. So it's not like I'm hiding it from you. It's all there. But I think a lot of times we need a little bit of a guide. Right. Okay. The last thing is if you haven't done so please go to the empathiceo.com and check out the live retreat that we're gonna be offering. I'm so excited to do this at the end of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, the 23rd, 24th and 25th of February for one hour each day, 4 o', clock, actually Pacific, 7 o' clock Eastern. Yes, it will be recorded. So if you can't come live, but you do want the retreat, you can still register and we will send it to you. This format is going to be a combination of me presenting concepts, teaching, inviting you to do some reflections. You're going to have some questions and some thoughts to be thinking. And then I will be able to do some Q and A as well. And it's designed for women who really feel at a level that becomes debilitating in your ability to lead. What I call it is there's. To me, there's too much emotional noise. It's too hard on you. At least you believe it is. And so I think that too many women like that have come to believe that they're too sensitive to be good managers or they're too. It's just not their thing. And I really want to position that differently for you in your mind, that it's the opposite. I actually think you are one of the best suited people to be leading and managing. We just have to learn the three pillars which I'm going to be teaching you that are fundamental to really elevate who you are as an empath. Not hide it, diminish it, stuff it, suppress it. Okay. So I would love to work with you on this retreat. It's a unique, interesting. I'm excited time to share with you. I think it's going to be a conversation unlike any other that is happening in the world right now. To me, I think it's about the work is about combining the energetic and emotional part of who you are with practical, grounded tools. And that's what I'm going to be giving you. Okay. All right, so join me there. Can't wait to see you. And remember, managing people just needs a map. And you honestly have a lot of that map already anchored in this podcast. But if it's something you want to do more of, then you can join us always in the how to CEO program when the next one opens up. Okay. Have a wonderful afternoon, morning, night, day. 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.
