My mission is to help C-Suite Leaders create high-performing teams by coaching and training managers in emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence is the number one predictor of high performance. Some studies indicate that emotional intelligence accounts for up to 90% of leadership effectiveness. That’s because the toughest problems leaders face are people problems.
I know how frustrating it is when people get distracted by conflict, when key people quit at the worst possible moment, when people simply stop performing. I’m a former entrepreneur myself, so I’ve been there.
I was a high school English teacher in 2005 when I started a company to bring reusable bags to the US. My first year in business, standing on the staircase overlooking the faculty parking lot, I sold a quarter of a million bags. So, I quit teaching and in my second year, I sold 2 million bags. My third year, I sold 8 million bags and became a top nationwide supplier.
To be sure, I made leadership mistakes. My biggest mistake was seeing myself as a boss for my warehouse team. Using a classic command-and-control leadership style, I told my team what to do. In response, they waited around for me to tell them what to do.
I didn’t want to micromanage them, but they didn’t do much of anything unless they had a directive from me. Productivity and morale were low. Frustration and turnover were high.
So, I stopped being a boss and decided to become a leader. I listened more than I talked. I empathized with my team’s problems and believed in them to solve them. I dedicated myself to their success. Performance soared.
That’s how I maintained my company’s position as a top nationwide supplier for 12 years. At that point, I sold the company. Then I published a book about how I became a high-performing leader and gave a TEDx Talk.
I’ll assess your team and company culture, and help you develop a customized plan to increase your organization’s overall performance.
Here’s what I learned as an entrepreneur: acting like a leader initiates a cycle of trust, leading to high performance. Acting like a boss initiates a cycle of mistrust, leading to stagnation and low morale.
Looking back, I’d rather be a leader than a boss any day. If you want to start being a leader right now, read my article in Forbes.
Now I put my leadership and emotional intelligence experience to work in service of my clients, helping them become high impact, high performing leaders.