My Why

I have empathy for those who find themselves in leadership roles.

That empathy shapes the work I do, my personal values, and the impact I want to drive.

Leading effectively is hard and that doesn’t get talked about enough.

I found executive leadership of a 50 person organization really difficult.

All of the traditional business metrics would tell you I was leading well:

  • Healthy P&L: delivering revenue, margin, and sustainable growth

  • Generally happy clients: renewing contracts and seeing real value delivered through the expertise our team brought

  • Generally happy team members: delivering, growing, living, and having fun along the way

But for many reasons, I wasn’t happy leading.

I found people problems energy draining. I found myself growing frustrated that some team members wouldn’t buy in. I found myself dismayed that people were never satisfied with what we provided.  

I was at a loss as to why some team members wouldn’t fall in line, go the extra mile, and show up with an ounce of gratitude every once in a while.

Nearly five years after leaving my role as the senior leader of the agency, I meet executive leaders across North America who feel the same way.

They put so much in, and don’t feel the return that comes back.

I’ve been there, it’s incredibly draining.

And so, my why comes back to the empathy I hold for those who find themselves struggling in executive leadership positions, at a loss for how to cultivate a great organizational culture to drive the right behaviors and performance. Because when the right people show up in the right right way to drive remarkable results, it’s a whole lot of fun.

Every leader should have the ability to earn that.