WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.680 Debbie, welcome to the show. Tell me about your 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:06.299 vision. Well, it's so glad I'm so glad to be 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:12.480 here. And my vision is one where in the short 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:17.920 run, if I can get a team, a leadership team to 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:21.760 really unlock and work together in a different 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:26.829 way, in a multiplier way. and not leave potential 00:00:26.829 --> 00:00:29.329 on the table and not leave impact on the table 00:00:29.329 --> 00:00:31.589 and not leave smarts on the table and experience 00:00:31.589 --> 00:00:35.890 on the table. If they can come together in a 00:00:35.890 --> 00:00:39.070 cohesive way, I know the results are going to 00:00:39.070 --> 00:00:41.149 be better. And not only are the business results 00:00:41.149 --> 00:00:43.490 going to be better, work for them is going to 00:00:43.490 --> 00:00:46.990 be less stressful. And so then I go to the cumulative 00:00:46.990 --> 00:00:50.329 effect. So we have a leadership team that's more 00:00:50.329 --> 00:00:53.289 effective, more impactful, and less stressed. 00:00:54.279 --> 00:00:57.880 Their families experience less stress. The people 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:00.600 they are leading will experience less stress. 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.240 So I don't think work has to be a four letter 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:05.340 word. I mean, OK, it is four letters, but you 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.040 know what I mean. It doesn't have to be a dirty 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:10.019 word. It doesn't have to be unpleasant. It should 00:01:10.019 --> 00:01:14.159 be a place where as adults we go to live into 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.319 our gifts and live into the impact that we can 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:20.340 make. And leadership teams are such a big part 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:24.939 of promoting that or getting in the way. I see 00:01:24.939 --> 00:01:27.739 the power of teams and my vision is to work with 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:30.560 as many teams as possible so that they can really 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:33.620 be the best they can be. And it's great for their 00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:35.560 shareholders. It's great for their employees, 00:01:35.620 --> 00:01:37.540 but ultimately it's great for them as human beings 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:39.819 and it's great for their families. So I really 00:01:39.819 --> 00:01:42.760 feel there's a way that I can unlock them. They 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:45.939 can get the results and just remove friction 00:01:45.939 --> 00:01:51.159 and remove stress and improve results. Tell me 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:55.689 more about that. I am very, very curious. on 00:01:55.689 --> 00:02:00.909 the stories, how you got to this point and why 00:02:00.909 --> 00:02:02.989 you got to this point about your vision. I'd 00:02:02.989 --> 00:02:06.189 love to hear more. Yeah, it's a great question. 00:02:06.950 --> 00:02:10.430 I think, so I was in the corporate world for 00:02:10.430 --> 00:02:14.770 over 25 years and I've been in consulting, I've 00:02:14.770 --> 00:02:18.349 been in industry, I've been in private sector, 00:02:18.789 --> 00:02:22.050 nonprofit sector, public sector, and I've seen 00:02:22.750 --> 00:02:26.889 I've been in the US, I've worked overseas. And 00:02:26.889 --> 00:02:29.530 I think like all of us, we've seen when teams 00:02:29.530 --> 00:02:32.770 work, we know when we're in that impactful team. 00:02:33.389 --> 00:02:35.930 And the more and more work that I started to 00:02:35.930 --> 00:02:38.770 do on people strategy and working with more senior 00:02:38.770 --> 00:02:42.030 leaders, the latter part of my career, the more 00:02:42.030 --> 00:02:43.990 I'm looking at the complexity of this world and 00:02:43.990 --> 00:02:47.009 going, we need teams. You don't have what it 00:02:47.009 --> 00:02:49.389 needs, what you need to do all on your own to 00:02:49.389 --> 00:02:51.729 thrive anymore. You need the team around you. 00:02:52.090 --> 00:02:54.189 Right. So those days of the solo. I mean, you 00:02:54.189 --> 00:02:56.770 still have the solo folks, but for the most part, 00:02:56.949 --> 00:03:01.610 we need each other. And so how do I how do I 00:03:01.610 --> 00:03:03.969 really lean into that? And I remember hearing 00:03:03.969 --> 00:03:07.150 someone had said to me recently, a few years 00:03:07.150 --> 00:03:09.330 ago, imagine you have a team of five people. 00:03:10.810 --> 00:03:13.810 Is the team of five even producing the output 00:03:13.810 --> 00:03:17.569 of five individuals or are they suboptimized? 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:20.460 Are we paying attention to not just the five, 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:22.699 but the plus and the plus and the plus and the 00:03:22.699 --> 00:03:26.840 plus, the in -between? So if we know teams are 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:29.060 critical for today's work and for tomorrow because 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:32.020 we don't know what's coming, but together we 00:03:32.020 --> 00:03:36.060 have a better chance, and we know what it's like 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:39.819 to be on those impactful teams, I realize that's 00:03:39.819 --> 00:03:42.180 what gives me joy. I love working with teams. 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:45.099 I loved being an individual coach, and I love 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:48.479 that spark when I work with executives. And prior 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:50.599 to being a coach and alongside being a coach, 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.740 I've always been in the organizational development 00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:56.979 space, right? I work with teams more as an expert 00:03:56.979 --> 00:04:00.199 or as a consultant. And this path that I'm on 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:04.000 now brings my two loves together. So I know teams, 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.280 I know systems, I know how to think about that, 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:08.919 and I know how to coach. And I think there's 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:11.780 this real need now where executive teams, they 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:15.180 need more. They don't need these one -off. strategy 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:17.060 sessions they're important they don't need a 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:19.439 one -off team development session that's important 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:24.060 they need to learn how to work together differently 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:28.139 they need to unlearn habits that just happen 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:30.680 over time and they need to make intentional choices 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:32.480 about here's where our business is going and 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.800 here's what we need to do so that's i think the 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:40.980 meta of where my vision came from and just seeing 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:45.569 the power of teams Of having some real joys and 00:04:45.569 --> 00:04:48.110 highlights in my experience and having some real 00:04:48.110 --> 00:04:50.089 pain points and lowlights in my experience. And 00:04:50.089 --> 00:04:53.589 they were always at the team level. And then 00:04:53.589 --> 00:04:56.189 just, I think, learning more about the space 00:04:56.189 --> 00:04:59.029 and going, the world's just going to get faster 00:04:59.029 --> 00:05:01.129 and more complex. And the need for leadership 00:05:01.129 --> 00:05:05.350 teams is so much more now. So I just figured, 00:05:05.430 --> 00:05:07.370 like, what can I do with my strengths and my 00:05:07.370 --> 00:05:11.569 gifts to help them? And that's what I feel good 00:05:11.569 --> 00:05:13.899 about. So that's a little bit more. I'm happy 00:05:13.899 --> 00:05:15.480 to delve further, but that's a little bit more 00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:17.819 in the backstory anyway. Thank you for sharing 00:05:17.819 --> 00:05:21.279 that. And I'm happy to hear more. Have you read 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:25.660 the book, Five Dysfunctions of a Team? Yes. It's 00:05:25.660 --> 00:05:29.259 one of those books that talks a lot about these 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:32.620 things. What would you say, Debbie, then how 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:35.079 did you get started on this path, like the entrepreneur 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:39.639 path of, I think, leaving the corporate world 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:45.199 and then diving in? diving deep into your own 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:49.259 pathing and helping people through your own business 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:52.240 strengths. Where did that come from and how did 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:55.160 that get started? I think it's a great question, 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:57.319 Harry. And I think a lot of us that do coaching. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:02.620 So I went through my own graduate school experience 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:05.360 and then I had an opportunity at a company to 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.680 really oversee the coaching cadre of external 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:10.120 coaches. And I was talking to my then. boss and 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.139 i said you know i would really like to deepen 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:14.439 my skills as a coach and he's like absolutely 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:17.160 you should and so that started my own sort of 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.100 executive coaching journey on the more formal 00:06:19.100 --> 00:06:22.019 level and even since then even though i've had 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:23.920 industry jobs and i had more and more senior 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:27.220 roles i always had a small sort of cadre of clients 00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:31.600 that i kept external and i mentioned to you just 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:35.600 when we logged on i live just outside of chicago 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.879 Well, for four years, my family and I, we lived 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.339 in Maine, which for people outside the U .S., 00:06:42.339 --> 00:06:45.139 it's the northeast most part of the country. 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:47.540 Kind of sticks out there. It's closer to sort 00:06:47.540 --> 00:06:51.139 of like the maritime provinces in Canada. There's 00:06:51.139 --> 00:06:52.860 a big saying of you can't get there from here. 00:06:52.980 --> 00:06:55.699 It's a very different place. And the thing about 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:58.519 Maine that's beautiful, it's rugged, it's further 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:01.540 away, is everybody has what they call a side 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:03.980 hustle. And I think there I was really kind of 00:07:03.980 --> 00:07:06.959 leaning into. what am i doing in this coaching 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:10.759 and consulting space and i realized i'm getting 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:12.920 a lot of joy out of that and i had this small 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:16.459 voice that was starting saying when are you going 00:07:16.459 --> 00:07:20.160 to do this full time and it was a scary voice 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.480 for a long time and then we moved back to the 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:27.480 chicago area uh and then the pandemic hit and 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:29.199 i think like a lot of people in the pandemic 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:32.899 there are a lot of you know really key moments 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:34.560 where people were looking themselves in the mirror 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:37.680 and saying what's really important just before 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:42.319 the pandemic i changed jobs um in 2018 and i 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.720 said to myself i think this is going to be my 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.420 last corporate role i just needed to say that 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:49.459 to myself i didn't know when i was going to leave 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:53.480 it was a wonderful final role for me i was chief 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:55.459 talent officer and i had an opportunity to build 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:59.720 a function and really help a company do part 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:02.250 of what i'm really good at doing And I think 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:05.689 the pandemic, I lost both my parents in 2021. 00:08:06.750 --> 00:08:09.029 I think it was just this time for me to say, 00:08:09.129 --> 00:08:13.610 if not now, when? And so I took the leap. And 00:08:13.610 --> 00:08:17.129 being very pragmatic, I told my then boss and 00:08:17.129 --> 00:08:18.790 I gave her about a year's notice. And I said, 00:08:18.850 --> 00:08:21.750 look, I'm accountable for succession. Let's role 00:08:21.750 --> 00:08:24.129 model a good succession and let's ramp me down 00:08:24.129 --> 00:08:27.610 and ramp up your next generation. And in the 00:08:27.610 --> 00:08:29.389 meantime, I started talking with people about 00:08:29.389 --> 00:08:32.340 the Plager Group. And here was my vision. Here 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:36.059 were those places. And to a person, everyone 00:08:36.059 --> 00:08:38.480 said, I'm so glad that you get to bring your 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:41.580 gifts to more people and to do what you love 00:08:41.580 --> 00:08:45.679 and the world needs you. And that was validating 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:50.799 as scary as it was. And so April 8th, 2023, I 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:53.580 was fully 100%. I call that my anniversary, even 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:55.539 though I was like still like ramping down, ramping 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:57.460 up that call it my anniversary. So I'm almost 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:00.889 finishing my second year. And I'll say it's the 00:09:00.889 --> 00:09:03.590 hardest thing I've ever done work -wise. I was 00:09:03.590 --> 00:09:06.049 a good corporate employee. I worked in startups. 00:09:06.309 --> 00:09:09.750 I worked in Fortune 75s. I worked in mega consulting 00:09:09.750 --> 00:09:12.629 firms. I know corporate cultures. I know how 00:09:12.629 --> 00:09:15.710 to navigate and shift. And this was something 00:09:15.710 --> 00:09:19.590 completely different. And it has been a remarkable 00:09:19.590 --> 00:09:23.570 journey. And it's wild. And it was really scary. 00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:25.570 And it's not scary now, but it was really scary 00:09:25.570 --> 00:09:27.669 in the beginning. And I just kept going back 00:09:27.669 --> 00:09:31.080 to my vision of, what I wanted and needed to 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:33.960 do and how I felt like I could contribute to 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:36.220 the world. Thank you for being here today. I'm 00:09:36.220 --> 00:09:37.940 really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros 00:09:37.940 --> 00:09:40.919 Live. I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.559 as these episodes continue to move forward. This 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:45.440 is going to get more and more fun. We'll have 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:47.259 more and more engagement as well. We'll invite 00:09:47.259 --> 00:09:49.659 people to participate in the show. And thank 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:51.639 you for giving us your time and attention. Have 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:54.320 an excellent time building out your vision and 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:55.399 becoming a vision pro yourself.