The CEO Sage (Formerly Leadership is Feminine)

Are you looking to hire someone who has amazing experience and a really great resume? Here's a little advice based on my experience when hiring people from a corporate background. What you'll learn from this episode: The differences between entrepreneurs and those working in a corporate culture. Why you're more likely to attract candidates who have experience in corporate settings. How the managem...

As a female entrepreneur and business owner, do you crave having an ownership-accountability culture? Today I have the "what, how and why" that will help you achieve that! What you'll learn from this episode: Why coaching is both an art and a science. The formula for how to remember to be in a coach mode when you're talking to your employees. How trust comes into play and why it's sometimes a vici...

Leadership is about the vision. Management is about the business. Coaching is about the individual. In a small business, when you're the founder, you don't have to be great at all three - but you have to do all three! What you'll learn from this episode: The difference between coaching, managing and leading. Which of the three seems to be the most difficult for people to master. The three differen...

Do you believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness or a lack of ability? Maybe you just feel like – "Why bother – I'm just going to end up doing it myself anyway." You have too much amazing work to do in the world to be minimizing your impact because you don't want to leverage the support of others. Here are some tips. What you'll learn from this episode: The three types of help people usua...

If your business has a culture of accountability, that means that your employees accept ownership for their results, no matter what. But with that comes this unexpected truth that has been a thorn in my side for 25 years. Let's talk about it. What you'll learn from this episode: A leader who works in a culture of accountability must be equally communicative about this. Feedback is not personal. On...

Hiring is like dating. Sometimes we get "candidate crushes" and those don't always turn out like we had hoped. If you're disenchanted with the hiring process, then this episode is for you! What you'll learn from this episode: Kris's story about hiring for her personal assistant position – 6 assistants over a 4-5 month period! This podcast is about the basic things you always have to remember when...

Many women are reluctant to call themselves the CEO of their own business. Let's go over why it's so important to take that step and what you can do to get there. What you'll learn from this episode: An exercise to do to determine why you're hesitant to call yourself CEO. Why the first module in the "How to CEO" program is CEO Mindset. What the "How to CEO" program provides and what its goal is. T...

Some leaders don't find it difficult to manage people, but for others it seems to be this gut-wrenching thing. Being a good leader requires an ability to connect – to see and to be seen. Let's talk about connecting and how courage and vulnerability come into play. What you'll learn from this episode: To have the kinds of conversations that good leaders have, it requires a level of intimacy. Kris's...

Female entrepreneurs have deep passion for their businesses, but did you realize that many of them also carry around deep shame? Shame and pain about an issue that is so intense that they rarely even want to talk about it. Helping women voice this issue so they don't give up on their businesses is what we do. We can fix it. I promise! What you'll learn from this episode: What that voiceless proble...

Women have a cocktail of assets that nobody else does. Celebrate them. Don't diminish them. Step into your superpower and own it because leadership is feminine! What you'll learn from this episode: What Kris learned from her mom about leadership. Why empathy is a superpower. Is it possible to truly be yourself and still be the CEO of your business? Why it's important for female entrepreneurs to ca...

Entrepreneurs struggle with employees not taking ownership the same way that they do. Here are some suggestions for ways to handle a situation when someone doesn't take responsibility for a task, and an example of how an ownership conversation ought to go. What you'll learn from this episode: Why ownership is a personal responsibility. How getting out of an employee's way, in order to foster owner...

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are the vital signs for your business. They are diagnostic in nature and can be used to help determine if there's a problem with the health of the overall business or with specific roles within that business. What you'll learn from this episode: The reason we ask, "what role do I need to fill?" versus "what type of person do I need?" The steps toward creating KPIs...

What does it mean to transition from being an entrepreneur to a CEO? As a solopreneur, the essential asset is you and your talent. As an entrepreneur the asset is you as a manager. But, as a CEO, the asset is you as a leader. Are you ready? Let's go! What you'll learn from this episode: How boundaries change through the difference transitions. Learning to leverage the talents of others. Why it's a...

There's a real difference between being a solopreneur and being an entrepreneur. A solopreneur is a worker and it's mostly about "me." They do all the work in the business. An entrepreneur is a producer / manager. These people have a team and running the business is more about "we." The trick is learning how to make that transition from a "me" to a "we." Let's talk about how! What you'll learn fro...

If your employees are wanting you to think for them and are relying on you to make all of the decisions for them, here are some suggestions for how to stop being that continuous crutch. What you'll learn from this episode: Kris' recent commitment - "I will no longer make decisions that other people are capable of making." Can you handle the failure if you let them make a decision? If you have deci...

In today's interview, Kris talks with clients Laura Patrick, Jennifer Hood and Kira DeRito about what it's been like for them to negotiate the challenges that COVID has presented to their business and to them as female founders. What you'll learn from this episode: What each business owner's thoughts were when all of the COVID stuff started. Things that they have done for themselves to help naviga...

Your growth and your ability to scale and make more money in your business depends on your willingness to allow other people to fail. It depends on your willingness to tolerate other people's mistakes. What you'll learn from this episode: You don't have to give up tasks you love to do or that are your superpower. What the definition of "doing it wrong" is to female entrepreneurs. There are people...

When you are a leader and own a business, it's not only okay to have expectations, it's your responsibility to have them. But most female entrepreneurs that I work with usually wrangle with these three issues when it comes to expectations. What you'll learn from this episode: The three main issues that female entrepreneurs wrangle with when it comes to expectations. Many female entrepreneurs think...

In today's interview, Kris talks with Dr. Camille Broussard Wise, a scholar-practitioner of leadership, management, and advancing diversity and equity. A passionate social justice advocate, she holds a safe space for inquiry and growth while also equipping leader-learners with tools to facilitate their own growth and accountability. What you'll learn from this episode: The distinction between raci...

When you have one employee who's bringing your company's performance down, the impact on the team is very noticeable. Here's why that one person is standing between you and total magic. What you'll learn from this episode: Once you remove the negative energy from your business and brain you create all kinds of space for something new. If that person hasn't grown with the business, they're almost l...

The only way to learn things you don't know, and to gain an understanding of them, is to be willing to tolerate and sit with discomfort. It doesn't mean you have to agree. It means you have the opportunity to listen, to stretch and to grow. What you'll find in this episode: Why it's so important to get out of the echo chamber. Pay attention to how you feel. If someone introduces you to something a...

Who do you want to be as a leader? When your presence is unfelt, someone else's will be, and they will control the message and direction of your business. You have a voice whether you're aware of it or not. So my recommendation is - let's be aware of it. What you'll find in this episode: Why having a clear sense of direction for your company and what you want to achieve is essential. The heart of...

High-performing leaders with high-performing teams are able to replicate that over and over again. That's not luck; that's a system, and here are the elements of that system for building high-performing teams. What you'll find in this episode: As a leader, you have to have your own expectations of high performance. You have to be self-aware. You have to understand who you are and how you affect th...

Is it your belief that you can't manage people's performance and hold them accountable unless they're sitting in the same building as you? Nothing could be further from the truth. Here's how to ensure that performance has nothing to do with location. What you'll find in this episode: 1. Kris' story about managing remotely 2. Kris's blueprint – the five steps to managing a remote team. (Note: this...

At some point in the trajectory of a founder's business growth, she inevitably finds that some of the people she's working with haven't kept pace… the business has outgrown their skillset. Here's how the "re-offer" can help. What you'll find in this episode: This is a good time to re-evaluate why you do what you do, what it is that you do, what the reason is to continue doing it and who the people...