The experience left a big impression on me. Leadership isn’t theoretical. There are real, perhaps even dire, consequences to poor leadership. Fudging it doesn’t work, and pretending that two wrongs add up to a right could end with you thanking your lucky stars that you don’t have to explain to your board how you blew up a BMW test engine.
Read MoreAs business leaders or owners, we can no longer remain silent about racism. I’ve avoided talking about it for a long time because it’s uncomfortable. I was scared if I spoke up, I might say the wrong thing or be seen as a racist. Silence is not an option, so I’m starting with an apology.
Read MoreIf it were up to me, everyone in a leadership position, or starting or building a business, would have a coach — not because I want to (or could) coach them all, but because leaders who have coaches are better leaders. At the same time, I recognize that every business leader is balancing dozens of competing priorities, now more than ever. Is it time for you to hire a leadership coach? A better question might be Are you fine staying right where you are?
Read MoreMaking the wrong choice doesn’t make you a poor leader. Being unable to make any choice because you’re trying to please everyone? That could. There are dozens of qualities that interfere with the ability to lead effectively. I’m sharing a few that I see most frequently and how to fix them.
Read MorePoor leadership costs companies revenue, time, staff, and customers. And the leaders at the very top aren’t the only ones that have an impact. Every supervisory role has the capacity to exceed goals and inspire stellar performances or to miss the mark and impede productivity. Building a leadership team that can help you achieve your goals requires careful and purposeful planning. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from my own successes and failures as a CEO as well as from my clients’ experiences.
Read MoreBecoming a better leader isn’t something that happens in a day, or even in a week. Building that set of skills requires intentional thought and effort. Understanding your innate leadership style can help you determine where to start. Once you’ve made an honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, you can begin to make change by playing to your strengths and minimizing or mitigating your weaknesses.
Read MoreHaving a great business idea or getting promoted to a leadership role doesn’t automatically make you a good leader. In fact, there are lots of mediocre (or downright bad) leaders out there. I learned a lot about leadership throughout my own journey to CEO. I’ve learned even more over the last ten years as I’ve coached, mentored, and advised hundreds of growth-stage leaders. The most effective leaders are intentional about their leadership, working to develop the skills and characteristics that will make them better able to reach their own goals and to help their teams identify and reach theirs.
Read MoreHow have the companies that have always operated completely remote done it? If they can do it every day, why can’t the rest of us? What kind of lessons could they teach us? I reached out to the leaders of two Trajectify clients who founded and run completely remote companies: Max Rice - CEO and Founder of Skyverge & Caleb Frankel - CEO and Founder of Instinct Science
Read MoreUncertainty is frightening to anyone. But many business owners — especially the introvert entrepreneurs out there — go deeper inside themselves during times like this. They isolate — because stepping out of their comfort zone and into this vast uncertainty threatens things many of us believe we need, including to be in control, to be safe, to be right. What if by reaching out, we expose ourselves as not knowing the answer, as being vulnerable and afraid?
Read MoreIf you’re still reeling from the news of the last few weeks—or days—you’re not alone. Businesses all over the world are scrambling to protect employees, figure out remote work schedules, reforecast revenues, or simply keep the doors open. No organization will manage all of this perfectly, but some will find ways to strengthen the relationships with their customers and their employees, to expand their understanding of their business, and solidify their own commitment to their values.
Read MoreIf you run a business, lead a team, or head up an organization, there’s a good chance you’ve considered hiring a coach—or at least looking to someone else for guidance. A coach is focused on unlocking your potential. They work with you to improve your performance. As with anyone that you bring into your confidence and your business, you want to make the right choice. We’ve been on both sides of the equation—as coaches and as clients.
Read MoreAt least once each year, I attend another coaching program. I enjoy getting coaching while I benefit from watching how others work and learn new techniques. Last month I attended a four-day program in NYC that was eye-opening, by definition, because it was my first awareness training.
I was able to do a lot of personal development at the program and will share in this article some of what I learned. First, let me explain awareness training.
Company culture isn’t just a buzzword for ping pong tables and nap pods at the office. Your company culture is derived from your values and how you implement them, impacting everything from employee retention to innovation.
Read MoreThe last several months of my professional career have been incredibly rewarding as I have taken on the role of Business Coordinator for Trajectify. I am part of an amazing team where my contribution is valued and I have the ability to grow both professionally and personally. This career is a great fit with my values, strengths and personality. Things weren’t always this wonderful for me. Like many others, I have struggled over the years with “what I want to be when I grow up.” In searching for the answer to this question, I’ve come to realize that figuring out my career was much more of a journey than a destination.
Read MoreThe holiday season is upon us, and the New Year is around the corner. It’s time to make a cup of hot cocoa, grab your favorite book and settle in by the fire. But where to start - there’s so many great books out there? Glad you asked! Trajectify’s Winter Reading List is here.
Read MoreOver a family dinner recently, my brother-in-law explained that my mother-in-law’s car has some high-tech alerts on it. I asked my mother-in-law if it had a collision avoidance system, and she responded, “All I know is that if I hear three beeps I need to stop so I don’t bang up the car.”
What if we had a similar alert system for leaders of businesses – when something goes wrong, you hear three beeps and you know you need to stop so you don’t damage your business?
Read MoreAs a business grows, its leaders face new challenges, often in strategy, organizational development, and values and culture. They may be faced with complicated decisions regarding capital, partnerships or corporate structure. In November, we hosted our Fall Leadership Retreat where Trajectify coaches were joined by CEOs and business owners from a variety of industries. In focused, mastermind-style discussions, each leader took turns sharing business challenges they are facing. The group got a chance to provide feedback and offer outside-in perspectives to their peers.
Read MoreWe recently facilitated a panel of four pairs of co-founders/partners. They shared their experiences in building a business together - exploring benefits and challenges, offering advice and personal perspectives. Putting business partners on stage - including friends, siblings, and spouses - also made for great entertainment (watch the video). If you’re going to make partnership successful, have a good sense of humor :-) Here are some of the lessons learned and insights:
Read MoreWe don't want to have to be in a position to make passionate decisions, especially in business. Good planning means accounting for all outcomes while we are in our natural state, operating in Quadrant II (one of Strategy), not Quadrant I (Crisis). Here are some strategies to follow to help you do just that.
Read MoreMy mother died earlier this month. It wasn't something we were expecting. She had been successfully fighting breast cancer. Complications from treatment led to a series of cascading medical issues over several weeks until her heart was no longer able to take it. I woke up early the day after her death and my mind was racing, so I grabbed a pen and paper to slow down my thoughts. Some of what I wrote ended up being about observations and feelings that I could connect to leadership.
Read MoreStartups and Small Businesses sometimes find themselves at the edge of a chasm. With success in developing and growing their business, a stage is reached where they find that the "next step" is a big one! Trajectify partners with the entrepreneur to build momentum and trajectory to be able to cross the chasm.
We offer private and group (Mastermind) coaching and hold frequent events and seminars.
Trajectify is founded my Mike Krupit, veteran of eight startups. Mike has helped dozens of companies grow and mentored and advised hundreds more.
I don't think every CEO needs to become a LinkedIn personality. The question is simpler. Who needs to know you exist? Where are they? And what would help them understand how you think before they ever sit across from you? That answer will change as the company grows, as your buyers change, as platforms come and go. You adjust. That I don’t think you can do anymore is decide visibility isn’t part of your job at all. Your personal brand is important to your company’s brand.
Most founders and executives I work with are uncomfortable talking about how they look. It feels shallow. Not the point. I get it. They started their companies because of a vision, not an ego. By the time they're working with an advisor, they're wrestling with real problems: who belongs in which seats, how to build accountability, how to run a leadership meeting. Thinking about personal image can feel self-indulgent by comparison.
Founders tend to think about a major transition as a singular event. You prepare, announce, close, and now you're a different company. In my experience, the company starts changing well before any of that happens. I've been through this several times now, and the details were different every time. The weirdness was pretty consistent.
Sometimes exploration is worth it. Sometimes you just spent a week of the team’s attention answering a question the founder could have tested in an afternoon. That is the part I think leaders underestimate. Ideas do not only cost money. They cost time, focus, and brainpower long before anyone approves a budget. The question I’d want answered is: how much of the organization does this idea deserve yet?
Ask a room of leaders why they set goals and most will say accountability. That answer creates the problem. Goals exist for alignment. The company needs to reach a number, so this group does this, that group does that, and together the math works. Everyone is pointed in the same direction. Focus comes second. A good goal tells you what to say no to.
The instinct to build a team that moved in the same direction, at the same pace, with the same set of perspectives is limiting. Consistency is created at the expense of range. The goal isn't alignment of strengths. It's coverage. The most dangerous teams I've seen weren't the ones with conflict. hey were the ones with none. Where every conversation ends in agreement. Where nothing gets surfaced. Where the people who see things differently may have learned to stop saying so.
The same restlessness that makes it hard to stay on plan is what made them start the company in the first place. The wandering mind, the refusal to be satisfied with what already exists, the ability to see something before it exists: that's not a disorder. That's the source.
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I’ve been facilitating CEO peer groups for fifteen years. The biggest factor in whether someone gets value from a group is vulnerability. Not performative vulnerability. The kind that costs you something to say out loud, the thing you'd rather not say because it makes you look uncertain, stuck, bored, scared, or wrong. The people who get the most from these groups aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest problems. They're the ones willing to let the room see the problem clearly enough to help.