Making the leap from Mechanical Engineering major to a Leadership Development and Executive Coach may seem unbelievable to some, but to me, it was the most natural thing in the world. I started in Engineering because I liked math, and I didn’t know what else I wanted to do, so it sounded like a good plan.
After graduation, I started working with an international company on a Leadership Development Program where I was able to learn to speak German (sort of), live in Germany, and work in a different job every six months. It met all the requirements that I was looking for in my first job.
I spent the next 11 years moving through the ranks within that company through Quality, Continuous Improvement, Operations Management, and Plant Management. I loved some aspects of my work but hated or was just disinterested in other parts. The parts that brought me joy were working with my team and developing them, but I would spend all my time on all of the frustrating parts that I never had time to actually do the parts that brought me joy.
The result: I was stressed, worked too many hours, and was miserable at home and at work.
Looking back, I see now that I was spending so much time trying to improve my weaknesses that I didn’t have enough energy to utilize my strengths. Putting it in the 6 Types of Working Genius language, I was working in my competencies and frustrations and not in my geniuses. I also realized that I wasn’t “well.” I was running marathons, but I had, as we all do, many wounds that were impacting my behaviors at work and at home and not giving me the results that I wanted. I also wasn’t taking any time for myself, wasn’t reflecting, and wasn’t healthy spiritually, which was impacting my home life and not allowing me to be the best mother or the best leader that I could be.
I left that company in 2018 and started consulting with companies on how to implement Lean Manufacturing. Lean is a fantastic way to improve productivity and throughput, eliminate waste, and to overall improve your business. I recalled that when I was a leader, I just needed “more hands” to help me get started, and then it would take off. So, my plan for my business was to be the pair of extra hands to get things rolling, and I would teach them the tools while I was helping. That was a mistake!! I quickly learned that if I was doing it, then I owned it, and it would never stick. I also finally understood how Lean is more of a culture than a toolbox and that most businesses need help with the culture, not the toolbox. What I thought was just needing more hands was actually me needing to learn how to prioritize what was important, set goals, and how to utilize my strengths and my team to achieve them.
Today, I help leaders work on themselves first. As Patrick Lencioni and his team at The Table Group always say, “The best leader is a self-aware leader.” I work with clients utilizing my Cornerstone Framework where the leader is the cornerstone of the organization. Like the cornerstone of the building sets the stability and direction of the entire structure, so does the leader of the organization.
We start with building some basic awareness of the leader utilizing the Working Genius Assessment, then we work through some exercises whereby we explore wounds, strengths, weaknesses, and long-term goals while understanding the current state of the leader and the business. This not only creates an awareness of where the leader is today, but also sets the groundwork for future development plans. We then work through each of the other blocks of the framework - strategy, metrics, team, and processes – creating and executing a game plan for the organization and the people in it. Every leader and organization will look different because we’re all unique individuals.
The good news and bad news of this is that we’re never really done developing ourselves, which is why the top block of the framework is continuous improvement. Once you have created a groundwork within the other five blocks, then you can keep working through them while utilizing some other tools in your toolbox. When you and your business are focused on making progress, not achieving perfection, then you will continually grow and achieve your goals – personally and professionally.
My vision at Kristina Schmitt Development is to bring the joy of Christ into the lives of all people. The way I do that is to help my clients improve their overall wellness – mind, body, and spirit – by understanding themselves, working towards healing and utilizing their strengths, and giving them the tools to create a work and home life that enables them to fulfill their mission.
Kristina
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