Our Convergence Spotlight is featuring Beth Gibbs, our recently promoted Operations Manager. Beth joined us in December 2019 and leads our CPE compliance, LMS and sales processes and systems all while handling many tasks necessary to keep our firm operating efficiently. You might even see her from time to time moderating one of our numerous leadership programs!

Beth is a prime example of a team player: she is always willing to learn and stretch her abilities, take on a new responsibility or volunteer to help a team member who is feeling overwhelmed. She is logical, a quick thinker and a problem solver. Beth does it all with a smile that lights up the room and I’m honored to be sharing her perspective on leadership with you:

ConvergenceCoaching: What is it about a leader that you believe makes others genuinely want to follow them?

BG: I believe people are naturally drawn to leaders who are humble, authentic, and vulnerable. When times get tough, leaders who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get in the trenches with their people will draw in and earn the respect of their team. It fosters a sense of loyalty and camaraderie that is vital to a successful team.

ConvergenceCoaching: What is the most challenging part of being a leader? What is your advice for successfully overcoming this challenge?

BG: I think most leaders are very invested and have shed blood, sweat and tears to create and nurture their business, team, or whatever it may be. It’s easy (and almost natural) to get bogged down in the mindset that no one will be able to maintain what you have built with the same dedication and rigor and care that you have. Ultimately, your job is to let go and trust your team. My advice for successfully overcoming this challenge is to shift your mindset from the belief that no one will be able to do your job the way you do, and therefore be equally successful at it, to believing that the next generation will bring new, creative ideas and skills to the table that will grow what you have built beyond what you were capable of.

ConvergenceCoaching: Do you believe that great leaders are born or made? Why?

BG: I believe everyone is born with the ability to be a great leader but not everyone innately knows, or is ever shown, how to utilize their unique qualities and characteristics in a leadership role. I think many great potential leaders are unaware of their talents or go unnoticed because they allow themselves to be sucked in by negative self-talk or stifled by the chatter of their inner voice. I truly believe anyone who has the desire to lead can do so successfully as long as they are willing to be open-minded, determined, and coachable!

ConvergenceCoaching: Do you have a favorite movie or book that you feel exemplifies what it means to be a great leader?

BG: The documentary Undefeated tells the story of a white volunteer coach (Bill Courtney) of an all-black inner-city high school football team. The daily struggles the young men on the team face are beyond what most of us sitting comfortably in our homes could ever imagine. Bill genuinely cares about each of his players as individual people and not just about what they can offer him as it pertains to success on the field. Bill led with humility and generosity, knowing he could not fully relate to his players, and by giving his time and doing his best to meet them where they were. He drives the lesson home that we’re all a work in progress and rather than putting each other down for mistakes or wrong decisions, we need to celebrate the desire and ability to move forward having learned something.

ConvergenceCoaching: What would you like ConvergenceCoaching blog readers to know about you?

BG: I’m a busy and fun-loving mom of two teenagers (yikes!) and a nine-year-old. The winters are long here in Wisconsin, so my family and I soak up every moment of summer by spending time on the lake. I learned to wake surf this summer and I am obsessed. Experiencing and learning new things is my favorite! I also genuinely love my job and adore my team and I’m super grateful to be blessed with the opportunity to learn from them every day!

Beth said something really profound that struck a chord with me. To believe in your team and trust them to take what you, as a leader or entrepreneur, have built and let go so they may grow, improve, and create something that is beyond what you ever imagined. It echoes ConvergenceCoaching’s trust-first mentality and our drive to look forward to the “next better.” I encourage you to take Beth’s advice and look at some of the responsibilities or ideas you may be holding on to. Invite your up-and-coming leaders to the table. They may surprise you with their perspective and teach you something that could transform your firm.

Until next time,

Emily