Leveraging Your Strengths to Lead Successfully Several years ago, I wrote a blog post about being a solopreneur and how understanding my strengths led to my success. Shortly after writing that post, I took the CliftonStrengths 34 assessment again. It had been eleven years. I was a member of a new global team and was curious to learn if anything had shifted in those eleven years. The CliftonStrengths assessment has been used by more than 34 million people globally to identify natural talents. It provides a deep understanding of 34 themes of your natural patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving in four domains: Executing: Help you make things happen Influencing: Help you take charge, speak up and make sure others are heard Relationship Building: Help you build strong relationships that hold teams together Strategic Thinking: Help you absorb and analyze information that informs better decisions In 2012, when I started my business, five of my top ten themes were in the Executing domain. That helped me launch my business and get things done. When I completed the assessment again in 2023, the top ten themes shifted slightly to include four themes in the Influencing domain and four themes in the Executing domain. As I reflect on this minor shift, I see how my business has evolved. Although I am still “Making Things Happen” as a solopreneur, I am leveraging more of my Influencing themes of Woo (Winning Others Over), Communication and Activator to lead more successfully. Woo helps leaders bring people together, make them feel welcome. These leaders are great at connecting people within their networks. Leaders with Communication theme are talented in helping others gain clarity on issues by asking questions to bring their thoughts out in the open. An Activator is someone who can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They have comfort with trying and failing until they get it right. They allow other people to have that comfort too. I am still a solopreneur, however, I work within teams all the time. Whether I am leading a project with several associate consultants or managing a team of coaches, I leverage my Executing and Influencing themes to deliver high-quality results. Gallup has created a new report called CliftonStrengths for Leaders, which provides insights and advice based on your results to help you become a better leader. Individuals who use their strengths regularly and intentionally are more likely to be engaged in their job and report an excellent quality of life. The most effective leaders are always investing in their strengths. Are you leveraging your strengths to lead successfully? If not, let’s connect to get you on the path of investing in your strengths and living a more fulfilling life.
Welcoming the Next WeTheChange Leadership Circle Leadership and our roles in the movements we care about are always evolving. After serving four years on the WeTheChange Leadership Circle, it is time to transition and pass the baton to a new group of leaders to carry the work forward. One of my final duties as Governance Lead is to welcome the next class of Leadership Circle members. It’s an honor to introduce these incredible women – Danielle Lee, Cindy Curtis-Rivera, and Judy Schenk, who bring their wisdom, vision, and talent to WeTheChange. I’m excited to see their contributions to shaping the next chapter of WeTheChange. It’s been an incredible journey. I’ve had the privilege of helping build the governance structure of this growing community, from developing organizational processes to guiding our shift from a volunteer-led effort to a resourced organization with meaningful momentum. One milestone during my tenure with WeTheChange was the 2022 Activator Campaign, which raised $50,000 to support our evolution and launch a formal membership program in 2023. That was more than just fundraising, it was a turning point that showed how powerful our collective vision truly is. If you’re curious to learn more about how this community of purpose-driven women is shaping the future of business, I invite you to read our recent interview with B The Change. It captures the spirit and impact we’re making together. As I transition out of my Leadership Circle role, I’ll continue to support changemakers through my work with Vista Global and my new board position with YWCA Madison. I look forward to working alongside another group of strong women leaders committed to creating a more just, inclusive, and values-driven world.
Celebrating B Corp Month As we step into March, we join a global community in celebrating B Corp Month, a time dedicated to honoring businesses committed to using their influence as a force for good. This year, the celebration feels even more significant for Vista Global as we recently completed our fifth B Corp recertification achieving our highest score of 146.9. What is B Corp Month? B Corp Month is an annual event where Certified B Corporations collectively raise awareness about building a more inclusive and sustainable economy. It’s a global effort to showcase how businesses can balance purpose and profit, ensuring their operations benefit all stakeholders, including employees, communities, and the environment. This celebration highlights the belief that companies can be a catalyst for positive change in the world. Since our founding, Vista Global has partnered with individuals and organizations to create the world we want to live in. In 2012, we took a significant step by becoming a Certified B Corporation, solidifying our commitment to social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. This certification is more than a credential; it reflects our ongoing dedication to upholding the highest standards in our work and interactions. Being a part of the B Corp community aligns with our core values and enhances our ability to drive impactful change. It provides a framework that guides us in evaluating our practices and ensures we consistently strive for improvement. Our B Corp status reinforces our pledge to operate with integrity, prioritize the well-being of our stakeholders, and contribute positively to our community. As we celebrate B Corp Month, we reflect on our journey and the collective impact of the B Corp community. Beyond our work, we are honored to serve on the Leadership Circle of WeTheChange, a network of women leaders of certified B Corps and other purpose-driven businesses. This incredible community emphasizes the role women play in using business as a force for good, advocating for social justice, environmental sustainability, and collective well-being. As part of our commitment to this work, we’re looking forward to the upcoming WeTheChange Retreat in April 2025, a powerful gathering of leaders focused on connection, collaboration, and deep impact. If you’re a woman purpose-driven business leader seeking to engage with a community of like-minded change-makers, we encourage you to join us. We invite you to celebrate B Corp Month by partnering with companies committed to a more equitable and sustainable future.
Communication Styles through the Lens of the Enneagram Throughout my career, I have come to understand the power of listening to build effective leadership. Whether that was serving in a leadership role, coaching leaders, or supporting leaders through training. About five years ago, I became a certified Conversational Intelligence coach, which gave me great insight into the neuroscience of conversations – what happens in our brains when we have quality conversations or conversations that get stuck. One fundamental aspect of communication is that understanding resides with the listener. Therefore, to create shared understanding, the speaker needs to have the skills to adjust their communication style so that the listener is receiving the information with the intended meaning. It is not easy to adapt our communication style so that another person receives the information with our intended meaning. However, my recent training as an Enneagram Practitioner has introduced me to a new approach to exploring communication styles. The Enneagram is an ancient framework that examines personality through our core motivations to help explain why we are the way we are. Our core motivation drives how we engage with the world and others to meet our needs. The communication style of each leadership type is in service to the core motivation. With a deeper understanding of what is driving someone’s style, we can adjust our language to meet their needs to create a shared understanding. Credit: www.withinsight.coach Understanding the nine communication styles through the Enneagram framework provides a roadmap to adapt our auto-pilot style to align with the listener. The first step in this process is understanding your style, core motivation and how that influences your communication. With that as a foundation, you can move to understanding other styles and interpersonal communication dynamics. To learn more about the Enneagram and how it can support you as a leader, check out the Minutes with Mary Enneagram Podcast Mini-Series. Episode 20: explores the Enneagram and Communication. To begin your Enneagram journey, explore the resources and services Vista Global offers.
What is your “Y”? In 2009, Simon Sinek, leadership and innovation thought leader, delivered a revolutionary Tedx talk on the golden circle.The framework is 3 concentric circles starting with WHY at the center, then HOW and finally WHAT. His Tedx talk has more than 65 million views and inspired a movement for leaders in all walks of life to examine their true purpose, the impact they want to have in the world and then align their work with that desired vision. This concept of your “Why” is one of the fundamental principles of leadership coaching, often called “life purpose” or “compelling purpose”. What do you want your life to be about? How does your work align with your values? When your work aligns with your values, you are living your fullest life with the greatest level of impact. There is a Japanese concept called ikigai which is a concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, reason for being. My WHY is driven by my values of connection, equity, positivity, and diversity. These values drive the type of clients Vista Global engages with and the organizations I invest my time and resources in supporting. I am excited to share that I recently joined the board of the YWCA Madison. The YWCA is on a mission to eliminate racism and empower women. It is often confused with the YMCA, yet the mission of the YWCA is distinct and transformative. The YWCA Madison’s values are Humanity, Community, Growth and Restoration. The “WHY” of the “Y” deeply aligns with my “why” and therefore I am thrilled to have the opportunity to support their impact in creating the world we want to live in. If your “WHY” aligns with the mission of the “Y”, consider contributing to the YWCA Madison or a YWCA near you.
2024 Mini-Sabbatical: Back on the Island Photo Credit: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Mary Stelletello Photo Credit: Keahou, Hawaii, Mary Stelletello It is that time of year again…when I do my annual mini-sabbatical. November is a time of transition. In the U.S. we turn the clocks back an hour, the days seem to be getting shorter more quickly and the sun is lower in the sky. I was able to take my annual planning retreat/mini-sabbatical on the Big Island of Hawaii this year. Since I have been there many times, it is familiar and I don’t have an urge to go exploring..well not too much. It is my time to do the activities that bring my ENERGY, like play tennis, run, float in the ocean, watch sunsets and rainbows. This year I ran in the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival 5K that happened to take place while I was on island. A great way to connect with energy and community. It is my time to connect with COMMUNITY, see old friends and make new friends. I spent the day with a dear friend I journeyed through coach training with beginning in 2009 and she introduced me to one of her close friends who lives life fully. It is my time to try out some new ways of tapping into different paths of CREATIVITY. Earlier this year, I attended a webinar series offered by Leadership Learning Community series on liberatory practices. One session was called The Art of Repair, where we learned the practice of Sashiko. I had my kit and finally gave myself the space to play with it. It is my time to READ things that I have had sitting on my desk or bedside table all year. I have been following Valarie Kaur for several years. She wrote See No Stranger and just released her new book called Sage Warrior which explores the question: “How do we find the wisdom to envision a new world and the courage to fight for it?” It is also my time to REFLECT on business goals for the current year and make plans for the coming year. In 2024, we built some new programming, launched a series of Enneagram Offerings. It is a significant body of work and I am proud of what we created in partnership with Jayson Morris of WITHINSIGHTS. As I thought about 2025, what became clear is that Vista Global has done a lot of work with many incredible organizations and I could do a better job staying in touch. Therefore, my primary goal for 2025 is to RECONNECT with past clients to just see how you are doing. What is new? What do you want to celebrate? What are your challenges? If you are a recent client and you haven’t heard from me in a while, don’t be surprised if you see a note from me in the near future. I am looking forward to celebrating the work you do to make the world a better place. I’ll be in touch soon!
