August 6, 2025 • 14 mins
In this solo episode of The Culture Coach Podcast, Wendy dives into a common but critical leadership crossroads: realizing that the leadership style, team structure, and culture that got you this far… may not be what gets you to your next level.
Inspired by a real coaching conversation with a new CEO, Wendy walks through the process of stepping into a broader, more strategic leadership role. She explores questions every senior leader should be asking themselves mid-year:
- Is my leadership philosophy still serving me and my team?
- Do my mission, vision, and core values still align with where we’re headed?
- Does my team have what they need—clarity, direction, support—to truly thrive?
- Am I showing up with the energy, intention, and strategy required for what’s next?
Wendy also shares practical ways to reset your leadership approach, reengage your team, and recalibrate your goals for the back half of 2025—so you don’t just finish the year strong, but with alignment and purpose.
Plus, get a sneak peek into her upcoming programs launching in September:
👉 The Empowered CEO™
👉 Free Culture Strategy Session – Aug 19
Whether you're a CEO stepping into a bigger role or an HR leader shaping the future of your culture, this episode is a timely reminder that growth requires evolution—and intentional leadership is the key.
____________________________
With 25+ years of leadership experience, spanning multiple roles across corporations and non-profits, I have gained a wealth of experience in understanding what makes organizations successful.
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https://culturecoachwendy.com/cultureaudit/
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https://culturecoachwendy.com/strategylab/
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https://culturecoachwendy.mykajabi.com/offers/zqP7fYvR/checkout
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:10):
You are listening to the Culture Coach Podcast.
This is the place where CEOs andpeople first leaders come to
boost productivity, extinguishburnout, and cultivate a vibrant
culture that reflects a fullyintegrated mission, vision, and
core values.
Get ready to take your cultureto the next level.
I am your host, Wendy Brand.
(00:34):
Welcome back to the CultureCoach Podcast.
I'm Wendy Brand, your host.
So excited to have you back.
And today is a solo episode,just me and you.
And I'm going to be talking alittle bit about a conversation
that I had with a client, and itgot me thinking just, you know,
the overall theme of what gotyou here won't get you there.
(00:57):
And I think for me, what itcaused, so I'll tell you the
situation.
So a client of mine in a new CEOrole was really struggling with
how to lead in the CEO role.
They'd been at the C-suite levelbefore, but the C CEO role is a
little different, as you know.
(01:18):
And so one of the things we wereworking on is helping her to
really look more strategicallyacross the organization.
Do some obviously focusing onculture and looking at how she
leads.
Like what is her leadershipphilosophy?
(01:39):
And in that conversation, youknow, we uncovered that her
leadership philosophypreviously, it was a lot of um,
you know, doing and leading.
So she had results that she wasresponsible for as a contributor
in her role previously andleading her team.
(02:04):
And now she has an opportunityto look more strategically,
decide where she wants to playto her strength.
Is she better at um, you know,going out and being that face of
the organization, or should shebe focused more on the marketing
(02:24):
and let her sales team step up?
We just we had a we really dugdeep into first of all her
strengths and then where shewanted to play.
And when we looked at that andlooked across the organization,
there were a couple things thatneeded to happen because she
(02:46):
couldn't lead the way she hadbefore.
She needed to broaden her um notnecessarily depth, right?
But um to stretch across theorganization and have that
holistic view.
And one of the first things wedid is we looked to make sure,
number one, that she had theright people in the right place
(03:08):
that allowed her to lead in animpactful, powerful way.
And then also for her team ofher leadership team to be living
to their best ability and toliving, leading in their
strengths as well.
And so it was over severaldifferent sessions where we dug
(03:32):
into defining what her strengthsare, defining where she wants to
lead, and then determining whather leadership philosophy is.
For example, how are decisionsgoing to be made?
How does she want decisions tobe made?
Should they, does everythingneed to roll through her?
Or to what level will other willthe leadership team be making
(03:56):
those decisions?
What what is what are the mostcritical things that need to
come across her desk, basically?
And so um we talked a lot aboutthat.
And then obviously, you know, inany organization, when the a new
leader steps in, the mission ofthe organization doesn't change,
but the vision may change.
(04:17):
And depending on whether youhave a board or not, that board
um oversight may request you tostay on that same vision, or you
may be a CEO coming in withbeing brought in to help make
changes and a vision change isrequired in order to scale and
grow the organization.
(04:39):
So looking at the vision anddeciding what needs to change,
are we still headed in the samedirection or do we need to make
some shifts?
And then believe it or not,looking at the core values.
Well, I don't believe corevalues need to change very
often.
I still think in a leadershipchangeover, there is value in
looking value, there's value inlooking at the core values again
(05:03):
and making sure that as theleader of the, as the new leader
of the organization, do youstill expect people to behave in
the same way that they didbefore under the previous
leadership?
So even if the vision doesn'tchange, do the behaviors that
(05:24):
roll up to your core values needto change?
Is there a value or two thatmight need to change?
And if your vision is changing,you definitely need to look at
those values and make sure thatit's going to get you where you
need to be.
And so what got you here won'tnecessarily get you there.
(05:48):
I think it's such a great um,it's a it's a good time in the
year as we're heading up thebackside of 2025 and looking
back on where we've been so farthis year, really taking
inventory on what's beenworking, what hasn't been
working, what goals have we met,what goals may have been too
(06:10):
much of a stretch.
And if we're still being heldaccountable for those goals,
what needs to change now inorder to get us there?
Because if what you've done inthe first half of the year
didn't work, maybe somethingneeds to be reprioritized.
But if it's if something isn'tworking, you have to look at
(06:31):
changing, pivoting.
And, you know, there is umthere's pivoting and there's
iterating.
And if you're going to iterateon something, the goal's not
changing, but maybe you'reslightly tweaking how you're
getting things done.
But if the goal needs to changeand you need to pivot, it may
require a whole new direction.
(06:53):
And so I just encourage you tothink about where you're headed
in the second half of 2025.
And is what got you here goingto get you there to the end of
the year, meeting and achievingthose goals that you've set for
yourself, for your team, foryour organization.
(07:14):
It's also a good time to checkin with your team and make sure
they're still aligned with thevision and the goals that you've
set.
Because what can happen ishalfway through the year, maybe
priorities shifted, as I'm sureat least one did.
And they may be off running on atrack that they believe is still
(07:35):
a priority.
But meanwhile, months ago, youknow, you discussed it with the
board or you discussed it withone or two of your leaders,
which I've seen happen with someof the leaders that I work with,
where there's a couple of yourleadership team that you may go
to, but then the rest of theleadership team wasn't made
aware.
And so if you're making a pivoton a goal or a strategy that the
(07:58):
rest of the organization isfollowing you on and you're
leading in that direction, butyou've decided to pivot, just
make sure that the rest of theorganization is aware.
And then I'll say too, as aleader, look at your leadership
philosophy.
(08:19):
Check in with yourself on howyou're leading.
So, not just the goals, but howare you bringing what what is
the level?
What is the energy level thatyou're bringing to work every
day?
Do you feel just kind of beatdown and exhausted halfway
through the year that youprobably should have taken a
(08:41):
break this summer, um, butdidn't get to for one reason or
another?
Really take stock of how you'refeeling, what your energy level
is, and what you might need toreset or regroup in order to
push forward to the next level.
One of the things that I'mlaunching in September for CEOs
(09:04):
specifically, I actually have anHR program that launches in
September and a CEO program, butthe program for CEOs, the
empowered CEO, we're going to bedigging into what is your
leadership philosophy?
Where are you headed?
Where do you need to stop andrecalibrate?
And then as we move into 2026,thinking strategically about
(09:29):
where you want to go with yourleadership style, with your team
dynamics, and even with cultureas a whole in your organization.
So that's something that you cando as well.
Um, you can join us, obviously,or do that on your own.
Really start planning for maybeSeptember or October to schedule
(09:52):
some time to put aside where youreally take a couple steps back,
check in with where you are andwhere you're headed as you move
into Q4 and as you prepare for2026.
Now's the time to think aboutthese things.
I know we're just a little overhalfway through the year, but
it's just always a good time tostop, do a gut check, and then
(10:14):
move forward.
So if you check in with yourselfand see what might need to shift
to get you to a new place by theend of the year or moving into
2026, you've looked at theorganization, what might need to
change, what roles might need tochange, mission, vision, core
values.
Is everything still aligned?
(10:35):
The other thing to look atreally are your team, the team
dynamics and individuals.
Depending on when you doperformance assessments and how
you look at performance in yourorganization, one of the things
that I've experienced in movingleadership roles is the team
(10:56):
that you inherit and theexpectations that you have of
them, that there may be somelimiting beliefs that you have
about your team and what they'reable to accomplish.
And so before you grow in thetowel, now's a great time to
really make sure that for yourfor your team that you are being
(11:20):
clear on expectations, makingsure that they understand what
is expected of them, how youexpect it to be done, whether
that's through an assessment ora one-on-one that you do every
other week, make sure thatthey're clear on expectations so
that when you get to the end ofthe year or whenever your
(11:40):
assessment period is, they'repretty clear on whether they've
been living up to expectationsor not.
You've probably heard it saidthat performance shouldn't be,
nothing should be a surprisewhen it comes to review time.
It's something, it'sconversations that have should
have already been had.
And even as much as asking fordevelopment plans or a work
(12:08):
plan, how they're going to, ifthey're falling behind, what
they're going to do to makethose, make the necessary
changes to get to where theyneed to be.
Because what got them here maynot get them there.
There may be development needed.
There may be additional skillsthat are needed.
So make sure you check in anddon't just assume that they're
(12:31):
not doing the work the way thatyou would want them to do it
because they don't want to orthey're rebelling or whatever
reason may be in your head.
Make sure that you are clear onexpectations, finding out why
they're not getting things donethe way you want them done, or
to the level that you'd likethem, and then giving them the
(12:53):
opportunity to remove anybarriers that they believe are
there, whether that's additionaldevelopment or coaching or even
shadowing other individuals thatare doing those activities well.
Make sure that you're equippingyour team to get their job done.
That's it.
(13:13):
I, you know, I think to sum itup, I love to change.
I love, I love change and I lovegrowth.
And so I think that's why forme, when I think about what got
me here won't get me there, itkind of checks a couple boxes
for me.
It means that I've got higheraspirations and goals, that I'm
looking forward and continuingto evolve as a person, as a
(13:38):
leader, as a worker.
And we should all aspire tocontinue to grow and learn and
change because otherwise, whatare we here for?
That's it.
I hope this has been helpful.
Hang in there, keep working onyour culture, be intentional
about your leadership, aboutyour culture, and it'll all work
(14:00):
out.
Thanks so much for listening.
And if you want to learn moreabout my programs launching in
September, the Empowered CEO,you can find that at
culturecoachwendy.com forwardslash CEO.
And join us for a free culturestrategy session on August 19th
to learn more about the cultureprogram that's also starting in
(14:21):
September.
Thanks so much.
You are listening to the Culture Coach Podcast.
This is the place where CEOs andpeople first leaders come to
boost productivity, extinguishburnout, and cultivate a vibrant
culture that reflects a fullyintegrated mission, vision, and
core values.
Get ready to take your cultureto the next level.
I am your host, Wendy Brand.
(00:34):
Welcome back to the CultureCoach Podcast.
I'm Wendy Brand, your host.
So excited to have you back.
And today is a solo episode,just me and you.
And I'm going to be talking alittle bit about a conversation
that I had with a client, and itgot me thinking just, you know,
the overall theme of what gotyou here won't get you there.
(00:57):
And I think for me, what itcaused, so I'll tell you the
situation.
So a client of mine in a new CEOrole was really struggling with
how to lead in the CEO role.
They'd been at the C-suite levelbefore, but the C CEO role is a
little different, as you know.
(01:18):
And so one of the things we wereworking on is helping her to
really look more strategicallyacross the organization.
Do some obviously focusing onculture and looking at how she
leads.
Like what is her leadershipphilosophy?
(01:39):
And in that conversation, youknow, we uncovered that her
leadership philosophypreviously, it was a lot of um,
you know, doing and leading.
So she had results that she wasresponsible for as a contributor
in her role previously andleading her team.
(02:04):
And now she has an opportunityto look more strategically,
decide where she wants to playto her strength.
Is she better at um, you know,going out and being that face of
the organization, or should shebe focused more on the marketing
(02:24):
and let her sales team step up?
We just we had a we really dugdeep into first of all her
strengths and then where shewanted to play.
And when we looked at that andlooked across the organization,
there were a couple things thatneeded to happen because she
(02:46):
couldn't lead the way she hadbefore.
She needed to broaden her um notnecessarily depth, right?
But um to stretch across theorganization and have that
holistic view.
And one of the first things wedid is we looked to make sure,
number one, that she had theright people in the right place
(03:08):
that allowed her to lead in animpactful, powerful way.
And then also for her team ofher leadership team to be living
to their best ability and toliving, leading in their
strengths as well.
And so it was over severaldifferent sessions where we dug
(03:32):
into defining what her strengthsare, defining where she wants to
lead, and then determining whather leadership philosophy is.
For example, how are decisionsgoing to be made?
How does she want decisions tobe made?
Should they, does everythingneed to roll through her?
Or to what level will other willthe leadership team be making
(03:56):
those decisions?
What what is what are the mostcritical things that need to
come across her desk, basically?
And so um we talked a lot aboutthat.
And then obviously, you know, inany organization, when the a new
leader steps in, the mission ofthe organization doesn't change,
but the vision may change.
(04:17):
And depending on whether youhave a board or not, that board
um oversight may request you tostay on that same vision, or you
may be a CEO coming in withbeing brought in to help make
changes and a vision change isrequired in order to scale and
grow the organization.
(04:39):
So looking at the vision anddeciding what needs to change,
are we still headed in the samedirection or do we need to make
some shifts?
And then believe it or not,looking at the core values.
Well, I don't believe corevalues need to change very
often.
I still think in a leadershipchangeover, there is value in
looking value, there's value inlooking at the core values again
(05:03):
and making sure that as theleader of the, as the new leader
of the organization, do youstill expect people to behave in
the same way that they didbefore under the previous
leadership?
So even if the vision doesn'tchange, do the behaviors that
(05:24):
roll up to your core values needto change?
Is there a value or two thatmight need to change?
And if your vision is changing,you definitely need to look at
those values and make sure thatit's going to get you where you
need to be.
And so what got you here won'tnecessarily get you there.
(05:48):
I think it's such a great um,it's a it's a good time in the
year as we're heading up thebackside of 2025 and looking
back on where we've been so farthis year, really taking
inventory on what's beenworking, what hasn't been
working, what goals have we met,what goals may have been too
(06:10):
much of a stretch.
And if we're still being heldaccountable for those goals,
what needs to change now inorder to get us there?
Because if what you've done inthe first half of the year
didn't work, maybe somethingneeds to be reprioritized.
But if it's if something isn'tworking, you have to look at
(06:31):
changing, pivoting.
And, you know, there is umthere's pivoting and there's
iterating.
And if you're going to iterateon something, the goal's not
changing, but maybe you'reslightly tweaking how you're
getting things done.
But if the goal needs to changeand you need to pivot, it may
require a whole new direction.
(06:53):
And so I just encourage you tothink about where you're headed
in the second half of 2025.
And is what got you here goingto get you there to the end of
the year, meeting and achievingthose goals that you've set for
yourself, for your team, foryour organization.
(07:14):
It's also a good time to checkin with your team and make sure
they're still aligned with thevision and the goals that you've
set.
Because what can happen ishalfway through the year, maybe
priorities shifted, as I'm sureat least one did.
And they may be off running on atrack that they believe is still
(07:35):
a priority.
But meanwhile, months ago, youknow, you discussed it with the
board or you discussed it withone or two of your leaders,
which I've seen happen with someof the leaders that I work with,
where there's a couple of yourleadership team that you may go
to, but then the rest of theleadership team wasn't made
aware.
And so if you're making a pivoton a goal or a strategy that the
(07:58):
rest of the organization isfollowing you on and you're
leading in that direction, butyou've decided to pivot, just
make sure that the rest of theorganization is aware.
And then I'll say too, as aleader, look at your leadership
philosophy.
(08:19):
Check in with yourself on howyou're leading.
So, not just the goals, but howare you bringing what what is
the level?
What is the energy level thatyou're bringing to work every
day?
Do you feel just kind of beatdown and exhausted halfway
through the year that youprobably should have taken a
(08:41):
break this summer, um, butdidn't get to for one reason or
another?
Really take stock of how you'refeeling, what your energy level
is, and what you might need toreset or regroup in order to
push forward to the next level.
One of the things that I'mlaunching in September for CEOs
(09:04):
specifically, I actually have anHR program that launches in
September and a CEO program, butthe program for CEOs, the
empowered CEO, we're going to bedigging into what is your
leadership philosophy?
Where are you headed?
Where do you need to stop andrecalibrate?
And then as we move into 2026,thinking strategically about
(09:29):
where you want to go with yourleadership style, with your team
dynamics, and even with cultureas a whole in your organization.
So that's something that you cando as well.
Um, you can join us, obviously,or do that on your own.
Really start planning for maybeSeptember or October to schedule
(09:52):
some time to put aside where youreally take a couple steps back,
check in with where you are andwhere you're headed as you move
into Q4 and as you prepare for2026.
Now's the time to think aboutthese things.
I know we're just a little overhalfway through the year, but
it's just always a good time tostop, do a gut check, and then
(10:14):
move forward.
So if you check in with yourselfand see what might need to shift
to get you to a new place by theend of the year or moving into
2026, you've looked at theorganization, what might need to
change, what roles might need tochange, mission, vision, core
values.
Is everything still aligned?
(10:35):
The other thing to look atreally are your team, the team
dynamics and individuals.
Depending on when you doperformance assessments and how
you look at performance in yourorganization, one of the things
that I've experienced in movingleadership roles is the team
(10:56):
that you inherit and theexpectations that you have of
them, that there may be somelimiting beliefs that you have
about your team and what they'reable to accomplish.
And so before you grow in thetowel, now's a great time to
really make sure that for yourfor your team that you are being
(11:20):
clear on expectations, makingsure that they understand what
is expected of them, how youexpect it to be done, whether
that's through an assessment ora one-on-one that you do every
other week, make sure thatthey're clear on expectations so
that when you get to the end ofthe year or whenever your
(11:40):
assessment period is, they'repretty clear on whether they've
been living up to expectationsor not.
You've probably heard it saidthat performance shouldn't be,
nothing should be a surprisewhen it comes to review time.
It's something, it'sconversations that have should
have already been had.
And even as much as asking fordevelopment plans or a work
(12:08):
plan, how they're going to, ifthey're falling behind, what
they're going to do to makethose, make the necessary
changes to get to where theyneed to be.
Because what got them here maynot get them there.
There may be development needed.
There may be additional skillsthat are needed.
So make sure you check in anddon't just assume that they're
(12:31):
not doing the work the way thatyou would want them to do it
because they don't want to orthey're rebelling or whatever
reason may be in your head.
Make sure that you are clear onexpectations, finding out why
they're not getting things donethe way you want them done, or
to the level that you'd likethem, and then giving them the
(12:53):
opportunity to remove anybarriers that they believe are
there, whether that's additionaldevelopment or coaching or even
shadowing other individuals thatare doing those activities well.
Make sure that you're equippingyour team to get their job done.
That's it.
(13:13):
I, you know, I think to sum itup, I love to change.
I love, I love change and I lovegrowth.
And so I think that's why forme, when I think about what got
me here won't get me there, itkind of checks a couple boxes
for me.
It means that I've got higheraspirations and goals, that I'm
looking forward and continuingto evolve as a person, as a
(13:38):
leader, as a worker.
And we should all aspire tocontinue to grow and learn and
change because otherwise, whatare we here for?
That's it.
I hope this has been helpful.
Hang in there, keep working onyour culture, be intentional
about your leadership, aboutyour culture, and it'll all work
(14:00):
out.
Thanks so much for listening.
And if you want to learn moreabout my programs launching in
September, the Empowered CEO,you can find that at
culturecoachwendy.com forwardslash CEO.
And join us for a free culturestrategy session on August 19th
to learn more about the cultureprogram that's also starting in
(14:21):
September.
Thanks so much.
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