Don't Wait for Someone Else to Fix It

CHAPTER FOURKnow Your Real Self

As the 30‐year‐old CEO and owner of Destination Services, a company that designed and managed corporate events for Fortune 500 companies, Kathy Fort Carty knew she still had plenty to learn. Having moved to Vail, Colorado, after college to live the ski bum lifestyle and help friends start their own company, Kathy decided to buy her own business from a local entrepreneur who wanted to move to a warmer locale. Only 23 years old at the time, Kathy borrowed $5,000 from her parents, then used $2,500 to buy the firm and kept $2,500 as a cash reserve. Fast forward seven years and thousands of exhausting hours later, Destination Services was now grossing over $2.5 million in annual revenue. As a college grad and former student athlete, Kathy was no stranger to hard work. But she had no formal business training. Kathy had learned everything she knew about growing her firm on the job.

Realizing she needed to bring a more formal structure to the business for it to grow, Kathy hired a human resources (HR) consultant to help evaluate her leadership. Kathy brought the entire company together for a full‐day retreat with the HR consultant. The first thing the consultant did was pose a question to Kathy's employees: “What don't you like about Kathy's leadership style?” Kathy gulped. She had no idea the day would start this way. The consultant asked each employee to write their answers on the whiteboard at the front of the room. Kathy sat on pins and needles, ...