Community Spotlight: Katherine Krantz on Being Vulnerable Through Startup
I’m incredibly excited to blog about my experience as part of the Women Taking the Lead community. This dynamic group has enriched my views on career and leadership and inspired me with amazing stories of women pushing forward to make their dreams a reality.
I first met Jodi when I was preparing to quit my unfulfilling finance job to launch a business focused on educating women about money and enabling them to take control of their financial futures. I followed through on my plan to quit, but never followed through on starting my business.
My biggest stumbling block was aiming for perfection
I wanted to launch a company functioning as if it was mature instead of taking the first step. I suffered from analysis-paralysis and it left me with a dwindling savings account, no business, and a feeling of failure.
Recently I regrouped and started a new job. It’s a role that affords me the ability to learn new sales skills and support myself yet still have the time and opportunity to work on my original goal of educating woman about money.
Women Taking the Lead has inspired me to finally move forward on my goal of founding Zenith Partners for Financial Education instead of becoming complacent with a steady paycheck.
There are three important lessons I’ve learned from the podcast and the community that have helped me refocus on my dream.
First, just begin.
Everything in life happens step by step, not all at once. Waiting for every “T” to be crossed and “I” dotted leads to a whole lot of procrastination and not a lot of progress.
It’s necessary to plan, but at some point you need to get in the game and off of the bench. Every day and every experience leads to new ideas so by not engaging with your target community you are leaving opportunities on the table.
Every single person I have talked to about my business idea has been supportive and some have even volunteered to back my venture monetarily but I still didn’t move forward. I’ve learned that we must take decisive action in order for results to materialize.
Second, be vulnerable.
The stories I most enjoy reading and hearing are those of women who have overcome challenges and made mistakes, yet revealing my own stumbles has proven difficult.
We are our own worst critics, and no one is judging our shortcomings as harshly as we are ourselves.
Get out there and share because you never know who will be inspired by common challenges. Perfection is not very appealing.
Finally, the interpretation of our circumstances is our choice.
It’s easy to let the challenging circumstances we’ve experienced provide an excuse for why not to act, but those who act despite these challenges are the true leaders. I have let the “if only” game hold me back on many occasions, but the truth is that our own worst case scenario is likely someone else’s “if only.”
3 Valuable Leadership Lessons
As I move toward my goals, I’m also reflecting on the leadership lessons I’ve gleaned from people who have inspired me throughout my career. These are three of the leadership tips I think are most valuable.
One, if you’re the smartest person on your team, build a better team.
The weakest leaders I’ve worked with are those who surround themselves with people who are less knowledgeable than themselves in an effort to boost their own egos.
In contract, the best leaders are those people who know their weaknesses and fill the gaps by hiring teammates with complementary skills. This type of team empowers all of its members by encouraging meaningful contributions.
My belief is that a rising tide lifts all boats.
Two, the best leaders provide vision and guidance toward a goal but not the exact road map to get there.
The best way to empower people is to trust their decision making and insights. Taking away personal power by micromanaging the details ultimately backfires. It creates resentment and misaligned priorities as people adopt a self-preservation mindset.
If you surround yourself with the right team, then let them stretch their wings and lift everyone higher.
Finally, there are no dumb questions – don’t censor yourself.
Countless times in my early career I had a question I wanted to ask but stopped myself for fear of looking dumb, only to have someone else ask and been told it was a great question.
If you don’t understand, keep asking. Click to Tweet!
Chances are many other people are thinking the same thing but not raising their hands and you’ll be leading the charge.
Sharing experiences is an invaluable way to grow exponentially both in life and work.
Thank you Women Taking the Lead for providing a resource-rich platform for all of us to expand our horizons.
Katherine Krantz is the founder of Zenith Partners, a financial coaching practice designed to help women acquire the knowledge and skills they need to control their financial futures. She was inspired to start Zenith by her 20 years of experience in the finance and investment industry, where she repeatedly saw that the approach of traditional firms didn’t always align with women’s needs. Katherine is the co-author of “The Era of Uncertainty: Global Investment Strategies for Inflation, Deflation, and the Middle Ground” published by Wiley & Sons in August 2011. In her free time she enjoys boxing, running, dancing, reading, writing and long walks with her dog, Jack, in Central Park.
Katherine can be reached at katherine@ourzenith.com or www.ourzenith.com
Resources
Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.
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