Stepping Into Leadership With Debbie Garcia
This week on the Leadership After Hours podcast I had the pleasure of interviewing entrepreneur and CEO Debbie Garcia! Debbie has a myriad of experience from journalism to sales, she has done it all! Her success in a variety of roles gave her the opportunity to design a life she loved. Realizing her passion for leading others she founded a virtual site tour company Virsitours! Here are my two biggest takeaways from this insightful conversation:
You can build a company and a career to fit your lifestyle. We often talk about how to be better at our jobs but what about making our jobs and businesses better suit us? Debbie discussed how her need to work from home shifted what she wanted in a job as well as what she needed as an event planner. She needed the ability to tour sites remotely and knew that most likely other people had the same needs. Creating a company around the needs she experienced as a consumer ensured she was filling a need in the marketplace as well as making something she could sustain as a career.
You will inevitably get in your own way. Be aware of it and delegate tasks that are not an efficient use of your time or not your strong suit! Debbie was successful working in tech sales prior to founding her company. However, a hard realization she faced as an entrepreneur was that she was too close to her product to be able to sell it objectively and effectively.
This is a key element I see missing with the many of leaders I work with. Wanting to maintain control of the product or process inevitably inhibits growth. Debbie spent too much time working in the business instead of on the business. By admitting she is unable to remain objective when it came to her own products she was able to get out of her own way and develop a successful sales team. Furthermore, that allowed her to do what she enjoys most: leading others.
As leaders, at some point or another we will all get in our own way. We are also highly dedicated individuals that most likely spend too much time trying to fit the existing standards of our job or role. This conversation with Debbie is a crucial reminder that we can build a career to fit our lifestyle and not the other way around. It was also a critical reminder that sometimes we can inhibit our own success. To find out what led Debbie to these realizations and how she overcame them be sure to listen to the full episode out now wherever you get your podcasts!
-Sean Patton
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