Leading with Intention: Embracing a Holistic Approach to Executive Success

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Shveta Pillai, who is an executive and leadership coach and founder of Lead Style. Welcome.

Speaker3: Thanks, Lee. Great to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Can you share a little bit about lead style? How you serving folks?

Speaker3: Sure. So Lead Style is an executive coaching organization. This was really founded on the work that helps leaders define what I call a personal leadership lifestyle. That helps them to sustain their level of high performance.

Lee Kantor: Now, what’s your backstory? How’d you get involved in this line of work?

Speaker3: Well, you know, I’m a I’m a high performer. I probably have three chapters to my career. I worked in business development and sales, uh, for a little over seven years, and then went and joined property and casualty insurance and then had a seven year stint in consulting at Deloitte, working in the human capital practice. And there is when I really got that exposure to working with global leaders, and my role was to help leaders and their their teams enjoy change. And as you can imagine, how many people love change. So it was a lot of working pretty deep with executives who were going to have to lead a different way. Their kingdoms that they they ruled over within their organization were changing. And that caused a lot of angst among individuals as well as their own leadership. And so that catapulted me into executive coaching, which is where I’m at now.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you working primarily with individuals who raise their hand and say, hey, I need some help? Or are organizations or maybe boards or private equity firms or groups like that calling you in to kind of triage a situation?

Speaker3: I work with organizations and individuals who reach out to me. Most of my work, however, is with organizations, and they come to me not because there’s something remedial that needs to be addressed with the with their executives. And these, again, are people that are already performing at a very high level. These are individuals with who are consistently already delivering results. They carry a big responsibility. These are people that rely are relied upon to set the pace and solve those really tough problems and to keep those things moving forward. So there’s no remedial issue per se. What we want to make sure is that they can still stay in the game, and they can sustain themselves at that level. So these are organizations that look to me to work with their executive teams or their executive individuals to help them develop the capabilities and the ability to sustain that level of high performance.

Lee Kantor: Now, why are they concerned that they won’t be able to sustain this? Are you seeing some maybe, um, trends that maybe these high performing leaders are kind of getting burned out, or they might be kind of, uh, looking to leap to another opportunity? What? What are you seeing out there?

Speaker3: Yeah. I mean, you look at studies like Gallup just recently put out a report that said that less than half of adults across developed countries like Western Europe, North America, New Zealand, Australia are thriving. And that’s the lowest since 2020. And you then couple that with workplace trends that are showing that the leading one of the leading indicators as to why people are dissatisfied at work is this loss of purpose. And so, yes, I am seeing that with these demands that executives are are under this constant pressure, is that they’re also just feeling out of sync with work and their lives more broadly. Uh, and don’t get me wrong, these are individuals that are performing at a very high level. But you can see that there’s this it’s taking a toll. And that is where I come in.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you seeing is there just kind of a misalignment in priorities as kind of their age. And maybe they are getting more, uh, secure financially? Or are they just saying, hey, there has to be more than this particular thing I’m doing? Um, and then maybe they’ll take the leap to entrepreneurship like you did.

Speaker3: Yes. Uh, all of that, um, you’re hitting it right on, on spot. There is a misalignment. And, You know, sometimes it is jumping in from corporate into entrepreneurship and sometimes it’s just staying in the corporate game. You know, I, I was a corporate junkie for a very long time and a high performer at that. And I wish I had the perspective that I have now and the way that I coach my leaders. Uh, it is not ignoring that, you know, if Covid has taught us anything is that it’s not work in life. It’s not about balance, it’s about integration, and it’s about finding that alignment so that you are leaving, leading a an integrative lifestyle that allows you to, um, not burn out and not leave, you know, whether it’s staying in the corporate track or it’s staying in the nonprofit sector, which is taking a huge hit right now. And I work with a couple of leaders in the nonprofit sector, uh, within healthcare, you’re seeing that, um, where there is this high level of of uncertainty that is driving this, this kind of existential crisis, if you will, around, um, what’s my purpose?

Lee Kantor: So how do you help your clients kind of create this harmony between work and life? Like, is this go to the methodology of lead style.

Speaker3: It does, it does. And you know, a lot of, you know, lifestyle isn’t just about developing you as a leader. It’s developing the way that you live. And when you live better, you lead better. So a lot of development programs focus only on the professional side. I coach leaders through what I call the £0.03 framework professional, personal and physical. Because you can’t truly sustain success. You know, there’s a statistic out there that says that, you know, we we spend a third of our of our lives working. Well, you can’t sustain success if you ignore the other two thirds of your life. So when I’m working with executives, we’re very intentional about identifying what are their professional aspirations, whether it’s a promotion or it’s leading my team better or inspiring whatever that specific capability is, but also tying into what’s important to them personally. So we define goals in that space and then also in the physical, which has to do with their physical and mental well-being. Um, you know, I can give you an example. I just worked with the chief legal officer, just closed out this engagement, and he worked with a very large, uh, private entity that serves within the government sector. And when I when I met with him, he was just really, really overwhelmed. Um, he was on the brink of quitting, and he was probably one of the best chief legal officers organization had seen, which is why HR approached me to work with him. After about six months. We one of the things he walked away with was realizing that, you know, he needed he needed his jogs every morning. He was an avid runner, and that was getting lost in the fray of the professional commitments and the constant political barrage he was under at work and getting and before he was running. But he was taking phone calls from the CEO, and that was interrupting his ability to really leverage that physical P, if you will. That allowed him to lead at his best when he did get to work.

Lee Kantor: So then you helped him kind of elevate that to kind of a non-negotiable priority.

Speaker3: Exactly. And that was what was surprising for him, right? He was like, you know, I didn’t realize how important running was to me. And and look, I’m not a therapist. What I want, what I am, is someone who holds leaders to realize what’s intentionally drives them. What intentionally is a formula of success for them. You know, if I just come in as a coach and my process is only focused on developing their skills as a professional. Um, you know, delegation, communications, presence. It’s almost like it’s almost a disservice to them because that when we’re not embracing the other parts of who we are, that eventually will lead to that loss of focus, that performance fatigue, uh, that burnout.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re sharing kind of that philosophy with your clients, is that like an aha moment? Is that something like they can’t be all in in their work that they like? You’re giving them permission to kind of explore these other areas of their life in order to create this harmony.

Speaker3: You know, that’s a beautiful way to put it. Yes. I am giving them permission to bring those factors into the workspace. It doesn’t it doesn’t have to live outside of the workspace. You know this it’s interesting. I think, you know, when my business partner and I started this organization. My late business partner, she and I were both corporate junkies. And, you know, we had to be kind of when we when we presented this this way, this program, we didn’t want it to be all like soft and woo woo. And I’m here to kind of bring this existential process of living life. You know, we we wanted to be very practical. And I think that’s what when we, you know, talk about the three P’s. Um, at first they’re a little bit oh okay. This feels a little bit like therapy. But as we get into the process, people realize that there’s patterns that they’re seeing and how they’re professionally showing up that is tied to what’s personally important to them. Um, they’ll also notice patterns of like, you know, the fact that I eat, that I’m not eating well and that I’m eating at my desk or I’m skipping lunch, or I’m not getting that break to to pay attention to my health plays a factor in how they are showing up professionally. And, um, it’s, you know, it’s been interesting because I think Covid, of course, has helped the the understanding of why it’s important to, to not live in this like 50 over 50, like life is on one side, work is on the other. That it really is that integrative style that helps people be successful.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you deliver the coaching? Is it primarily one on one?

Speaker3: Uh, both one on one and in teams. So when I’m working with intact teams, uh, we will start with an experiential process that allows people to dig deep into those three areas. It’s interesting because I think when people start to see in a team within an intact team, you start to see what’s important to people outside. You start to, you know, bring that humanitarian aspect of of the people that you spend a third of your lifetime with, um, that it starts to build those, those deeper bonds. Um, and that connection that I think many people today in the world are, are craving. It starts to build that connection so that teams build deeper relationships, um, and can also better, better manage through the tough times that all teams experience at work.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you kind of, um, make it a safe space when you’re dealing with a team and not, um, kind of, well, protect the people that maybe aren’t as comfortable sharing with the other people in the group. Uh, in order to get each of them to where they need to be, and especially in a political dynamic, a lot of these organizations have.

Speaker3: Absolutely. Yeah. You know, I invoked the Vegas clause. You know, what stays in this room? What happens in this room, stays in this room. But also, you know, again, I think any good coach will say that you kind of know how far you can push each person that you work with. Um, I’m very candid with them about, you know, sharing what professionally they are aspiring to, to achieve. Um, but the personal and physical goals that they may have, they are can be very vague about and choose not to share that over time, you will see that when you’re working with teams over a course of 6 to 9 months, that they are more open to bringing that side, that vulnerability to the team. And that’s really important because when you don’t have that vulnerability, um, then you start to see things become very siloed. Um, distrust. And so making it comfortable is my job. Right. And and it’s also allowing you always find kind of 1 or 2 people that are willing to share. And I start with them. And when they start sharing, other people feel comfortable sharing as well. Um, I have not come across the breach of trust, um, within an intact group. Uh, but I am aware that can happen. And when that does happen, um, I know that that is going to be a role that I come in and quickly, um, mitigate.

Lee Kantor: Now, in your career, you’ve dealt with so many leaders, uh, over the course of your career, has there been an opportunity to kind of build community around all these leaders?

Speaker3: Um, it’s a great question, and I’m actually starting a leadership lifestyle podcast. Um, I’ve got that’s going to be focused on building that community so that people start to really look at, not don’t look at leadership as just one kind of authoritarian or autocratic, or that there is no one set definitions. And so yes, I am now looking to I already have a podcast that I started five years ago. Um, and so I’m using my learnings from that now to build community around those leaders that have embraced the the bespoke style of having your own personal leadership lifestyle.

Lee Kantor: And then so this will be an opportunity for the leaders to come on and share what they learned. But is there also an opportunity for the other leaders to interact with each other?

Speaker3: That’s the hope. That is the hope. Um, you know, I, I have some clients that I’ve been working with for many years now and you start to see kind of this, this, this leadership lifestyle take form and people actually talking about, well, you know, my, my, my personal P is really big right now. And, you know, I’m really focused on. My kids have left college. Um, and others will be like, well, my my one are still young. So my personal P is taken over right now. And it’s interesting because they’ll start talking in those terms. Um, so you do start to see with some of my long standing clients that culture that, that the lifestyle of way of, of leading, um, taking form across organizations that I’ve been with for some time.

Lee Kantor: Um, now you talk about your work, um, spotlighting AAPI women executives.

Speaker3: Yeah. So, um, about five years ago, um, you know, I was, I, I started a podcast called Identity Unveiled, uh, with another co-founder. And, you know, to be honest with you, this was a passion project that came at a time which was, you know, my, my business partner with Lead Style. She had passed away. Um, and identity unveiled became an outlet for me to express, um, you know, to go deep into a passion and kind of let coaching, let lifestyle breathe while I while I was able to, you know, focus on something that I was also passionate about. I’ve got two young girls, um, and, you know, growing up in Texas, I will say that there weren’t women that looked like me, um, in the executive ranks, or I didn’t really know them. I didn’t know what their story was. There were some. There was Connie Chung, there was. I don’t even know, another Indian woman. I’m South Asian. That was, um, that was at the top. And so I, I started this because I wanted to bring more representation and visibility to AAPI women that had made it to the executive ranks. Uh, there we we share stories about, you know, everything from the personal side of what it took to get to where they are. Um, you know, when leaders feel seen and heard, uh, for their full identity, I think that they can step into leadership more authentically. And that’s. I feel like that’s true for all of us. Um, AAPI women today make up less than 1% of promotions, from senior VP to C-suite. Um, and they’re they’re they’re the racial group that’s least likely to get promoted. And that’s really important for me to address and create a platform that brings visibility to these issues, um, to these women that have made it to the top so that, you know, inspires my girls when they’re ready to, uh, to get into the workforce.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. It’s always when you see somebody who’s done this before you, it kind of clears the path that. Okay, it’s possible this is not just something I’m imagining that could happen. This is something that can happen. I just have to kind of learn more and maybe follow their path a little.

Speaker3: Absolutely. And I kind of take that same approach with my work at Lead Style and the Leadership Lifestyle Podcast and creating that community. I think when you see people living their life and they are, you know, you see them as these successful executives living their life, you hope that it inspires others to not live in these bubbles that will eventually eat away at their success.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, any advice you would give a leader right now that’s hearing this? Is there some takeaway or piece of advice you would share that something they could be doing right now that would, um, maybe create some of that harmony that you talked about amongst the three P’s?

Speaker3: You know, my my advice is that success without sustainability isn’t real success. You can achieve every milestone and still feel empty if you’re misaligned when. So my advice is, is to really think long and hard about, you know, what is it that’s important to you personally and what are you doing to support your physical health? I think we you know, you can you can if you don’t have your health. I think what I’ve seen and have experienced with with losing my business partner, if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. And so be really intentional about about setting goals across those areas, but and not just set a goal, but why that’s important to you. I think we lose sight of that. I think we put a check mark behind. Okay. I worked out today. Great. Yeah. But what does that do for you? What’s important to you about that? And that starts to connect back to purpose. You you will start to see that what’s important to you personally, what’s important to you in your in your health is showing up in how you lead and what makes you a great leader today.

Lee Kantor: And is there a story you can share, maybe, of somebody you work with? Uh, don’t name the name or the organization, but maybe the problem they came to you with and how you were able to help them get to a new level.

Speaker3: Um, well, I think I shared a story about my chief legal officer. I’ll share a different one that I worked with the CFO. Um, you know, one of the issues that an issue, but one that she was a high performing, one of the best CFOs this organization had had as well. And she had been with the organization for about four and a half years. The reason that I worked was working with her was that there were a lot of, um, demands that were going to that she need to kind of change a little bit how she was inspiring her team. We also, you know, when we were working together, we I asked her, you know, personally, what did she want to work on? And her what she wanted to work on was buying less shoes. She had a closet of 600 shoes, and it was almost an obsession that she would buy a pair of shoes almost every week. And I said, okay, uh, physically, she was a she, you know, she ate well. She’s very healthy. She did Pilates. Um, so she just needed to sustain that. So as we’re working together, um, you know, we were we were talking about what it is, you know, is lacking the inspiration with her team.

Speaker3: What’s going on there? I, you know, we were talking through some tactics, and then I asked her about her shoes, and she said, I still keep buying the shoes. And I said, okay, What the realization she came to was that the shoes was a way of getting the inspiration and feeling valued, um, because there was something happening personally for her, uh, with her partner that wasn’t that she wasn’t getting the value there. Look, I’m no therapist, but, you know, I did recommend that she see one. And she did end up seeing, you know, working with her. And her husband ended up working with the therapist. But the realization that came out of that was that that she was seeking inspiration from something else, and she wasn’t present with what it is. That was really the root of the issue. And that helped her actually figure out how to deeply more connect with her team so that she could get to the root of what inspired them. And that was a lasting form of transformation, which has she has taken with her and continues to lead with.

Lee Kantor: So getting to the why, it really is the crux of a lot of things.

Speaker3: It is. It really is.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what is the best way to connect?

Speaker3: Um, you can connect with me on LinkedIn. You can also go to my website at wltx.com. Um, and reach out to me there. Um, and, uh, you know, send me an email and we can get started.

Lee Kantor: All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work, and we appreciate you.

Speaker3: Thank you. Lee, appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.