Hi! Karina here...
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For 20 years, I taught leadership communication. My thing was helping new managers take their lowest performers and turn them into some of their best employees, just by having real, honest conversations.
After every workshop, I’d hand out my contact info because I wanted to know if people actually used what I taught and if it worked. I loved getting those calls—hearing the success stories made my job feel so worth it.
One time, I got this call from a manager...
and honestly, it almost made me cry. She told me she was sent to my training as a last resort because her team complained that she “talked at them” and never listened.
During the training, I said, “Linda, do me a favor. Book a meeting with each of your employees and ask them this one question: What’s the one thing you wish I understood about you or your work right now?”
She did it, and she said it completely changed the way she managed.
Her team started opening up, the communication just flowed, and her own manager took her off probation because the feedback from her employees was so good. I mean, how amazing is that?
I loved training people like that, but here’s the thing—I hated chasing clients.
Sure, I got referrals, but like every consultant, I always needed new clients in the pipeline. And as a single mom with two little kids, I didn’t have the time or energy for endless networking events, social media posting, or business mixers. Just thinking about it made me wiped me out.
