Nicki Weiss, PCC, CPCC, CSP
Founder and President
Health. Courage. Collaboration. Purpose.
I worked for years in a variety of organizations where I often felt anxious, lonely, sad or confused. Was I doing a good job? I rarely got coached or was given feedback, so how would I know? Sales numbers were the only measure of success, and I found this and the relentless pitting of people against each other soul-destroying.
Was I just working so that someone else could profit? What was my bigger purpose? Did my work make a difference? Because the organizations I worked in were siloed, I had trouble seeing a line of sight between my work and the bigger picture. This environment made it challenging for me to consistently do my best work.
I kept these feelings and questions to myself until I left corporate life for an entrepreneurial one. In 2002, I founded SalesWise. When I started sharing my experiences of work, I discovered I wasn’t alone. Many other people also felt anxious, lonely, sad and confused, with the same impact on their work performance.
I’ve been a person who, at different points in my life, hated my job, and at other times loved my job. I know that there’s a big difference. When you hate your job, it has a chilling effect on your entire life. When you love your job, it has a ripple effect on everyone around you. Your whole life lights up.
SalesWise is dedicated to partnering with leaders and their teams who want to transform their culture into one where real interconnections take place, so that everyone can do their best work every day, and more easily make a difference to each other and to their customers.
What I Believe
There are a number of beliefs that inform who I am and how I work with leaders and their teams. I believe that:
- From struggle comes transformation…it’s a journey.
- People want to feel they belong to something bigger than themselves.
- People want to understand their purpose so they can intentionally make a difference in their own life and in the lives of others.
- Ongoing learning is THE competitive edge.
- When teams create a “brave space” together, they create the psychological safety required for people to be vulnerable, speak up, and have courageous and authentic conversations.
- Leading from strengths is exciting, productive, and fulfilling. Trying to shore up weaknesses is exhausting and unproductive.
- Asking for help is a courageous act. No one needs to be alone.
- Things always work out. Eventually.
- Taking time to pause, reflect and renew is an essential practice of leadership.
The Sparks That Inform My Leadership
- I love learning in communities and in small groups.
- My family is my most important community.
- As a mom, my two children have taken me on journeys I’ve wanted to go on, and journeys I really didn’t want to go on. I go on all of them and learn from them all. And I thank them every day for being who they are.
- I need partners in order to be my best self. My husband and I are opposites who have created love, stability and a strong foundation.
- I seek partnerships in whatever I do – with colleagues, clients, friendships, projects, action. I am a good partner.
- I love action and forward motion.
- Health is my top value. This extends to healthy relationships, physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and financial health, and the health of our environment.
- Bioleadership is a helpful perspective. We can learn about leadership and healthy functioning from the natural world. As a hobby beekeeper and environmentalist, I see connections, processes and practices in nature that inform how we can lead and live well.
- I am a friendly introvert. I need time alone to reflect, consider, create and renew. Reflection is a powerful leadership practice.
- As a Board Chair, I often feel out of my depth as a leader. The previous Board Chair told me he felt the same way, which normalized for me how leadership is experienced by many. Leadership can be like driving at night in a thick fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. I’m always looking for a spark of a lit sign that says, “Go this way.” It helps.
- Leadership is about taking responsibility for developing yourself and others, and for bringing out the best in people and experiences. I try.
- I renew my spirit when I am outside, in motion, preferably in nature. This helps me imagine new possibilities with bolder action.
- My strengths are:
Maximizer, Self-Assurance, Individualization, Relator, Arranger, Achiever, Connectedness