Speaker 1 00:00:05 Hey there, thoughtful listener. Are you looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers and clients? Well, I've had private conversations with over 2000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from. I've got a free video you can watch with no opt in required, where I'll share the exact steps necessary to be 100% inbound in your industry over the next 6 to 8 months, with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for over 15 years, and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies. Just head to up my influence. Com and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments. Also, don't forget the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for great guests. Go to up my influence. Com and click on podcast. I'd love to have you. With us right now it's Carissa Boyce. Carissa, you are a fractional CEO and fractional CSO. You are found on the web at Chris Carissa Z boyce.com. The spelling for that to our friend that's listening.

Speaker 1 00:01:22 Just click run in your podcast app. We have a direct link so that you can follow along. But Chris we've got you right here now. Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 2 00:01:30 Thank you for having me. I'm excited for us to talk.

Speaker 1 00:01:32 Yeah. Well, give us an overview of the work you do. And let me tell you, I think that there are a lot of visionaries. There are a lot of founders out there, that if they only knew how amazing it could be to have a full fledged, you know, fractional CEO or someone helping with that side of the company. I'm biased because I have someone in my corner, and I could tell you I could not imagine doing this without her. But Chris, I would love to hear your impact in the world from your perspective for sure.

Speaker 2 00:02:05 So it's interesting. I got into the space, in a really fascinating sort of way. So I started off my career in marketing and branding, and I worked for large fashion companies for the beginning part of my 20s.

Speaker 2 00:02:15 In my early 30s, I parlayed that through an interesting chain of events to doing executive coaching and then some corporate consulting. And what I realized in some in the executive coaching and corporate consulting world is that it focused a lot on culture and more of the soft skills, which is very important, but you can't actually impact a company without supporting organizations. And creating infrastructure and infrastructure is not sexy. Nothing about it is like HR process, you know? Yay! It updates like none of it is sexy, but it all but it all works together. So in order to really help an executive or a founder of a company be able to level up their organization and their leadership, you have to be able to work in tandem and also support on the operations side and the infrastructure side and through, you know, so through various chain of events. Here we are. so what I do now is I do fractional work, on the operations, HR and strategy side. And then also I do executive coaching as well as culture work.

Speaker 2 00:03:14 So I really just depends on what a client is needing, which way we're going to kind of enter the conversation. And it all kind of blends together. So one of the things I like about what I do that's different from just a coach or a consultant is that I'm like really embedded in the business and I'm able to toggle between dealing with is something a personality challenge or a culture issue, or is it truly an infrastructure or process problem that I can help solve? So it's pretty dynamic in that way.

Speaker 1 00:03:41 Yeah. by the way, I'm still kind of giggling to myself about, you know, and I'm sure and I hope I don't know, I don't know what they would be thinking, but, you know, to someone to brand their CEO work or HR work, we make operations and HR sexy.

Speaker 2 00:03:57 I mean, if you could.

Speaker 3 00:03:59 No no no, no, don't do that. Yeah.

Speaker 1 00:04:02 so so tell me a bit, you know, here we are kind of getting into the second half of 2024.

Speaker 1 00:04:09 what are some of the major trends that you are seeing in people, leadership in operations? you know, certainly as we start to get into the HR side of things, what are the big things that that leaders should be aware of that are happening right now?

Speaker 2 00:04:27 the first thing is the shift of the importance of Dei. So we spent the last few years, during the pandemic really focusing on this concept of diversity and ensuring that we had diverse cultures and that we were educated in the space. And what's happened now, it's it's it's sort of pivoted where it's less about this like additional thing that we do, and it's more about how we embed Dei and be belonging practices into our day to day. And it's also morphed Appropriately so, from it being just a conversation on race and gender to a conversation around abilities, neuro divergence, cultural, almost intelligence around working with people from different countries, and different different ethnic backgrounds. So it's taken on a different form, and it's a really important component of how people hire, how they source talent, how they work with vendors, and then also how they start to figure out a way to maintain morale.

Speaker 2 00:05:21 Because in the newer generations coming up, they really do care about this idea of an inclusive world and less about it being, around. Do we just have like a diverse workforce? But can people bring their whole authentic selves to work? And how do we create a sense of belonging? And that's like a lot of things that I just said that are very complex and companies are dealing with that require usually an upheaval of some of the policies and practices that we have put into place traditionally. But also for anyone that's building a company right now, it's really requiring them to be very nimble when it comes to their HR practices and their operations practices. Because if you think about it, if you're hiring someone that has an ability challenge or maybe is neurodivergent in some way and they have A.D.D., they can't sit in an office and concentrate. They need to be standing at a standing desk or with music on so that they can move around like that changes the work setting and the work dynamic. So all these things are coming into play in a, in a bigger way in the work force.

Speaker 2 00:06:21 And the one thing I will say about this too, sorry, I know it's one little point. Yeah, there's some interesting studies about how, more and more people in their 40s are getting diagnosed with ADHD or an ADHD. And the reason for that, we didn't have all the testing back in the day. So now we have testing people. Oh, this is what's up. This is and so there. So it's not only people who are younger who are coming into the workforce. It's adjusting for your current workforce that's dealing with, oh, I didn't have the right practices in place to be my best self at work. And now I need to I need to reconfigure that. So what's happening is the way that we lead people and the people that are leading people are also shifting their approaches. So it's pretty complex.

Speaker 1 00:07:01 You share just a little bit more about the real world consequences of assuming everybody is a square peg and they, you know, and so therefore we're just going to shove all of these.

Speaker 1 00:07:13 If I'm a leader, I think all of my team members are square pegs and I'm going to treat them the same. like there are real world consequences to that, you know, along with that. And I'd invite you to kind of because it's my show and I'm a I'm a proponent and fan of Dei. I think, you know, when, you know, just, you know, when our teams match that of the world, when they match that of our customer, when they match that of our audiences, I feel like we're less prone to blind spots. I feel like we're so much more, you know, not siloing ourselves or putting ourselves in an echo chamber. When we reach out and try to get those disparate voices, it just makes much richer cultures in my standpoint. It's my show. So I'm going to take a little, take a little soapbox time there. I would love if you could share maybe just a bit on from your perspective. And part of this. Yes, it is a little retaliatory because I'm so frustrated that some folks have politicized something that should not be politicized.

Speaker 1 00:08:22 and again, what we're talking about is just fundamental to who we are as a population. All right. Sorry. That's enough of me. You're the you're the guest here.

Speaker 3 00:08:32 I like.

Speaker 2 00:08:33 It keep. Bring it on, I like it. so your original question, I think, was like, what are the real world consequences of it all?

Speaker 3 00:08:40 Yes.

Speaker 2 00:08:41 And and the real world consequence of it all is that there are a lot of friction points inside of an organization. We do not understand people's preferences or styles. And I talk about this a lot in my coaching when I'm working one on one with clients. When you're thinking about what it means to be a great employee or be a good leader, you're thinking about three primary things. We're thinking about someone's performance or skill set, their aptitude, their abilities, their willingness to grow and learn, their growth mindset. Then you're thinking about their personality like, are they a good culture fit? Like, do they vibe with people? Do they command respect or are they motivational? Do they get good rapport, etc.? Are they credible? And then there's another key I love alliteration, I'm big fan, so I use this other p what I call preferences.

Speaker 2 00:09:25 And these are the things that work that get in the way that oftentimes we can confuse as a personality problem or a performance issue. But preferences are things like your learning styles. do you like to read and write? Do you like to talk to learn things out? If they're if if we are working together and I like to talk and you like to read and write, I now annoy you. Now I'm irritable. I'm irritating. I need too much of your time. I'm confusing. I'm not working independently. You know, I always want to talk. I spend too much time on meetings. Like, all of a sudden my preference starts to become a personality challenge, perhaps, or a performance issue for me. And so part of the downside of not understanding the implications of the Dei space when it's inclusive of ability, cultural differences, not just gender and the ethnicity and race differences, is that we start to have problems that are aren't real problems. And we're we start to have to deal with things that we don't necessarily have to deal with, or we start to deal with things in ways that don't actually ever solve the core issue, which is creating a more inclusive environment and looking and learning how to work with people in a way that actually produces the best outcomes.

Speaker 2 00:10:33 And that net where that lands is that you waste a lot of resources in dealing with challenges and in an effective way. You create burnout and then you effectively then increase attrition. So those are the the real world outcomes.

Speaker 1 00:10:46 Yeah. Would you mind sharing just a little bit about the, you know, client, the work that you do with your clients, what that looks like. and, you know, certainly if you have any kind of before and after, for those that might be listening and, and they're considering working with a fractional leader within their organization. I've already shared I'm a proponent of it, but I would love to hear from your perspective.

Speaker 2 00:11:10 Yeah. So the interesting thing about fractional leaders is that you get somebody that has a lot of experience in different industries and is concurrently working with other clients. And so a lot of times when I'm working with my clients, they're like, why are you so calm? Or I'll have a CEO, Tommy, we're just so messed up or, you know, nothing's working.

Speaker 2 00:11:27 And I'm like, you're good, like, or everyone's this way. Like, the fractional person brings, like, a real world, sort of. I don't want to say in this way, but it's the best way to say jaded perspective and it all, it's like it's all okay. It's all fine. Every place is a joke. It's all good. You know? So like, we kind of are a level set in that way because we're encountering many different businesses and different leaders and different, teams and different working styles. So we're able to really kind of stay calm in the chaos. So that's one benefit you get by having a fractional person that is out in the world and not just internal to your company. The other piece is that usually a fractional person has experience in different industries, so they're able to really help you innovate in a way that other people who are just based in your particular industry may not be supportive, because they're just looking at something in the way that it's always done in your sector.

Speaker 2 00:12:20 And then the last piece is that typically a fractional person, comes with other interesting skills. So while like a lot of my companies will hire me because I can do operations and this world of HR, I have a marketing background. So I end up being really helpful when it comes to things like thinking about marketing strategy or a go to market ideas or branding concepts. So you're able to leverage a broad skill set, in a person in a, in a really interesting way. So there's a lot of value to it. Also, the last thing I will say is that if you're a small company, it's really hard to get operations support. Right. And usually we're hiring to fill the demands of the business. And this is a trap every leader falls into. A business is not built from the outside, and it's built from the inside out. You have to have the appropriate infrastructure to help you grow, and if you're only focusing on the outside, it will happen is you'll get a big client and you will implode because you have no way to receive the client, manage the client, etc. so having somebody on a part time basis allows the person to create some infrastructure as you're going, so you can scale and be able to take on more work and a more manageable way.

Speaker 1 00:13:30 Yeah. I suspect in your work with clients that there are there are some common issues that you see from time to time, to normalize this to our friend that's listening. If they, might be in some same kind of situation, what would be some of those very common things that when you go into a company, you're like, yeah, I see this a lot. It's fixable. Yes.

Speaker 3 00:13:53 I don't know if it's fixable. Oh, okay. Well, I have a philosophy tacked on.

Speaker 1 00:13:58 That that last bit at the end hoping that there was some some path forward.

Speaker 3 00:14:03 Yes.

Speaker 2 00:14:03 Well, there is a path forward. I think problem number one is that most leaders want there to be one solution to an issue. And my response is you need a process. There's no solution to the dishes being dirty. You need a process by which you deal with dirty dishes, right? You either only use paper plates and you throw them away, or you have dishes, and you have a system by which you wash them and deal with them.

Speaker 2 00:14:22 It's the same thing with things inside your business. Most leaders get very frustrated. The cyclical nature of having to deal with people, systems and process inside their company, and how the minute a new client comes on or a new person is added into the organization, or some other change happens positive and or negative, they have to reinvent the wheel over again, and a lot of times leaders are like, well, we just did that. We wrote the handbook, we just updated the system. We just did this process. And it's like, yes, it is a constantly evolving thing. And that's the most common problem I see is people get so upset that they have to continuously deal with maintaining their processes and their systems that they they start to get a little bit like, crazy about it in a way. Like they're upset, they're annoyed, they're frustrated, or they avoid it altogether. And then things start to fall apart. So that is something that I think is really valuable for anyone listening here, is that if you feel like you're constantly dealing with the process and system stuff, that's exactly what it is.

Speaker 2 00:15:18 That is that that is what's supposed to happen. And the best way to be successful is to have a system by which you deal with all the problems in these areas.

Speaker 1 00:15:27 Yeah. So your website, Carissa Z boyce.com. And again we've got the spelling for everything in the show notes for this episode. But Krista, for a friend that's been listening to our Or conversation. what's kind of the next step for me?

Speaker 4 00:15:46 no, no.

Speaker 1 00:15:46 No, no, for our friend that's listening. And they're like, this is interesting. Maybe they're ready for a conversation. I don't know if you have any resources that you recommend.

Speaker 3 00:15:54 Yeah.

Speaker 2 00:15:54 Okay. Great. Yeah. So, if someone is interested in what I'm talking about and wants to know more about fractional work and how it can be supportive, and also even the executive coaching side, which, you know, oftentimes when I take on executive coaching clients and their running companies, I'm effectively like doing some fractional work through them and helping guiding them. So it's not just coaching, it's more consultative, for my executive clients that are running companies.

Speaker 2 00:16:18 So the best way to, get to know more is to reach out to me. Every person situation is quite different. So it is best to set up a time to talk. And we can look at what you have going on, and I can help support figure out what the best entry path is, whether it's some culture work, executive coaching or true operations support for your organization.

Speaker 1 00:16:39 Yeah. Chris Boyce. That's your website Chris's boys. Com again fractional leader and operations. Chris. It's been a great conversation. Thank you so much for this.

Speaker 2 00:16:49 Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 00:16:56 Thanks for listening to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit up my influence. Com and click on podcast. We believe that every person has a message that can positively impact the world. We love our community who listens and shares our program every day. Together we are empowering one another as thoughtful leaders. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this program, if you're looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, and clients, I have had private conversations with over 2000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from.

Speaker 1 00:17:38 I've got a free video that you can watch right now with no opt in or email required, where I'm going to share the exact steps necessary to be 100% inbound in your industry over the next 6 to 8 months, with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for more than 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies. Just head to up my influencer.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments. Make sure to hit subscribe so that tomorrow morning. That's right, seven days a week you are going to be inspired and motivated to succeed. I promise to bring positivity and inspiration to you for around 15 minutes every single day. Thanks for listening and thank you for being a part of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur movement.