Right People, Right Moment: How Beth Ward Studios Uses Working Genius to Lead Better

Speaker A: Hi everybody. Welcome to Stepping into youo Leadership. I'm your host, Christine Courtney and I am thrilled today to have two awesome ladies here in the studio with me today. Um, let me tell you a little bit about their company and then I'll introduce them to you. But Beth Ward Studios is a woman run studio in the heart of New York City's design district. They combine design expertise with with strategic insight to help clients shape collections and creative direction that stand apart. So we're talking about jewelry that probably all of you have worn. If you wear jewelry, you've probably worn something from them, not even realized it. Because they create private exclusive label jewelry to guiding kind of bigger brand vision. And their work blends storytelling, craftsmanship and consultancy to elevate the businesses that are lucky enough to work with them. You've seen their jewelry all over the place. I'm constantly taking pictures of it when I see it on TV shows and sending it to them. If you've bought jewelry at any, uh, places, anywhere, I think you've probably bought some of their private label work that they would do. And they have, they run a fantastic organization that I've been lucky enough to work with. So I have in the studio today both Beth Ward, who is the founder and CEO, and I have Marialine Westerbeek who is the coo. And they're here today because we are going to talk about the six types of working genius. You guys, if you're listeners, regular listeners out there, you know how much I love this tool. I think it's a great assessment for companies, for individuals to really be able to reflect on what you do. And I was lucky enough to work with them and do it with their whole company. So I want to talk, kind of dig in with them on that, how that worked. But let me tell you a little bit about them real quick. Beth is an Entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in private label development and brand building in the jewelry industry. Beth has built and scaled brands through clear vision, strategic partnerships and a commitment to craftsmanship. She is recognized for her blue sky thinking. She connects ideas and opportunities to drive meaningful growth, achieve profitability within year one and attain next revenue growth within four years. She's also, if you follow the working genius model, she is a wanderer and inventor, not unlike many founders and entrepreneurs out there. We also have Mari Line Westerbeek who is the CEO. She is a seasoned business executive who has launched and led international organization organizations and large scale teams across diverse markets and cultures. Known for driving growth with focus, kindness and clarity. Her approachable leadership style fosters trust, adaptability and performance. She also advises and invests in startups supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs. And she is a discerner and a wanderer in terms of her geniuses. And just as a reminder, I'm a discerner and a galvanizer. So welcome, you guys, um, to stepping into your leadership. I'm going to start with Beth. I'd love to start with you. I want to. You know, we started working on this, on, um, really working. Looking at the six types of working genius for your business during COVID Remember, we were online doing it with everybody. So when we. What kind of made you think, oh, this is a good time to start doing it now? Because we just finished a whole cycle recently with all of your teams and we started with your executive. But what made you kind of think now we should look at this again?

Speaker B: Well, let me start with why we wanted to do it the first time, and it was because of you, because we were locked down, we couldn't get to each other. And I thought, who could be better to bring energy and light into the room than Christine? And you did. And the results of the first go around were so dramatic in my thinking and I think for others too, that once the team regrew after the pandemic and Marioline had joined, I wanted, I wanted the genius of working genius to spread, you know, to re. Again.

Speaker A: Yeah, it was really, it was interesting because it was really fun working with you, you guys, originally. And then I found this time when we brought it back, there was a whole bunch of people that obviously hadn't done it before, including you, Maria Line. But I found it to be, I think, because of the way we were able to do it now, first in person with your executive team and then with each team kind of thoughtfully getting their own workshop and then bringing it all together at the end for something where everybody could come together and it made it more impactful maybe, or hopefully lets it stick a little bit more than we were able to do the first time when everybody was still learning and trying to keep up with the COVID regulations and trying to learn how to work remotely and everything else that we were trying. I'm just curious, kind of before Marioline, because I'm sure that when Beth brought this up to you, and I know that we talked about it first beforehand, what was your hope, maybe before we did it, that would. Of what it would serve for your. Your team?

Speaker C: Well, I think that brings me back to when I joined the company. It took me a while to figure out how this company worked. And obviously it has such a, uh, an amazing legacy built by Beth. So it's really helpful to try to understand it at its core. And the company really quickly grew from Beth and a couple of people to, you know, 10xing the business and, you know, entered this next phase without even realizing it. So the work got bigger, more customers, higher demands, an ever changing global scope in which we play. And we were still trying to do it all. And that, I think was for me, the trigger to do this exercise all over again. Maybe. But then after doing all these moments which you just described, really being consistent about the follow up, because there's no way, if you try to grow and scale a company, if everybody tries to do it all, there's, you know, a risk that the team gets depleted. And I think there's just such beauty in creating space for talents that surround you. Uh, yeah, and I think it really helped us, but we will dive into it shortly, I think. Yeah.

Speaker A: You know, you guys are two of my favorite ladies because you have such respect for one another and you know, from the outside it looks like you work really well together. But I know, like everybody, like every founder, entrepreneur that try, that works with somebody who's helped, you know, really running their teams, running their company, there could be a lot of friction points there that people have to kind of work with or handle or. I don't know. So what were some of the parts where you felt like maybe in this focus on growing that was sometimes maybe made difficult for you before? You know, I mean, I'm. I'm not saying these things go away, but something that we were able to look at using the working genius, I mean, Beth, you want to talk about it from your perspective?

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Um, I think you on the spot.

Speaker C: Oh, no, no, no.

Speaker B: I've thought about this and I've been, I've been talked to about this a lot. Um, and it, it's true. I think on some level you only

Speaker C: know what you know.

Speaker B: And so you want to be helpful, you want to contribute. And then when people open up and share how your contribution is helpful and hurtful, you know, then that's when you really learn to sync up with people. And I think this, this tool was so eye opening to the whole company about not only how a workflow happens, but, you know, everyone's part of it. And it. And it, I think, made everyone relax. And because I love that you get, you know, two strings, two, you know, middle area, two frustrations. And so when my working genius came out as wonder and invention. Several people said to me, you're just wondering, you're not mandating, you're not even suggesting, you're just wondering. You just want a thought partner sometimes. And that took a lot of pressure off. And it took pressure off me because I sort of realized that too. It took pressure off the perceived workload really, you know, the perceived. So it was super eye opening.

Speaker A: I mean, I think what's interesting is that what you just said, you know, just so everybody knows, you know, she does have wonder and invention, wonder being that idea. And so. And the interesting thing is Maria Line also has wonder. So that really is where they can they see eye to eye in terms of wanderers are great at questioning the way things are done or wondering if there's a better way or thinking about like long term vision of like where could we be or what's possible. And so I think that's wonderful, wonderful. I think it's great that you have two leaders in the business who can be aligned in that. I think where it was can sometimes start to go a little bit, you know, can cause some friction. Is that Beth also combines that wonderful genius of wonder with invention. And invention is that genius that loves to come up with ideas, loves to solve problems, is constantly in problem solving mode and also just in what's possible mode. And when you combine the W and an I together, it creates this like explosion of overwhelming creativity. And in many cases it's really exciting and gets people to create businesses like she has done. It's not surprising that she's done that her whole life. And as somebody who's been to her home in Louisville and met her parents and seen met her father, I could tell you that this is inherited in her case because he sure has a lot of some either wonder or invention in there as well. He also has some discernment though. Probably so. But the, the thing is, is that that wonder and invention so often and if you have that and you are the boss, when you walk into a room, you have a certain amount of power that people are like, oh gosh, we're supposed to do all of these ideas. And when you have as many as Beth does, it can be absolutely overwhelming and depleting to a group if they're, if they don't have the power or the ability to be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are we doing here? And um, is that fair to say? Beth, Is that fair?

Speaker B: 100%, yeah. I mean, and you help through the working genius. Help me understand the place of wonder and invention, which is really um, not

Speaker C: the beginning of the cycle.

Speaker A: That's right, Marioline. The beginning of the cycle and what could be happen. And, you know, Marielle Ann can jump in here if she recognizes this in other people, but the reality is that a lot of times what can happen is that people get so overwhelmed by it that as soon as they would see somebody who has a lot of wonder invention, they try to avoid those conversations or they don't want to go into a process where Beth can be most useful, which is in the beginning of something or when you're starting something, to have real brainstorms. I mean, she's absolutely, as somebody who has benefited from so many of her brains, storms myself in terms of her just looking at my life or my business. She really thinks out of the box. And that's really helpful in the beginning, but it's really overwhelming when you're trying to hit a deadline later in the workflow. Then it's like people get really stressed out and overwhelmed, and if you're the boss, they. They don't always feel like they can say something or they. They feel, you know, stuck, whereas, so then they can make a mistake and avoid her and forget and not want to process at all, which she really not only craves, is also really good at and is imperative for a company, especially a creative organization like theirs, to really thrive. And so some of it was looking at what can Beth do to say, this is when my. My genius needs to step in, and then this is when I need to step back and. And kind of wait till we're at the beginning of a cycle, and then how the folks that work with her can also know when's. When is the time to use this, these powerful geniuses of Beth's, and not try to avoid that either. Mario, does that make sense for what you're seeing happening on.

Speaker C: Um, yeah, it does. Um, and I also think there's two other things I noticed during this process is that because, you know, we were so used to doing more and doing it all, um, being the standard. I think at a certain point, Beth was exhausted by it too, because she. There was all the great intentions. But if you are so powerful, I think in the beginning, beginning of the cycle, you also run the risk that the people around you stop developing and just waiting for you to call the shots. And. And I think the whole exercise that started for you guys already during COVID and shortly after, and we continued recently, I think, really helped us all to set almost like boundaries and, uh, being able to identify in the moment where we should pivot to somebody else. And this morning, we had this amazing presentation for this big group of F students. And it's just so amazing and inspirational for Beth and I to sit in the back of the audience after doing our, uh, welcome pitch, and then see all these amazing people that surround us, doing the speaking and really leading the group. And I think there comes, if you do it the right way, and I, uh, don't mean perfection, but I mean create space for consideration. If you run into a situation where it doesn't feel right, and then step back and try to find the right people for the right assignments, it's, like, so powerful to even just witness that process. Really inspirational. Yeah. And I think for Beth, knowing that she has people she can trust and knowing that she can, you know, step back a little bit and then use her vision and her superpower to really create a solution for everything, I think that really helps the company, but also it helps people grow.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And Maruline, when she joined the company, one of her challenges and invitations was for all of us to think about how we can create space, especially for me. And I think that the working genius really dovetailed with that, because creating space means that you're reflecting a lot, and that can be all the emotions, you know, so just. So that was helpful. And then don't forget, wondering happens at the end of the cycle, too.

Speaker A: Yes, it does. It does bookend so that after you finish something that you go, oh, uh, wait a minute. Let. Let us wonder how that went, what could have gone better? So we just don't repeat the same things over and over again without changing. And I think that that's Leads you into whatever is. Is the next part of the workflow. I can even.

Speaker C: And I even. I think Beth and I, the two of us also learned that because we have wonder, both of us, uh, and because our company is such On a roller coaster of multiple customers, multiple timelines, calendars, if you will, uh, we need to create space to wonder together, to make sure that we operate in alignment in the things we do to support, uh, our team and our company and our goals. So next week, we will be, you know, going to a congress for a couple of days, and I think I'm looking forward to it because it's our time to, you know, meet a lot of people, but also wander a little bit together without, you know, disrupting the company.

Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, that. What a wonder. That's a great way to, like, get. Get out, do something like that. Because conferences so often are places of wonder. They are places where you get to sit back. And I imagine that you love them because they're really good for discerners like yourself. Mario Line, too, because you get to sit back and go, hmm, M. What about this? Or what about that? Or how would I do this? Or how would I incorporate this? And you see patterns. That's really the power of a discerner. Sees patterns. Sees.

Speaker C: Hmm.

Speaker A: M. This feels right. This doesn't feel right. We could do parts of this. What parts of this can we adopt? And so to be at. For two people, like an integrator or somebody who's running the business on a day to day basis, like Mario Line and then a founder, to be at one of those conferences together is a really powerful combination. And I love that you're using that as a place for you to wonder. You know, whether it's like at the end of the day or at a break. I think people, all of us can learn from that too. I, uh, often have people say to me, how can we add more wonder into our businesses? I mean, you. You guys have a lot. A lot of businesses I work with have little to no wonder at all. And so a lot of times they're trying to figure out, how do we add that, how do we sprinkle that in to our businesses? So, you know, we talked a little bit about Beth's, um, wonder and invention. And I just want to bring up a little bit about that discernment that Marioline brings to the table, because I also know that Beth, before you had Marioline on board, you, as the leader of the business, were not only doing all the things that your genius does of wonder and invention, but you were also having to, like, you know, get. Make sure everybody felt good about working there and get things on board and try to try to get stuff out the door and hit deadlines and all these things that are. Some of which are your frustrations, not all of them, but some of them. And that, that can be very depleting and exhausting and, you know, frustrating. And a lot of. We see a lot of founders in that loop. And I think what was interesting is when you hired Marioline, I don't even think at the time you knew it, you might have known it instinctively, but she had this power of discernment along with wonder. And that discernment comes in the working genius model comes right after invention. So that with your ideas, she's able to take those and have think about them and one of the things and then kind of translate them to the rest of the team, so that. That relieves some of that pressure off of you. However, discernment takes a long time and it can feel sometimes. And I've had my team complain to me about this, because I also have discernment is that it's a slower process than invention is. Right. And so it really. Sometimes you're not quite sure what's happening, or you're not quite sure what the person, how they're putting these things together. Did you have any. Any thoughts, Beth, on how that kind of came together for you guys?

Speaker C: That's a good question.

Speaker B: I think, to be totally honest, I was used to having my hand in too much, that it was really helpful and important that I really step away, you know, not step out of the company, but just really give space. And I did not attend certain meetings, but then we would have recaps and, uh, it. There is a, you know, a transition period.

Speaker A: Did you learn in this process? Did you learn something about each? Like, what did you learn? I'll ask you both this question. Through this process, what did you. What was something that you learned about each other that made. It was kind of an aha or made it a little bit easier to work with each other or understand each other to some degree?

Speaker C: Well, if I can start, I think what I. Well, I learned a lot about Beth, and she is a lot. But I think what. What this exercise really did, I think for me, is to. To make sure she is aware of the fact that this business cannot miss her. And she, uh, wants to use her talent not only because she thinks she should use them, but also based on requests from people around her. And so you get your dose of Beth exactly when you need it. And when you get that, that's something, well, nobody can really do in our team. So we want to be cautious about when we use it, and we want to make sure that she's aware of the needs of that. And yeah, I think she was always talking about, I need to step back and I need to, uh. You know, I'm overwhelming the team and really, you know, creating this narrative as if it was, you know, not useful in this next phase. But I always joke to her, it's like if you step back too much, I'm also stepping back. And so it's like we, you know, there's also moments where I don't play a role or a very small one, but I think naturally I'm okay with that quicker. And we still. Until this day, you know, when I. This morning I responded to you with your questions, I went to Beth. And she wasn't, you know, accessible before that. Like, I already replied because I know if you have to do a podcast, it's helpful to have answers to your questions, and I am okay with that. My response to you is probably an 8 out of 10. Beth will give you a 9 out of 10. But with her, the question is, does he give you an answer? And so sometimes the eight is better, and sometimes the nine is better. And we still every day need to be aware that we have to navigate which one we choose.

Speaker B: I love that.

Speaker A: I love that. That's so. That's so, so true. Beth, any thoughts on that for you? Like a. Aha. That you had in the process, other than.

Speaker B: Maruline's always right.

Speaker C: Um, but it's slow, and that's annoying. But it's slower, and that's annoying, I think.

Speaker A: No, uh, it is slower, but discerners are often right. I just want to say. But they.

Speaker B: They're not, honestly. Sometimes it's not slow. Sometimes it's just like, really, after all these ideas, really, it's not gonna work. And I know it's true. I think one thing I learned with Maruline, I mean, because it's true for everyone, is that timing is everything. Timing is everything. And so part of it is, yes, the working genius and where to insert ourselves. Also, that it is really wonderful to feel seen and feel connected through the wondering process when it's well together with each of us, because she's taking on a lot of the stresses that I was attempting to take on, and there's some recoup time that needs to happen with that. So timing and talking and connecting, like.

Speaker A: And, um, I think, you know, it's interesting because I do see you have a team of executives that were part of this process, especially, uh, just, you know, more recently when we did this, um, which was probably, like, I don't know, maybe six months ago now. Um, and when we started that process with them, it's interesting because I'm curious how they're taking to it, if they're. If they're sticking with it, if they're using. If they're finding ways to use the vocabulary. Because I always have a little bit of trouble, you know, after we leave trying to make sure that folks have the tools that they can keep it going. And that's one of the hard things. When life hits and business hits and there's real deadlines, you know, it's easy to let things go. Oh, that was nice. But what are some of the things that you guys are doing? To keep these tools kind of alive for your folks. Mari Lynd, I know you probably have your hands more in the day to day of that. Do you see anything that you're doing that's working?

Speaker C: No. I think first of all the session we had with you, I think we almost, you know, choose to do it from the heart. Let's put it on a calendar, let's do it. So I think that was crucial. I think during that session what really stood out for me is that, you know, creating the space as an executive team to openly talk about what people like best and what they don't like as much. And I think it's just driving the whole conversation after too and. But we are all people and you know, it. Business can get into the way of things and we were also aware of that. So what we did is include our working genius in team meetings. We also included uh, working genius in our six month assessment cycle where people assess themselves and ask for examples and how we could support. And I think we are all very eager to continue to follow this trajectory because it's like such an additional layer and maybe especially in this performance focused work environment which is kind of different than uh, how I grew up in Europe. But I think it really adds another layer to our performance and how we are doing as a team and really trying to direct our energy in the way it should be directed. Meaning we get energy from the things we do. And I think you reminded us all, I think at some point by saying burnout is not that you don't like your job or the company is not great. It's like how do you build your day to day? And I'm a firm believer that in every role you will have your areas where you just have to embrace it, but not giving you a lot of energy. But if I have one of those areas to face, then I'll make sure that my m whole day or the whole rest of the day is organized a little differently. And where I can wonder or discern a little bit more in that afternoon after a big team meeting where a lot of Calvin galvanizing is needed from my end and I'm not the best in doing that. So I think just the additional layer of okay, this is what I'm facing, how do I make sure that by the end of the day my conversation with Beth is still energizing because we love it. But then that means that I don't want to spend my whole day galvanizing. And we have fantastic galvanizers in the company. Meanwhile, I should Say, because we also embrace working genius in our recruitment process, and that makes all the difference. Before hiring people, we really have a good understanding of which team that new hire will be, uh, part of and try to balance the talent so that every team, slowly but steadily as the company grows, has all these areas covered, which I think helps us a lot.

Speaker A: That's great. That's new. I'm so thrilled to hear that. You know, one of the things we noticed whenever we do this process, for those of you listening out there, when we do this process with companies, one of the things that they get is like these team maps. And you start to see it's a real eye opener for folks when they look at particular. Whether it's their whole team or whether it's particular teams, you start to see some trends. And sometimes people are really well balanced, or then sometimes you're like, oh, you're missing this whole thing. And so, like I said, a lot of companies, their number one thing that I probably get that companies are missing is wonder. And that is something that is not true for this company. But for. If you did not have a lot of wonder in your company, people say, well, what does that mean? What are we gonna. What are we losing out on? And I said, well, you can be kind of slow to change or slow to notice things that might be opportunities and that might become opportunities in the future, right? So those, they're, they're kind of, uh, A lot of times those one. People that are missing wonder are very big on the opposite one, which is tenacity, which is that ability to, like, hit a deadline, make results happen, drive something to the end. And so if you have a lot of drive and a lot of focus on results, which is great, it's also. You have to have some people who are also thinking about, wait a minute, could we do this differently? Because doing it differently threatens getting something done efficiently often, especially in the beginning. Not always in the end, but certainly in the beginning when we think about it. And so I. One of the things we noticed when we were working at Beth Ward Studios, I thought was really cool. And I could see Mari Line sitting back and going, uh. And you know how she does. How you do in a meeting, you know, you're. You take things in just like a wonder or discerner. You think about it and you start to. I, uh, see your. Your wheels turning, you know, in your head. And I could see her writing down a lot of notes. And one of the things that we noticed that, that Beth Ward Studios was missing overall in the Whole team was galvanizers. And galvanizers are in the middle of the process. They're the folks that bring a lot of energy towards getting people on board with ideas. And that can be getting people on board with ideas internally or also externally. Right. So that can also be something that. That's very powerful when you're talking about salespeople. Um, it's not always because there's different. You can sell with any, uh, genius, but it certainly is helpful, um, in terms of getting people's energy on board. And I saw Marioline make that connection pretty early on of, like, whoa, what do we do if herself do not have a lot of galvanizers here? How do we do that? And so that's really cool, Maryline, that you guys are looking at that in terms of your hiring and creating teams, because that is definitely something that we. We diagnosed as, like, oh, this could really help you guys, you know, to keep things.

Speaker C: And even the people we don't hire. So we used the working genius in the last cycle of recruitment, last. After the last conversations, and then we have the final conversation cycle, uh, and people are genuinely grateful because working genius is, in this way, also a reflection on how we do things at bws. So I think probably we all didn't realize that it would go that way, but it's really, you know, energizing to see, because it's really a different way of approaching, uh, things, apparently.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And, Christine, one thing you said that really stuck with me is that sometimes when people are feeling burned out, you have to be very selective of what you take off their plates, because you don't want to take off the things that are giving them energy. And sometimes you can even add to your plate when you're feeling low energy, if it's the right thing. And so it's also been super helpful to think about people's profiles in internal recruiting for projects or opportunities. You know, if someone recently was going to be out for a company presentation, and we thought, who would get energy from stepping into that role? And so it's been, um, yeah. Something that even we talk about when we're in meetings. And it's interesting because somehow, even though it's very, very personal to the person about what gives them energy, when we name those working genius characteristics, it almost just feels like a framework or a fact, and it doesn't feel personal.

Speaker A: That's such a good. That's such a good point. I find that, too, because it's. It's. I find that if you're say, like, yeah, this Isn't your genius. I get that. That's your frustration. It's not a judgment on you. It's just like, yeah, that. That is exhausting to me.

Speaker B: You almost feel seen.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's true. It's true. Do you feel seen, Beth?

Speaker C: Yeah. That's great.

Speaker B: Yeah, it instead. Yeah, you almost feel seen instead of feeling, you know, incapable.

Speaker A: Well, one of the things I used to love too is when we met in your groups, like in the smaller groups, one of the things that was kind of fun to see is people would want to know, you know, always included your two assessments with theirs. Right. So even if you didn't work with them on a day to day basis, they could see. Because everybody always wants to see where their bosses are. Right. And I thought that was interesting. And some of your designers, especially Beth, would say, that's why. I get. That's why I am not. I like it when Beth comes through the studio and we, we get, and I've seen you do this, you get super psyched about an idea. I mean, my God, like, the energy starts, like, coming off the roof and you start, you know, you're just doing a walkthrough. Like, in the case that I saw, you were taking me on a tour of the office, and we went through the studio and you came upon somebody who had just come back from, I don't know, they went to visit their grandmother or something or their aunt. And they had gone into a thrift store and found all these old pieces that they were inspired by. And they had created this whole mood board. And you were. Which obviously immediately I'm like, that's a, that's somebody who's an inventor, right? Like, they're immediately, this is not their job. They just went to visit their grandma. Now they're coming back, creating a mood board. They're in there. And when you came through, he was so excited to share that with you. And then you could see it, like, hit your invention. Genius. And then you're like, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo. And then you guys started, like, creating designs right there. And literally, I think it took two seconds, you know, uh, to watch what happened. And you create this whole thing and that. And we left there to go to the next room, and I could just see your. Your energy was bubbling over, you know, and that's what I think is so powerful about this. And it was for him too, because when two geniuses of the same ilk get together, it could be a really fun. You know, an invention is a really, uh, it's a Forward one. Right? So it's got a lot of up, upward spurts of energy. We say wanderers. When two wanderers get together, it's got slower, longer energy. It lasts longer, but it's a little quieter, you know, usually. And so it doesn't mean that the energy is one, um, is better or worse. It's just different. And it's so fascinating to see the sparks fly, literally. And so what I think can be interesting that I saw from your team, Matt, is that I saw some of your folks go, oh, um, in your case, Beth. Like, oh, that's why I love when Beth comes through the studio. And why other folks who maybe that frustrates because they're just trying to get to that deadline or they're responsible for that deadline. They're like, oh, my God, no wonder it stresses me out when she comes through because I'm afraid she's going to change my design, you know, and I just need to make this deadline. So I just thought, oh, wow, that's so interesting. That, that. And that's okay. Like, you can use her at, ah, a different. That she could be an energizer for you here and for you. I'm not gonna, I'm not. I'm gonna try not to bother you in that part of the process, but I will help in this. Especially when you're talking about a creative field, you know, you would, it would. I think Mari Line is so right to say, beth, we need you in certain areas, and those areas are in those creative directions areas. And then also in your galvanizing ability, because you have galvanizing as a comp. Your first competency, which are the two middle ones we said. Right? So you get burnt out eventually if you're galvanizing, you know, week after week. But you're. It's so infectious to hear you talk about this company that you built, that I've seen you at conferences, and that Galvanizer is full force helping people invent with their businesses. And that's really critical, especially when talking with clients.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker A: Or ventures.

Speaker B: Well, I think it's interesting what you were saying about how the geniuses work together, because something I say a lot, um, around Mario Line's ideas, and now I get it because she's a wonder and a discerner, because you can explain it better than me, but I'm like, oh, I play checkers and she plays chess because, like, there's something longer lasting.

Speaker A: But, uh, you don't have to put yourself down for it. They're both. It depends on where you Are like you are playing, you are playing chess when it comes. I mean, you know, chess is such a funny, you know, version because it's, it's such a quieter game, but it is, you're, you're. I don't think it's. One is better than the other. And I do think that you have to be careful of that, Beth, because I think you do put a lot of hardship on yourself by saying that you weren't all these things because you obviously created a very successful business. You just are now smart enough to let somebody else run the stuff that doesn't bring you a ton of joy, you know.

Speaker B: Well, and I'm very grateful and lucky.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's, I mean, uh, one of the reasons that I love working with both of you and the company in general is that one is. I think people are very self reflective in your business. Right. And very much focused on how can we create something pretty spectacular. And those are two really cool combinations. And that I think that both comes from both of you and your willingness to talk about it. Like I love when Mario Line said to me, she said, I said, listen, we're going to do this big final workshop with everybody in the company. And I said, well, what do you want to get out of it? And one of the things she said was, listen, we're in meetings and we're too nice to each other. We need to speak, we need to be more. We're at the level now where we need to be more honest. We're a little bit too nice. And that can happen in a lot of businesses that's full of really nice people because you guys have a lot of people in your business. The most popular genius in your business is enablement, which is that e which are really good at helping to get things done. They're really nice people. But the problem sometimes can happen is that everybody then is hesitant to say what they really feel. And I thought that was such a cool thing for us to be able to talk about that with folks and try to give them experiences where they have to have more honest conversations. And I think that when I'm hearing you, Beth, talk about how it's maybe not as personal when you use the geniuses. Maybe that's why it's also helpful for people with enablement. It's a little less conflict forward to share people what you think about things if you're able to use that vocabulary, a common vocabulary, I guess.

Speaker B: And we've been saying a lot lately, clarity is kindness.

Speaker A: M. Brene Brown Such a good One. Yeah, it is. It really is. It was funny. When we did the final workshop, we had.

Speaker C: We were.

Speaker A: I was trying to create some. A moment that would make things more frictionful because, you know, they do get along so well, and we needed to have some moments where that didn't happen. And so we gave them a challenge in groups, and I gave them an underground. I gave somebody in each group an undercover challenge to try to, uh, to sabotage the group. And they literally, when they heard that was their. Their job, they were like, no. Like, one woman almost cried. She's like, I can't do it. I can't. And it was so funny for me to watch them try to gently sabotage your, you know, your buildings that you were creating. Uh, and it's because you have really nice people. Other places I go, they're like, awesome. Can't wait. And that's a whole different. That's a whole different show. But anyway, it was fun to see. To see them have to be forced to do that. And then, like, they were dying by the end to talk, like, please let everybody know that this was not me. That was, you know, I said, they don't even know you were sabotaging. It was so gentle. It was so gentle. Anyway, any other thoughts, you guys, before we leave that could be helpful to people who are thinking about how to use something like this for their teams or any other aha. Moments mari line that you put together for your team? Any other things that. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts.

Speaker C: No, I think what Beth and I probably. I think speaking for you too, Beth didn't even realize until we were full into this whole cycle of being part of the teams and, you know, being able to discuss all these things with a, uh, framework, there was so much recognition, almost like relief. And so we had this conversation after all these meetings, and we were like, oh, wow. It's not only a great tool for us to work with, make situations less personal and really being able to have those tougher conversation, because it's just about a process fix or, you know, customer needs or whatsoever. But it's also, you know, the switch we are supporting from doing everything and all and all at once to, okay, we still have the same objectives, but who's doing what and how do we work as a team better and stronger to get where we need to be? And I think for us, that was probably, uh, the biggest aha Moment when we, you know, discussed it afterwards. And I think there's something powerful in accepting that your talent is just not everywhere. Right. That in itself I find very powerful. And I think what we have accomplished so far is that on a regular basis, for me, it's day to day. But I also know that it's not for everybody day to day, but on a regular basis we use the terminology or we go back to our report, or we, you know, have an open dialogue alongside what we, um, what's been shared, uh, throughout our working genius with you. And I think that continues to fuel the openness in which we communicate. And there's, you know, every day a lot of learnings. Sometimes it's in the details. So you, you have to create space for it. But I think if you do, the outcome impacts a lot. Productivity, it impacts culture, it also impacts addressing situation that you might have been avoiding. And all of that, I think brings us closer to where we need to be as people, as a team, as a company, and in terms of our goals. And I do think it also, of course, brings up some things we need to kind of, you know, learn about or whatsoever because there is, of course, there are so many levels of self awareness and that is, I think, something you want to pay attention to because some people really embrace it very quickly and then work with it. But for some people, it's also something that they have never worked with or not used to, or they have been raised a different way. So I learned throughout the process that there's all these different stages of, um, you know, how deep can you go or how, you know, specific can you be. But that is, I think, also an ongoing learning journey for me and our leadership team as well as all people involved.

Speaker A: I love that. That's so true. And, and people don't talk about that enough. You know, you do have people, and especially in your company, you have people from all different cultures. And it is interesting to. There's different levels of how people take in information and so forth. So that's great. That's a good note for all of us. Just before we leave, everybody, and I want to thank you, thank you gals for coming on here for me today and for just working with me in general. I love, you know, you're such a great brain trust to talk to and have, have, uh, and share some oysters and wine with as well. But, um, I'm just curious what, you know, your, you have a private, you have your own label stuff. Jewelry now, right? Can we share that with our listeners in case they want to check you out? What, what is, can you tell us a little bit about that?

Speaker C: Well, we just launched our own website, relaunch PWS, uh.com or Bethwart Studios dot com. And we are involved in a lot of new initiatives. It's a, uh, private label is at the heart and the core of what we do. But, uh, meanwhile we have developed different partnerships which, uh, both of us are proud of everything in a different stage. We launched every.com, which is very exciting and creates a lot of traffic. And for Beth and I, it's also one big focus group. We get ongoing feedback on what we do and it inspires us to continue to break out of our, you know, patterns and continue to wander, if you will. And I think we have, we have engaged in a, uh, partnership that has very high exposure, but it's not to be launched until this fall, so we cannot really share it. But you know, keep an eye on it.

Speaker A: Keep us posted, Keep us posted.

Speaker C: Very, very proud of that. It's global and it's very, uh, yeah, it's, it's amazing. But we of course will announce it when it comes. There's also a meaningful partnership with, um, the 911 memorial. Maybe Beth, you want shine a light on that because that is super close to all of our hearts. Yeah. And attached to the DNA of bws.

Speaker B: Yes. So with one of our dear friends, uh, Annemarie Principe, who is a 911 survivor, we've collabed to create a Serenity sky collection for the 911 Museum. So that's really at our core is to create product and purpose. So we're. Yeah. So that's exciting. So we have our first. Our first bracelet is in the museum and more products to come.

Speaker A: And so we can see some of this stuff on the website or. And people can also order your jewelry on every dot com. Is that true?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Okay, awesome. You guys, check them out. They are wonderful. And they do want to create products with purpose and also to have to have an organization where people feel of purpose and feel like they can bring their best selves to work. So thank you guys. Thanks for being here.

Speaker B: Thank you Christine. About you.

Speaker C: Bye. Bye.

Speaker A: Thanks for spending time here on stepping into your leadership. I'd like to give a special shout out to our podcast producer, Richard Francisco. Check out our notes for any details and if you want to get anything more out of this, go to our, uh, YouTube channel and please subscribe to Leadership Lab TV. If you heard something today, of course, that resonated with you, do something with it. It's all about the choices that you make. It's what you say in conversations, how you show up in a moment. Share this episode with someone who's maybe starting a new job or stepping into a new level of leadership. And try one idea, because it just might create some pretty powerful leadership ripple effects. Until next time, keep stepping in because the room changes when you do.