"An entrepreneur is more than someone who creates a new business."
Holland Haiis is a human connection catalyst, workplace strategist, international speaker, and award-winning author of ‘Consciously Connecting-A Simple Process to Reconnect in a Disconnected World.’ She was named one of 100 Global Thought Leaders along with Suze Orman, Deepak Chopra, and Brendon Burchard.
Holland helps individuals and organizations with behavior-based solutions to improve communication, increase retention, boost employee engagement and team effectiveness. These strategies translate to increased revenue, resiliency, and relationship ROI. Her background is in behavioral psychology, theater, and business, and before becoming an entrepreneur, she was an actor, who transitioned into HR at one of New York City’s largest law firms. Holland believes teams are ensembles and provided solutions that transformed the culture and workplace.
When Holland left the law firm, she began a consulting agency transitioning New York City’s premiere physicians out of hospitals and into private practice. Developing business leaders while creating strategies to reduce costly turnover, decrease expensive errors, and improve client service and satisfaction. She has created programs for NY-Presbyterian Hospital, NYU Langone, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), and Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Holland is often seen on CNN, ABC, FOX News, CBS, NBC, and in; CNBC, Fast Company, Inc., Thrive Global, The Ladders, and Cosmopolitan. She is also the founder of Stand Up To Lead; an organization that supports and empowers women in leadership.
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Table of Contents
Thank you so much for giving us your time! Before we begin, could you introduce yourself to our readers and take us through what exactly your company does and what your vision is for its future?
Holland Haiis: My company helps individuals and organizations to activate their consciousness to become better leaders through change management, workplace wellness, executive coaching, and retreats. We help people with strategies for better communication, science-based tools to decrease stress, overwhelm, and burnout, and techniques to re-learn the value of human relationship ROI to lead from a place of personal power, which in turn catapults every organization to the next level.
The vision for the future is to assist others in heart-centered conscious leadership by sharing neuro-science, changing mindset, and impacting future behavior.
NO child ever says I want to be a CEO/entrepreneur when I grow up. What did you want to be and how did you get where you are today?
Holland Haiis: Acting was the goal from the beginning of time! I am grateful every day that my mom was such an amazing and forward-thinking mentor who guided me to see the world and possibilities beyond the moment. She got me interested in psychology and business by talking about world leadership and being ready for any opportunity life may bring to me. I was encouraged to be entrepreneurial as a kid as I created lemonade stands, a babysitting business, grass cutting, and caring for pets when neighbors would vacation. I was always thinking of new business ideas. It makes sense that I would be where I am today.
Tell us something about yourself that others in your organization might be surprised to know.
Holland Haiis: Transition and change have always been fascinating for me to witness and experience. Whether I was collecting tadpoles and watching their metamorphosis into frogs (and then releasing them) or gathering caterpillars and following their transformation to beautiful butterflies that would fly away, never to return, I was hooked. It wasn’t until decades later that there was the realization that I also do this for people and organizations.
Many readers may wonder how to become an entrepreneur but what is an entrepreneur? How would you define it?
Holland Haiis: An entrepreneur is more than someone who creates a new business. Entrepreneurs have a drive and desire to make the world more efficient and effective whether it’s in business or at a whole other level. They see change as exciting, embrace a limitless mind, and they’re fearless to setbacks and being told no.
What is the importance of having a supportive and inclusive culture?
Holland Haiis: The culture you create supports everything you do and every decision that gets made. A supportive culture lets your team know they can speak and share freely while being guided with encouragement. An inclusive culture isn’t just about having different types of people from around the globe it’s about building trust so everyone knows they’re welcome at the table, their opinions matter, and their voices are heard. CEOs who are conscious of this type of mentorship activate leaders who are changing the world!
How can a leader be disruptive in the post covid world?
Holland Haiis: Past generations have been disruptive in many different ways and it wasn’t necessarily labeled “disruptive.” When we think of radio, television, and the internet there is more focus on growth and ingenuity that is product-based. Locomotive, car, and air travel are similar and have definitely been disruptors for good. However, we’ve tended to become more product-focused and less people-focused. A leader now can be the most disruptive by listening to the workplace wellness needs of their people. The desire for better work-life integration and how they can make an impact now that will carry forward into their future products.
If a 5-year-old asked you to describe your job, what would you tell them?
Holland Haiis: I train people to make better decisions that help change business, families, and the world.
Leaders are usually asked about their most useful qualities but let’s change things up a bit. What is your most useless talent?
Holland Haiis: I can wiggle my ears 🙂 I bet you’ve never seen that on any job application!
Thank you so much for your time but before we finish things off, we do have one more question. If you wrote a book about your life until today, what would the title be?
Holland Haiis: ‘Perfectly Imperfect.’ Does that title already exist? If not, that’s a good one and I claim it now. Thank you!
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Holland Haiis for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Holland Haiis or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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