"Heart intelligence and mindfulness help me handle stress, while my support network gives me strength."
Suzette West is the driving force behind Wild Hearts Rising, where she serves as the founder and CEO. Her journey to the forefront of pioneering heart-coherent leadership strategies and organizational resilience has been defined by resilience and transformative experiences.
Overcoming the hurdles of teenage motherhood, Suzette learned the art of balancing self-sufficiency with carving her path in the world. She also triumphed over childhood trauma, emerging from severe social anxiety with newfound strength and determination.
With over six years of experience as an executive coach and resilient team specialist, Suzette’s passion lies in unlocking the untapped potential within individuals and teams.
Her vision extends beyond traditional leadership paradigms, focusing on creating cultures of coherence that thrive on transforming obstacles into opportunities for growth and innovation. She believes in harnessing the power of adversity to fuel organizational evolution and progress.
In today’s post-pandemic landscape, Suzette recognizes the critical importance of resilience in the workplace. Wild Hearts Rising, under her leadership, is dedicated to guiding organizations through turbulent times, helping them navigate from burnout to brilliance.
By prioritizing employee well-being and fostering supportive, dynamic environments, Suzette ensures that resilience becomes the cornerstone of success in an ever-evolving world.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Suzette West: I am Suzette West, the founder and CEO of Wild Hearts Rising, a company at the forefront of pioneering heart-coherent leadership strategies and organizational resilience. My path to fostering cultural transformation and empowering leaders has been anything but conventional.
From overcoming the barriers that many teenage mothers face—juggling the demands of self-support while navigating the world—to triumphing over a culture-related childhood trauma that left me battling severe social anxiety, my journey has been one of relentless resilience and profound self-discovery.
These experiences have shaped me into an executive coach and resilient team specialist with over six years of experience and ignited my passion for unlocking the inner wisdom and potential of individuals in the workplace. My mission is to activate coherence-based cultures that transform challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.
Can you share a time when your business faced a significant challenge? How did you navigate through it?
Suzette West: In the early days of Wild Hearts Rising, we faced a significant challenge that tested our resilience and ultimately shaped the foundation of our team culture. As a startup, we were navigating the usual uncertainties while striving to make impactful leadership and organizational resilience changes.
My team’s initial formation brought its own challenges, notably when integrating new members and adapting to shifting market demands. Initially, I hired a freelancer to delegate tasks, allowing me to focus on strategic priorities.
For a while, this arrangement worked well. However, as the business evolved and pivoted to adapt to new market insights, this change had a destabilizing effect on the freelancer.
Trust eroded, and a noticeable misalignment emerged. Our remote working arrangement, limited to weekly Zoom calls, exacerbated the situation, creating a chasm of communication and trust that widened over time.
The freelancer misinterpreted the introduction of a new team member, intended to bolster our capabilities, as a sign of their impending replacement.
This misunderstanding further strained our relationship, leading to a tense and challenging period marked by cutting words and withdrawal from team interactions. This period, though stressful, was invaluable for several reasons. It highlighted the stark contrast between aligned and misaligned team members, teaching me critical lessons in leadership and team resilience.
Firstly, it underscored that potential in a team member is only as impactful as their willingness to embrace it. Secondly, I learned that leaders, too, can feel psychologically unsafe and stressed when trust and communication break down within a team.
Though difficult, the decision to part ways with the first freelancer was a pivotal moment in reinforcing the importance of alignment, trust, and mutual respect within our team.
How has a failure or apparent failure set you up for later success?
Suzette West: Reflecting on the journey of Wild Hearts Rising, a pivotal moment comes to mind—one that, at the time, felt like a significant failure but ultimately paved the way for profound success and learning. The experience of navigating through a challenging period with the first freelancer I hired was both a trial and a crucial learning curve.
Initially, what seemed like a failure in team alignment, trust, and communication became a cornerstone for building a stronger, more resilient team and company culture.
This apparent failure taught me several invaluable lessons that have since become integral to our success:
- The Importance of Alignment: Understanding that alignment between team members’ values, the company’s mission, and individual roles is crucial. This experience underscored the need to ensure alignment from the outset, facilitating a more cohesive and unified team.
- Communication and Trust: The breakdown of trust and communication with the first freelancer highlighted how vital these elements are to a team’s success. It led me to prioritize open, daily communication and to foster an environment where trust is built and maintained through transparency and mutual respect.
- Resilience Through Coaching: Transitioning from weekly coaching to daily resilience-building practice with the team transformed our approach to challenges. This practice helped us navigate tough times and strengthened our bond, enhancing our ability to adapt and thrive amidst adversity.
- Psychological Safety: Learning from the stress and discomfort of the initial failure, I realized the importance of creating a psychologically safe workplace where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts, challenges, and successes. This has fostered a culture of mutual support and continuous improvement.
- Embracing Potential: This experience taught me that recognizing potential in others is only the first step. Individuals must be willing and eager to realize their potential, and as a leader, my role is to support and facilitate that journey without imposing my expectations.
The lessons learned from this early setback have been instrumental in shaping the leadership and operational philosophies at Wild Hearts Rising.
They have allowed us to build a resilient, aligned, and high-performing team capable of navigating the complexities of our work with grace and agility. Moreover, these experiences have enriched our program, enabling us to guide other organizations with authenticity and empathy derived from firsthand experience.
This failure was not an endpoint but a critical inflection point that set us up for later success. It has instilled a culture prioritizing workplace resilience, learning, and growth that underpins everything we do at Wild Hearts Rising.
Through this lens, our early challenges were not just obstacles but invaluable opportunities for development and success over the long term.
How do you build a resilient team? What qualities do you look for in your team members?
Suzette West: Building a resilient team is a foundational aspect of Wild Hearts Rising, reflecting our mission and the essence of our day-to-day practices. From firsthand experience, I’ve learned that resilience within a team isn’t just about bouncing back from challenges; it’s about fostering an environment where trust, open communication, and mutual support are top priorities.
Here’s how I approach building a resilient team and the qualities I prioritize in team members:
- Emphasize Open Communication: Ensuring team members feel safe expressing their thoughts, concerns, and ideas is crucial. This involves setting up regular check-ins and encouraging transparent dialogue. Our practice of starting the day with brief Zoom call check-ins to connect and align on our tasks and goals is a testament to the importance of keeping communication channels open, even in remote work situations.
- Cultivate Mutual Trust and Respect: Trust is the cornerstone of any resilient team. It’s vital that each team member feels confident in the abilities of their colleagues and respects their contributions. Building trust involves demonstrating reliability, integrity, and openness within the team. Most of all, it is essential to be kind. When trust was compromised in my early team dynamic, it highlighted the importance of these elements for team cohesion and resilience.
- Foster Psychological Safety: It is essential for innovation and growth to create an environment where team members and leaders feel psychologically safe to take risks and voice their opinions without fear of repercussion. Our daily resilience-building practices reinforce this sense of unity, loyalty, and safety, encouraging everyone to share and support each other through challenges and achievements equally.
- Encourage Continuous Learning and Growth: A resilient team sees challenges as opportunities for learning and development. Encouraging team members to pursue personal and professional growth contributes to a culture of continuous improvement, flexibility, and adaptability.
- 5. Commit to Shared Goals and Values: Alignment on the organization’s mission and values ensures that every team member is moving in the same direction. A shared commitment to our company’s purpose has been pivotal in navigating changes and pivots together, reinforcing our collective resilience.
In terms of qualities I look for in team members:
- a. Adaptability: Adapting to new challenges and changes with a positive attitude is invaluable.Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Understanding and caring about the perspectives and feelings of others helps to build strong, supportive relationships within the team.
- b. Proactive Initiative: Team members who take the initiative and think ahead about overcoming potential obstacles are critical to a resilient team.
- c. Commitment to Growth: Individuals committed to their personal and professional development contribute to the evolution and resilience of the team as a whole.
- d. Alignment with Core Values: Team members who share the company’s core values and are passionate about our mission strengthen our collective resolve and resilience.
Through these practices and qualities, we’ve built a team at Wild Hearts Rising that embodies resilience and thrives on it, facing challenges with confidence and a shared sense of purpose. Our experience has shown that a resilient team is not just about individual strengths but about how those strengths are nurtured, supported, and aligned toward a common goal.
How do you maintain your personal resilience during tough times?
Suzette West: Maintaining resilience during tough times is a journey that deeply resonates with my experiences, personally and as the leader of Wild Hearts Rising.
Through overcoming significant personal challenges, including my journey from being a teenage mother facing cultural-related childhood trauma that resulted in a debilitating case of social anxiety to founding a company dedicated to fostering resilience in others, I’ve developed several essential practices that help me maintain my resilience:
- Embracing Vulnerability: Recognizing and accepting my vulnerabilities has been crucial. It’s allowed me to seek support when needed and understand that facing challenges is a part of growth, not a sign of weakness.
- Continuous Self-Reflection and Learning: My journey has taught me the importance of continuous self-reflection and learning. Whether it’s through reading, attending workshops, networking, or seeking feedback, I’m committed to understanding myself better and growing from each experience.
- Investing in Relationships: The support from trusted friends, family, and colleagues has been indispensable. Investing time and energy in nurturing these relationships provides a support network that helps me through difficult times.
- Practicing Mindfulness and Self-Care: Incorporating mindfulness practices and prioritizing self-care helps me stay grounded and focused. Whether it’s through meditation, creative expression, or simply taking time to enjoy nature, these practices help me maintain my emotional and physical well-being.
- Staying Connected to My Mission and Values: Reminding myself of the mission behind Wild Hearts Rising and staying true to my core values gives me a sense of purpose. This purpose is a compass during tough times, guiding my decisions and actions.
- Resilience-Building Practices: Just as I advocate for and implement resilience-building practices within my team, I apply these same principles to my personal life. This includes making resilience-building a top priority, setting and working towards goals, celebrating accomplishments, and viewing challenges as opportunities for growth.
- Maintaining a Growth Mindset: Cultivating a growth mindset helps me view tough times not as insurmountable obstacles but as opportunities to learn and evolve. Maintaining a growth mindset encourages me to approach challenges with curiosity and openness rather than fear or avoidance.
My resilience is about enduring tough times, learning from them, and emerging stronger. It’s a dynamic process that requires ongoing attention and care. By embracing these practices, I’ve navigated the complexities of life and leadership with resilience and grace, continually learning and growing along the way.
What strategies do you use to manage stress and maintain focus during a crisis?
Suzette West: During a crisis, I lean heavily on prioritization, open communication, heart intelligence, and mindfulness to manage stress and maintain focus.
Clarity on what needs immediate attention, coupled with transparent communication with my team, forms the bedrock of our collective resilience.
Heart intelligence combined with mindfulness practices, self-care, and self-compassion serve as personal anchors, helping me navigate stress with a clear and kinder mind. I also draw strength from my support network, finding solace and practical advice in these connections.
Recognizing the things I can control and emphasizing self-care ensure I remain centered and grounded. Reflecting on these experiences, post-crisis is crucial, as it fuels continuous improvement and readiness for future challenges.
How do you communicate with your team during a crisis?
Suzette West: In moments of crisis, my approach to communication with my team is deeply influenced by the principles of heart intelligence and the importance of maintaining personal coherence. Central to this approach is the prioritization of clear, compassionate, and transparent communication.
I strive to ensure that every message conveyed upholds the values of empathy and understanding, acknowledging the stress and emotional toll a crisis can exert on the team.
Recognizing the power of presence, I increase the frequency of our interactions, utilizing video calls to foster a more connected and supportive environment. Maintaining coherent communication helps reinforce trust and provides a space for mutual support and understanding.
During these interactions, I emphasize active listening, allowing my team to voice their concerns, fears, and suggestions. This not only aids in collective problem-solving but also strengthens the team’s coherence, ensuring we are aligned in our actions and responses.
Furthermore, I strive to deliver clear, concise information and directives, breaking down complex issues into manageable actions. Meeting the team where they are helps reduce uncertainty and anxiety, guiding the team towards constructive steps.
I make it a point to underscore our shared goals in all communications. I also celebrate the resilience we’ve built, reminding everyone of our capacity to navigate challenges as a unified team.
By maintaining a heart-centered approach, I aim to inspire and uphold a sense of calm and coherence within the team, even during a crisis. This heart-centered approach helps us navigate the immediate challenges and strengthens our collective resilience, fostering a culture of trust, support, and mutual respect.
What advice would you give to other CEOs on building resilience in their organizations?
Suzette West: To fellow CEOs aiming to fortify their organizations against the unpredictable waves of the business landscape, my principal advice is prioritizing resilience training.
Embedding resilience into the DNA of your organization through dedicated training programs not only equips your team to handle adversity but also fosters a culture of agility and adaptability.
Start by integrating heart-centered leadership practices emphasizing emotional intelligence, empathy, coherence, and open communication, ensuring your team feels supported and valued.
Lead by example, showing your commitment to fostering a resilient workforce by actively participating in and advocating for these training initiatives. Cultivate an environment where continuous learning and emotional intelligence are valued, reinforcing the belief that resilience is a collective endeavor crucial for navigating challenges and emerging stronger.
Making resilience training a priority is an investment in your organization’s future, setting a foundation for sustained success and growth.
How do you prepare your business for potential future crises?
Suzette West: To effectively prepare our business for potential crises, we emphasize the integral role of heart intelligence and resilience-building practices, integrating them into our daily operations, individually and as a collective team effort.
By prioritizing these practices, we cultivate a deep sense of coherence and empathy within our organizational culture, enabling us to respond to challenges with agility and emotional intelligence.
This approach fosters open communication, ensuring every team member feels heard and valued, strengthening our collective resilience. Additionally, we engage in regular resilience training and development sessions focused on enhancing our capacity to navigate uncertainty, equipping our team with the tools and mindset needed to adapt to and overcome adversity.
Emphasizing heart intelligence in our decision-making and interactions prepares us to face future crises confidently.
Utilizing heart intelligence and trusting our informed intuition solidifies our commitment to leading with compassion and understanding, reinforcing a resilient organizational framework ready to withstand tomorrow’s challenges.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about leadership in times of crisis?
Suzette West: Heart-coherent leadership is crucial in navigating times of crisis.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Suzette West 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 Suzette West or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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