Meet Suzanne Weller

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Suzanne Weller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Suzanne, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

For me, risk brings up a collection of emotions, including excitement, anxiety, and a dash of curiosity. I was brought up by expatriate parents who ventured to America in their 20’s, who were recently married and looking for new opportunities outside of England. Without a doubt their adventurous spirit rubbed off on me and my sister, making us more comfortable with the unknown – wanting to explore it, rather than run away from it.

I consider myself someone who lives in a space of “managed risk.” I’m able to strike the delicate balance between staying in my comfort zone vs. jumping in to see how deep the water is. I’ve cultivated this skill through experimentation, trusting my intuition, and enlisting perspectives from others to ensure I’m asking the right questions, assessing scenarios, and vetting my assumptions. I’ve always been a fan of tapping into my hive – the people I trust and love to support me through the process of making hard decisions and taking leaps.

There’s also one key element I must mention here: courage. It’s one of my core values. I embrace whenever I can, regardless of how big (or small) the thought, approach, or action. I am such an advocate for courage, I have a podcast called “The Courage Effect.” I believe courage is a vital component when we’re figuring out how much risk we take in our lives – and there are different recipes for how much we bring in light of what we’re facing at different times.

How do I tap into my courage when assessing risk? It comes down to unpacking it: getting a better understanding of what I’m feeling and taking a hard look at what I might regret if I do or don’t move forward with something. I think about what happens on the other side of it and negotiate with myself on what makes the most sense for me now and moving forward.

Regret, for me, is on the other side of the spectrum from courage. I’d rather regret the things that I did rather than what I didn’t do. I don’t want to look back at the end of each year wondering “what if?”. Taking time to answer “why not?” in the moment is a lot more helpful in guiding me toward what I truly want, and to realize what I’m capable of. That doesn’t mean I say “yes” to everything . . . but it does allow me to take more risks, gain more experiences, and learn through the process.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m passionate about creating a positive impact, inspiring others, and challenging the status quo. I’m the founder of Weller Collaboration, a firm working with clients to enhance leadership, increase agility, and amplify communication skills.

I’m a transformation coach who helps leaders, teams and organizations to step into effective, adaptive leadership. In my daily experiences with my clients, I am exposed to their strengths, insecurities, and challenges. Our partnerships challenge their mindsets and behaviors – encouraging them to see the world differently and reconsider how they want to show up in it. This work is not for the faint at heart, since it takes a good dose of courage to delve into their patterns, take inventory on what matters, and create change for themselves and their organizations.

As the creator and host of “The Courage Effect” podcast, a conduit to amplify courage in our lives, workplaces, and communities. It’s a space for sharing stories and lighting a spark of inspiration for others to do the same.

My professional journey is founded on what I call the “three c’s”: communication, collaboration, and courage. These have been key guideposts in my twenty years of leadership experience across the consulting, content licensing, media, and life sciences industries. Over the course of my career, I’ve partnered with organizations to drive transformation initiatives, build industry-leading sales teams, spearhead communication strategies, and been a trusted coach for individuals and teams.

A native Californian (and former New Yorker), I’m based in Seattle, where I live with my husband and our rescue dog, Bacon.

Find more information about me and Weller Collaboration at https://wellercollaboration.com, and subscribe to my newsletter called “Realize Growth” on Substack (https://suzanneweller.substack.com/).

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Taking the time to build relationships, listen, and communicate effectively. It can be easy for us to rush through exchanges with people, and defer to less personal interactions in our busy lives. Understanding how important people are to our well being, ability to thrive, and larger success is vital. Investing the time and energy into cultivating relationships and communicating effectively can be a game changer in how we interact with the world and what we’re able to realize.

How would you describe your ideal client?

Our world — and lives — are becoming increasingly challenging, especially when you think about the many complexities we’re encountering in our current climate.

My ideal client is someone whose looking for support to navigate these waters. They’re juggling hard decisions (and pivots), the challenges of flexible and remote work environments, and prioritizing the well-being of their team members, clients, families, and themselves.

Whether by choice or by necessity, people who are taking inventory and reprioritize what’s important in their lives, their work, and how they’d like to respond to the obstacles they’ll experience on the road ahead.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

(c) Dasha Denger / White Moth Studio

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