Know My Company
How has your journey been into HR and Executive Coaching?
My mother and co-founder, Katherine, has been in the Human Capital business for the last 20 years, so I grew up watching her coach her clients and candidates, and as such, I grew up with a passion for Human Capital and understanding the value of EQ and human connection.
What prompted you to start LeaderEQ?
Seeing the benefit Katherine was providing to her clients and candidates, I started to notice that there wasn’t a marketplace to find a coach, or it wasn’t at an accessible price point unless an executive worked at a Fortune 500 company, and thus the concept of LeaderEQ was born.
What HR Technology do you leverage for Executive Coaching?
We utilize a matching algorithm that matches leaders with a compatible coach who will be best suited to help guide the leader in the best direction to reach their goals. The traditional tools of 360s and Disc assessments are also keys to truly understanding a leader’s weaknesses to help them turn those into strengths.
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What percentage of your time is invested in browsing and reading technology-related topics?
I dedicate an hour and a half every morning to reading tech related news and topics in order to always stay on top of new trends and the direction that companies, in general, are going.
What is LeaderEQ and how does it fit into the current Executive Coaching landscape?
LeaderEQ is an on-demand executive coaching platform that leverages our matching algorithm to take the trial and error out of finding the right coach. Our ability to help facilitate coaching at an accessible price point is going to give access to more leaders to the benefits of coaching.
What does your ideal customer profile look like?
Our ideal customer is truly any leader. We focus on the Director-level and above, as that has been the hardest transition for most professionals. No one is born knowing how to be an executive or run a company, and we are here to help lessen the learning curve.
How is Executive Coaching impacting overall employee engagement in organizations?
We believe that it is so important to set a culture of empathy, fostering the drive to constantly learn and improve and to also be brave enough to know that leaders are not perfect, but are willing to acknowledge their weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Ultimately, our goal is to create more self-awareness and empathy in the workplace. If that happens, improved employee engagement and culture is a natural side effect.
What are the aspects of the AI-side of your coaching programs?
Data is the most important aspect of the entire coaching program. Having the means to see one’s own progress throughout their coaching journey is a constant encouragement to continue improving themselves.
How do you see new emerging trends of AI, Machine Learning, Automation, and Robotics Impacting Coaching, Training, and Development?
All of these trends can be an incredibly useful tool for facilitating coaching and gaining the most out of each interaction a leader has with a coach. If we can leverage technology to help our human interactions, improved emotional intelligence and leadership will naturally follow. That said, it has to be done thoughtfully, like anything that is revolving around humans.
How can customers benefit from your technology? Tell us about any integrations and technology partnerships with other platforms.
We are committed to keeping a high-touch service throughout our platform for both our current customers and potential customers. Coaches, companies, and leaders can expect the highest level of service, with the help of both our technology and our incredible team. We are dedicated to helping each leader and company reach their milestones faster than anticipated, and this is all truly a team effort. Simple tools like Intercom have helped us interact and engage with anyone that inquires and uses our platform at a level of urgency that helps us reiterate our dedication to customer satisfaction.
What is your vision into growing revenue opportunities?
Human Capital is such an important aspect of every single company, so without giving too much away, we are ready to revolutionize the way Human Capital is treated, heard and helped at all levels.
How do you play a part in the Digital Transformation of such culture-driven organizations?
There are five generations in the workforce, and the newest one entering the workforce has grown up with technology at the tip of their fingers. Utilizing tech to help improve our human connection and bridging that gap utilizing what is most familiar to the new generations will help overall communication in terms of employee engagement and team culture.
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Which Marketing and Sales Technology solutions do you use at LeaderEQ?
We just started utilizing HubSpot which has been great for helping with our marketing and sales. Up until recently though, but really, our greatest asset is our satisfied customers, coaches, and team.
The Crystal Gaze
Which start-ups in the tech industry interest you the most and why?
Textio is one of our favorite start-ups as they are utilizing AI to take out bias in job descriptions. Truly, any start-up that is trying to take away biases and push the Efforts in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are on the right path. Now that we have a grasp on how much of an impact technology can have, we need to learn how to harness it into helping our society progress.
What technologies within AI and HR Technology are you interested in?
Like I said above, utilizing AI to both enhance our human connections in a meaningful way, but also the ones that are helping us push past our mental boundaries to become a less bias and overall better society.
What are the new emerging markets that you see providing the biggest opportunities in HR Technology?
Coaching is one that is on the rise, but really any technology that is looking to improve the well-being and also overall improvement of its team.
What’s your smartest work related shortcut or productivity hack?
Segmenting my days into different tasks and objectives. Running a start-up means that you have a million and one different responsibilities, so setting aside dedicated hours in the day to focus on one thing at a time has helped me a ton. Also “Do Not Disturb” helps a ton when you just need those times to focus and not be interrupted!
Tag the one person in the industry whose answers to these questions you would love to read:
Sarah Nahm, CEO & Founder of Lever
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Thank You, Chessa, for answering all our questions. We hope to see you again, soon.
LeaderEQ is an on-demand executive coaching platform that connects and empowers businesses and coaches through its AI technology.
LeaderEQ guides the success of fast growth companies and businesses in transition through our unique technology and diverse selection of coaches.
LeaderEQ helps you achieve who you want to be, where you want to go and help you find the best way to get there through unlimited access to your Coach.
Chessa aims to inspire constant improvement for business leaders and their organizations. When delivering talent acquisition solutions across multiple verticals at Agency360, Chessa noticed that an accessible executive coaching resource was consistently absent. She formulated the plan for LeaderEQ to leverage her expertise in talent acquisition and management and created LeaderMatch – a matchmaking platform that would enable executives to select the right coaches and business counselors, along with providing one platform to communicate more effectively