Navigating Change: Storytelling as a Tool for Team Buy-In feat. Katie Leimkuehler

In this episode of Taking Back Monday, Alyssa Nolte dives into the art of leadership and personal branding with executive coach Katie Leimkuehler. Together, they unpack the nuances of going beyond traditional management to become a true mentor and coach. Katie explains how storytelling can be a game-changer for leaders trying to initiate and sustain meaningful change within their teams. Plus, she shares actionable strategies for small business owners facing succession planning challenges, illustrating why early preparation is essential for a smooth transition. If you're a leader aiming to strengthen your influence, build trust, and leave a lasting legacy, this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways:

• Coaching vs. Managing: Discover the differences between managing tasks and coaching people to realize their potential, and why it matters for team growth.
• Storytelling for Change: Learn how storytelling can motivate teams, create buy-in, and help people feel invested in long-term initiatives.
• Succession Planning: Practical steps for small business owners on how to prepare for smooth transitions and set up their successors for success.

Perfect for leaders and small business owners, this episode provides both the “why” and the “how” of inspiring leadership.

Key Moments:
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:14 Understanding the Difference: Manager vs. Coach
01:46 Identifying and Overcoming Roadblocks
02:31 Navigating Corporate Politics
05:57 Motivating and Leading Teams Through Change
12:21 Succession Planning for Small Businesses
16:12 Building a Personal and Team Brand
20:50 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

It's time to say "goodbye" to the Sunday Scaries.

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Transcript

Alyssa Nolte: 0:00

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to taking back Monday. I am so excited that you decided to say goodbye to the Sunday scaries and hello to the future of work. And I'm even more excited to introduce you to my new friend, Katie, Katie, welcome to the show.

Katie Leimkuehler: 0:11

Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Alyssa Nolte: 0:14

So I was getting ready for our conversation and kind of reading through your bio and looking at what you do. And you say that you're an executive coach and you specialize in helping people understand how to really be a great, a great coach, but it's not just kind of the same as like being a manager.

Katie Leimkuehler: 0:31

Yeah, that's a great question. I think a lot of people think that and there's a pretty big difference. So when it comes to managing, you're helping someone on like the very tactical things that they need to do to get their job done. Are they meeting deadlines? Are they performing? Um, you know, all of those very more tactical things. And of course, you can help guide them. But when it comes to coaching, we're looking at the person as a whole. Are they growing and developing in their role? Are they ready to take on a new challenge? And, you know, move up in, in that line of business, um, coaching is more about seeing the potential in someone and asking the right questions to help them move forward. So I see it as a thought partnership as opposed to, let me tell you what to do. It's let's think about how we can do this together and help that person grow.

Alyssa Nolte: 1:26

So when you're coaching your, your clients right on on how to start thinking about, you know, their, their organization and the people that they're leading and their motivation and succession planning, what are the things that you do with them to help them? Be better leaders, better coaches, better, more than just managers.

Katie Leimkuehler: 1:46

So I think the first thing is identifying roadblocks. A lot of people don't know. Um, how to move past certain things, right? So maybe they don't have strong executive presence, which is limiting them from moving up in the company, or they don't know how to motivate or manage 13. They could be a first time manager. So the first step is really identifying the challenge that they're facing and talking through strategies of how to conquer that it could even be navigating the workplace, right? It's very political. How do you work with this team and get along with this person? So each person is going to come in with a different challenge or Um, obstacle that they're going to want to work on. And we talk through, okay, what are some action steps we can take to move this forward and develop you to get to that level?

Alyssa Nolte: 2:30

Yeah. I think that a lot of what you brought up there is really important around, um, self awareness, but also not being naive in a way I I've worked in startups almost my whole career. And I, I worked on an enterprise client last year, um, in a consulting role, and I never realized how strong some of those political instincts can be. And some of those like larger corporate environments. I, Was working on a project and in my mind, I'm just here to like do the best thing for the client and to do what they need in order to be successful and I accidentally stepped into someone's like fiefdom or territory or however you want to describe it and all of a sudden I saw those corporate antibodies come out and I was like. Oh, I didn't even realize I needed to play a political game here. Like I was almost naive to, to the politics involved in corporate life.

Katie Leimkuehler: 3:18

Yeah, it's really important to know the structures and take time to understand them, especially if you're new at a company, like kind of where almost allegiances lie, like where people work together well. Um, you know, who might be someone more challenging to work with? Getting that inside scoop is huge because it really helps navigate your career path. And honestly, to promotions rightly, you have to know the right people and have them on your side and networking throughout the whole process to Make that happen.

Alyssa Nolte: 3:46

Yeah. So when you, when you first start working with someone, you talk about, you know, you're identifying your roadblocks, but I feel like that's really hard for people to do sometimes. Like sometimes we're so close to the problem. We fail to see, you know, the forest for the trees. How do you help people kind of identify what their real roadblocks are? Um, when you're coaching them.

Katie Leimkuehler: 4:06

Yeah. So when it comes to roadblocks, it's asking the right questions that they don't know what it is. It's being very curious and asking thought provoking questions that help get to the bottom of the real issue. Right? So a lot of times when people come into coaching, they're like, Oh, I have a bad manager or I'm coming in and I have this situation. Understanding what's behind the external, right? So like, what's the driving challenge? Why do you have a bad relationship with your manager? Is it because their communication isn't there? Is it that you guys have different communication styles? You haven't really spent the time to get to know each other. It can be a lot of factors. So it's peeling back the layers of what people think it is. And then what is the real meat and sauce that they're trying to deal with?

Alyssa Nolte: 4:53

Yeah. And I think asking the right questions is important, but sometimes, you know, even if I know the right questions, it's hard for me as an individual. So how you, as a coach kind of help them through that and kind of strip it all back, even when they don't necessarily. Have the skills or the capability to strip it back themselves.

Katie Leimkuehler: 5:11

Yeah, so I mean, for me, I'm asking those questions and helping them kind of unveil what they know. examples. Right. So a lot of times when people hear a story of like, Hey, this has happened in my world, or I know someone that this has happened to it. There's like a light bulb, like, yeah, that's it. Or no, we're like getting farther off track. Um, so I try and share, you know, Is this, is it something along these lines that you're referring to, or is it more like this? And that will start getting the ball rolling. Like, yeah, you know, it is, that is it. And I am just trying to grapple with that. And so once we identify that challenge, we can go a lot deeper and start thinking strategically on how to beat that challenge.

Alyssa Nolte: 5:57

So one of the things that I think all leaders really struggle with, and at least I know that I do is getting my team kind of excited and on the same page as me about where we're going. Like if I'm a leader and I want to initiate some change, something is going to be different in our organization, either organization wide or just in my own team, what would be the number one thing you would do first in order to start really getting the team motivated and excited about this change?

Katie Leimkuehler: 6:23

Storytelling. Storytelling is probably the most impactful thing you can do to get buy in, especially when it comes to change. So getting everybody on the same page is really like painting that vision and picture of where we are, where we're going and why you should care, right? So it's like that Simon Sinek book starts with why, right? Like, why do I want to get on board with this? What's in it for me? So I think that has to start with a very compelling vision. To get everyone at least on the same page to start, right? Like, this is why we're making this change. This is the organizational change that's coming and why you should care and why it's important for you. So starting with that story and then, you know, going from there, I think it's really key because if you get the story. That leads more into buy in and motivation. Um, and those are really going to be the two key factors there.

Alyssa Nolte: 7:17

Yeah, getting that story set up of like, why are we going to bother to make this change? Because let's be honest, people really don't like to change, right? Have you ever met someone who's like, yeah, I'd like to turn everything around overnight. Like, that's not really how people like to operate.

Katie Leimkuehler: 7:30

Yeah, it's rare, right? But I think the people that come to me that for coaching usually are open to change. It might not be drastic, but they're usually recognizing that something needs to evolve for them to be better. And so those are the type of people that Excel best when it comes to coaching, because they can see. That there's opportunity for them to grow. And I think that's that fixed mindset first, that growth mindset, right? So like, this is the way things always are. Or that fixed mindset. I don't want to change. You know, this is the way we do it. You hear a lot of companies say that, right? When you ask, why do we do things? Oh, we've always done it. That first, the growth mindset is how can we do this better? Or what about this way? How can we come together and solve this differently? So when you have that growth mindset, you're way more open to coaching and change across an organization and change in general.

Alyssa Nolte: 8:21

I love that. Um, you talked about kind of that initial motivation, right? That storytelling, setting up the vision, getting everyone on the same page. But I've seen changes that have like an initiative that is going to take three years for them to really see results. So from day one to the end of year three, how do you help your teams persevere through like, The ongoing slog of change.

Katie Leimkuehler: 8:46

Yeah, great question. So when it comes to change, it's really identifying the motivation, right? So when it comes to that individual, like, how are they contributing to this bigger, grander impact across the organization, you know, why is their role important and almost selling that back to them? Like, this is what you're going to be doing. This is how it's going to impact not just our, our role, but the company as a whole and, and really selling the work of it. Um, because when people feel like their role is contributing to something good, and that's advancing the organization, they're going to be more likely to get on board and that's going to motivate them because people are mostly people can be intrinsically motivated, which is that inner motivation of, yeah, I want to contribute. I want to be a part of something. And if you can. You know, tie that in with that sense of belonging. I think they can really get on board with the change.

Alyssa Nolte: 9:37

Yeah. And it's funny that you say selling, cause I feel like a lot of people kind of get like, Itchy feelings when they think about like, I'm not in sales. I'm, I'm in, I'm in marketing or I'm in finance or I'm in whatever, whatever department you're in. I'm in corporate communications, right? But I think that, um, I used to work with someone who would talk about how every role is a sales role. It just depends on what you're pitching. Um, and having the ability to be persuasive and communicate effectively and, and really build your trust with your team. I mentioned earlier that I was doing a corporate consulting project and they were going through a change initiative and it was going to take a couple of years to really see success. And a bunch of people said, I'm not even going to bother with this initiative because I know this company. They're going to be all excited about it for two or three months and then it'll be a new thing. So if I just ignore this long enough, it's going to go away. And in the end, they were proven right. The initiative went away and they didn't have to change because you know what the initiative went away. Talk to me a little bit about, you know, building trust with your team that it's not just going to be a fly by night initiative and it's actually going to turn into something.

Katie Leimkuehler: 10:48

Yeah. So that sounds like an organizational web problem, right? If they have a lot of initiatives that they're launching and not following through on, I would say that comes down to the leader, right? So it's really up to the person leading that team to understand it. Is this one of those core initiatives that the business is getting on board with and do some due diligence, right? Cause you don't want to lead your team straight. Um, so finding out like how important of initiative is this and then communicating that with the team, right? Like being transparent. I think that's super important when it comes to managing a team is letting them know like, Hey, like maybe this is. Priority six, you know, across the organization, or this is a level 10 priority like this is going to happen and we need to get on board and just being honest. I think people are more receptive to that because you're not leading them astray. You're not intentionally saying, Hey, we have to change everything because this, and we have to pivot on a dime, um, and change takes time. So I think just being, you know, honest about that and transparent. You know, okay, so this one didn't go through like Saru and through that and owning that as the leader of the team, you're responsible, right? If you miscommunicated the importance of an initiative, it's on you to own that. Um, right. And even if it was the company that also was saying it's level 10, it's priority 10 and then it failed. It's again, it comes down to the leader because right. You're the one asking this. from your employees. So it's owning that and owning the work that you're asking them to do.

Alyssa Nolte: 12:20

Absolutely. Let's, let's pivot away from big business for a minute and talk to me about succession planning, particularly for, you know, we have a lot of, um, I work with a lot of small businesses who they're about to retire, they're baby boomers, they're heading on out of their business and they don't really have a plan in place for, for what comes next with their business. How would you coach them through that?

Katie Leimkuehler: 12:42

Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, this is like a very unique time with the boomer businesses, you know, people about to retire and there's not a lot of people in line to take it over. And that's a huge opportunity. I mean, huge opportunity. For the younger generation to step in and maybe even buy those businesses, find them. Um, I would say if, you know, if you're an individual that owns a business that is small and you don't have a succession plan to start thinking about it because it is a huge gap and it's such an undertaking for someone. To take it on. Right. And even if you don't have someone identified now, it's putting those processes in place. Like what would they need to know? Right. Like doing some SOPs videos, like training materials of just what would someone need to know if they stepped into your role? Like what would they need to know? Like day one and start gathering that information. So I think that's, That's, you know, one is doing that research and then two, it's looking for the right person to take it on. Um, and that's probably a special type of person, depending on the business. But if you have someone at your company that could possibly be in line, like start, start bringing them around now, right? Like you want them to be in those meetings. You want to start having those conversations because it's not an overnight process. It does take time to set up.

Alyssa Nolte: 14:01

I think you make a great point. Um, it's not just going to happen to you, right? It's not just going to be serendipity. You almost have to manufacture that serendipity of finding the right person who's going to be ready when you're ready, right? A lot of people are sitting kind of in the passenger seat of their lives when it comes to this particular concept. And I think you just made the point that we have to do something in order to prepare for this. It's not something that succession doesn't just happen when we're ready.

Katie Leimkuehler: 14:29

Absolutely not. Yeah. It's something that you have to prepare for. So you really have to bring that personal. And so I think about like my dad has a prosthetic business and we grew up with that and my brother's taking it over and they have been in this process for several years, right? They're still working side by side. My dad can retire whenever, and I have a whole plan in place of what that's going to look like. But they, you know, that took time to build and get that going. Um, so I think you have to be strategic and smart about it. Like someone's not going to come in and buy a business that isn't ready to hand over all of this information, right? If you don't have it ready to go, no one's going to buy it or no one's going to step in from your company. If you have been in it so long and you just know all your partners and you don't keep track of stuff. You're not going to make it easy for someone to step into that role. So I think thinking forward and how can you make it easier for someone to say yes.

Alyssa Nolte: 15:21

Yeah, you mentioned, you know, your brother's taking over and you guys have been working on that for years. Like that was a familial relationship and it still took years of planning and strategic thinking in order to make that a successful transition.

Katie Leimkuehler: 15:33

Yeah. It definitely takes time and effort and you, you have to be thinking about it. Right. And who is the type of person that can step into that role? If you're leaving like a legacy business as well, like what, what individual do you want stepping into that role? What kind of characteristics that I need, what kind of business sense, right. Cause some relationships are more transactional and others are more relationship based. So, you know, I think having that in mind is really key too, is like, What kind of person can step into that role?

Alyssa Nolte: 16:02

Yeah, I, I agree wholeheartedly with that. Um, you know, as we're thinking about being a leader of your organization, whether you are. Just an employee who is a leader of a team or you are a business owner who's looking to build the greatest legacy you can if you you know you have some issues in your business everyone does and you want to make some some positive shifts either in the way people perceive you as the leader like your personal brand or the way you communicate with your team and tell your story what is you know where would you start what is one thing you would start doing.

Katie Leimkuehler: 16:38

I think the first thing is understanding what you want to be known for. So a question that I usually ask people is if someone introduced you and said, this is Katie lime cooler, she is X, Y, and Z. What are those three words that follow my last name? And for me, I would want it to be like executive coach, empowering, like thought partner, right? So thinking about first, what do you want to be known for? Right. And does that match your current picture? Right. Like if you go around and ask people, like, would they say that about you? Would your coworkers employees, you know, go ask them, even your family, like what would they say? So I think understanding like what those three words, three values, a brand proposition that you want to be known for is number one. And then how do you embody that? Right. So another thing I encourage people to think about is their team brand. So if you're a leader in organization and, you know, you have a team that you're managing, Like do this like vision and branding workshop with them about what your team is going to be known for. Are you going to be known for strategic work, replying right away, being easy to work with, which is like, that's an amazing one, right? If you can be a team that's easy to work with, my God, you have so many opportunities, right? So if you think about that, of course, all the organizations I've been in, I can say, oh, this marketing team was great, or this technology team was, you know, more challenging, whatever it might be, but you want your internal brand and equity to be high. And if you can plan for that and get the team on board, I mean, it's way more likely that Your relationships across the business will be great as well. Um, so I think starting with yourself and then building that team branding.

Alyssa Nolte: 18:19

Branding i think is a very under looked undervalued thing that for individuals like think about the amount of money that companies spend on building and protecting their brand right it's obviously an important thing that companies are doing and yet so many leaders are letting their brand happen to them. Instead of really thinking about exactly to your point, and I'm sitting here like spinning my wheels of like, well, what, what do I want to be known for? And, and does my wish of what I want to be known for match the reality of what I'm putting out there? Right? I think back to the conversation we started at the very beginning was having a lot of self awareness. Around like that requires a lot of self awareness for me to say, this is what I'm looking for. This is what I actually am. How do I make those two meet in the middle?

Katie Leimkuehler: 19:04

Yeah, it definitely takes time, right? It's something you've got to think about, right? Like to your point, it doesn't happen to you. You have to be strategic and plan it out. Right. So like I think across all the different Lines of business and things that I've done in the over the years. I've made a documentary. I've written some books and they're totally adjacent from my coaching business, right? There are different things. And with that comes like branding and thinking about how I'm going to position that and tell that story. So it's really sets you up for success. If you can You know, develop a personal brand outside of work as well, right? Like at work, but outside of work that's consistent over the years. Right. And then people will know you for this and then you become the expert and then you're just elevated one more step up. It really. I think sets people up for success if they take the time to do it.

Alyssa Nolte: 19:49

Right. And to do it with intentionality, I love that you, you, I saw it was scrolling through your LinkedIn and I saw your documentary, um, promoted, and I love that you've had the opportunity to showcase, you know, these skills that maybe seem disconnected from. From your executive coaching, what you're doing there, but you told us in the beginning that storytelling is one of the most important skills that you can have as a leader. So it makes total sense to me that documentaries was right up your alley.

Katie Leimkuehler: 20:15

Yeah, for sure. I, that's what I think my strength is across all the things I've done is storytelling. And that's a key part of coaching as well. My documentary, like it was about my grandfather, who was the first amputee skier and, um, and the U S and start a prosthetic business here in Cleveland and follow his journey. Um, so he's one of, you know, these really inspiring people to me, but yeah, I think it all comes down to being able to tell a great story through Across all the mediums and things that I've done and empower people, which to me, that's most important is inspiring people and empowering them to go after what they want.

Alyssa Nolte: 20:48

That's incredible. So Katie, you obviously have met a lot of really incredible people across your executive coaching and your entire career. In your mind, who is taking back Monday? Who else should we be talking to?

Katie Leimkuehler: 21:02

Well, I think there's so many to be honest. Um, obviously one of my favorite authors, I don't know him personally is Adam Grant. I've just gotten so,

Alyssa Nolte: 21:09

Oh, I love Adam Grant. Not to interrupt you, but like, I love him. He's so

Katie Leimkuehler: 21:14

yeah, he's amazing. I've just all his books, everything that he does, I find it so insightful and so impactful. And I think, you know, he is, he is someone that I just always look up to and to the work that he's doing. Yeah.

Alyssa Nolte: 21:29

And, um, Brene Brown and all of those people, like such incredible thought leaders. We love, um, you mentioned Simon Sinek. I'm just finished his book, uh, Leaders Eat Last. So it's, and, um, I'm currently reading Seth Godin's The Dip. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that. It's an older book. Um, it's like this big, it's very, very tiny, but it is a really interesting little book packed with insights. Um, Katie, if someone is, is really connecting with you, wants to know more about, about what it's like to work with you, or just wants to, to learn more about what you have to offer, where can they find you online?

Katie Leimkuehler: 22:02

They can find me on my website. It's executiveleadershipcenter. com or on LinkedIn, just Katie Lundgler, you can connect with me, send me a message. I'll happy to talk to anybody and yeah, take it from there.

Alyssa Nolte: 22:14

Awesome. Well, thank you for taking back Monday with us. This was a great conversation.

Katie Leimkuehler: 22:17

Thanks so much for having me.