Chamber Chats | Leading with Purpose

In this episode of Chamber Chats, we sit down with Lisa Gruenloh, Founder and President of Purpose Journey, Inc., to explore how strong organizational culture, emotional intelligence, and intentional leadership drive meaningful impact.

With more than 30 years of experience across corporate, government, nonprofit, and consulting sectors, Lisa brings a unique perspective on leadership, workplace culture, and the power of purpose-driven work.

In this episode, we explore:

• Emerging workplace trends and challenges organizations are navigating today
• The role of emotional intelligence in building strong, resilient teams
• Her passion for community impact and commitment to workplace wellness

Whether you’re a business leader, nonprofit professional, or someone passionate about personal and professional growth, this episode offers valuable insight into leading with intention, empathy, and purpose.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

In this episode of Chamber Chats, we sit down with Lisa Greenlow, founder and president of Purpose Journey Inc., a consulting, training, and coaching firm specializing in organizational culture development, leadership, and emotional intelligence. Lisa brings more than 30 years of experience spanning corporate, government, nonprofit, and consulting roles, along with her expertise as an ICF certified executive coach. Through Purpose Journey, Lisa helps guide organizations, embed emotionally intelligent execution discipline to build trust, navigate change, enhance well-being, and create lasting positive impact. In this podcast, we'll explore how Lisa's diverse career path led her into leadership, coaching, and organizational development, the workplace trends she sees emerging today, and her deep passion for community impact and commitment to wellness. Lisa, thank you for joining us today. Thank you. It's so great to be here. Thanks for sitting down with me today. So you have had a diverse career, Capitol Hill, PR, leadership development. What first drew you to leadership and team development?

SPEAKER_00 1:22

That is a great question. And it really was a huge turning point in my life. As you mentioned, I started my career working in the public sector, working on Capitol Hill. I worked at a federal agency, then transitioned to PR firms. When I moved to Naples in 2004, I started working for a company here that put a huge focus on organizational culture. Everyone in our organization went through leadership training, but also emotional intelligence training. And it changed my life. It changed my life doing that work myself. And I became such a champion of the culture and the work, especially the emotional intelligence piece of it, that I got trained as a coach on my own dime. And it really was the start of kind of this new career path for me. And, you know, really was inspired by my own experience as an employee, as a leader in an organization, and getting the benefit of a workplace that prioritized people and purpose.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

It is. I mean, and because I lived it personally, and you know, honestly, um, the way that I led in my 20s could not be more different than I lead now. And I'm just, I'm so grateful that I had that so early on that I was able to make positive changes for myself. Like I always laugh at, oh my gosh. And not that type A is wrong, or like if you're a D and disc, it's not wrong because I still have lots of lots of that in me. Um, but I'm just more consistent, you know, with um how I show up and a lot more grounded, and it just it makes it so much easier to make great decisions and really um bring people along in positive ways with the things that you're trying to do.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yeah, well, I know organizations are facing all kinds of change, right? And they're just trying to get ahead of these trends. What are the trends and challenges that you're seeing organizations deal with today?

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Well, okay, so workplaces are a reflection of really the rest of the world, right? So one thing that I have been leading almost every presentation with to leaders in the past few months is this um interesting um factoid that came out of Gallup's Employee Engagement Global Survey that they do every yeah. And um they asked employees in many, many countries, including the United States, um, what is it about your leaders that you most need? And I think it was pretty shocking for a lot of us who work in this field to hear what the number one thing was that employees are looking for and they're leaders. What is it? Hope. Wow. That struck me in the gut so hard. Um, and there were also things like, you know, trust and stability and compassion. Those were like the the runners up. Um, but it really just struck me so hard. It's like that is such a reflection of I think what people are just experiencing in life. So to me, the message is like the workplace is an opportunity. As leaders, we have an opportunity as business owners, um managers to create a work environment that people want to come to because they feel a sense of purpose, meaning, stability, structure when everything else might seem like it's going off the rails. You know, it's so funny how the workplace could be a place of refuge in a way. Who would have thought? Right. But but I I saw that even in my 20s and 30s, you know, going through um, you know, a work environment, being part of a work environment that really had that. But um I think we need that now more than ever, you know, helping people to be more resilient, but also, you know, having the expectations and the accountability at the same time. It's it's both of those things.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

No, I I really, really appreciate that. You know, service and community impact are at the core of your life and your work. Where does the drive come from and what are some of your most meaningful community partnerships?

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Yeah, well, first of all, I have to, you know, give a little salute to my mom because I grew up in a family that did volunteer work together. And so I really I think part of it is in my DNA, um, but I also had the nurture aspect of that as well. And so I was doing volunteer work at a very young age. Um, when I was in high school, um, my high school was less than a mile from a radioactive waste site. And I just got involved. I got involved as an advocate, an activist. Um, I was passionate about issues as a teenager. And so that has just carried through my whole life. So then when I became a business owner, that became a core part of my business. So some of the things that I do because I work in workplace well-being and emotional intelligence, emotional well-being, um, mental fitness, um, as part of the work I do. Um, I have partnered with David Lawrence Center, do a lot of different things with them. And one of the most precious, sacred volunteer activities I have is working with drug court participants. So I go in every month and work with the men's group, work with the women's group, and just help with life skills and emotional well-being. And it's some of the most rewarding work that I do. Um, also very involved with Red Cross, have a long, long history with Red Cross as a life guard and swim instructor way back in the day. Okay. Okay. Way, way back in the day. Um and then, you know, I'm on the board here locally and doing a lot of interesting things. And I just give um, you know, where I can to to other, but those are a couple of the big ones.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

Okay. Yeah. Well, I really appreciate the philanthropic, uh, philanthropic, excuse me, involvement that you have in our community. And I know you've got your your prescribed clients, but also you do a wellness retreat every year that I've had the pleasure of attending. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

Oh, I'm so glad you asked about that because you can tell it brings me joy. Yes. Um, so one of the things that became clear to me after I lived, you know, and worked in Southwest Florida for a number of years is um, well, we're seasonal, right? And what happens to professionals in the first four months of the calendar year is, I mean, it's kind of ridiculous how much we work, right? We're cramming so much of our um output and energy into the those first four months of the year. And then, you know, people went off into the summer and, you know, nothing, right? So I wanted to create an event that brought professionals together at the end of season where we could replenish, we could connect, we could have some fun. Um, so this is a day-long retreat that I have, usually on the first Friday of May, so May 1st, 2026. And um it's it's a full day that starts with um outdoor well-being activities, all kinds of really fun, amazing uh things. And then we break for lunch, and then Naples players comes in the afternoon. We do a lot of fun activities, and it's just it's a phenomenal day. And I am so filled by that experience um because people sometimes come up to me mid-morning with tears in their eyes. Like I didn't realize how much I needed this. And it's like why I do it.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Well, it is such a moment of recharge, right? Pause, celebrate, because it's so many months of dedication here in this very seasonal market. And then you have this moment of of a recharge for yourself, which I think is so fantastic to enter summer in that in that season.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

And and the celebration is a big part of it too, because I do call it a you know, a celebration. Because, you know, we still have um, you know, eight more months of the year, you know, that we have to work and meet our goals. And so often we wait till the end of the calendar year to celebrate our outcomes and accomplishments. And I'm like, no, no, no. We gotta take a little break here and mark, you know, what we've accomplished and appreciate what we've accomplished to further energize ourselves, I think, uh mentally and uh emotionally.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

I appreciate that. Well, I know you're like continuing to grow and enhance what you do. I know your business model's changed just a little bit. Can you tell us a little bit about kind of what that looks like? I know we've had the opportunity to experience that personally at the chamber. You've been helping us in this way. So talk a little bit about your business model.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

So yeah, um, what I noticed um in doing work with organizations is so often um, you know, they they want to do the right thing to develop their employees and create culture. And I I and I think this is true for a lot of consultants. You get brought in for like um a training engagement. And what I was finding happening um is there wasn't like the the follow-through, the ability or the bandwidth or the internal expertise to really integrate learnings. So um I decided last summer that um I was probably not gonna do too many just one-off training engagements and really focus on creating um offerings that were more meaningful to me and I knew would be way more impactful for uh my clients. So one of those is the uh visiting chief of staff engagement, where I actually am embedded in an organization and helping them with a combination of operations, um, strategy, and culture, and really um helping them define, refine uh their culture and you know, get the right um training that they need, uh support that they need and coaching. Um but I don't just leave after that. I'm there and I get to be part of the team for a while and really make sure that by the time I do step away from that engagement, that they're good to go to really sustain the things that we've worked on together. And it's it's meaningful to me because I love connecting with people and I really love driving great outcomes, you know, that are positive outcomes but also sustainable. So, yeah, so what I've been doing with the chamber has, you know, been amazing.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

Good. Well, we've loved having you, and I would say that myself and our our team have learned so much about themselves as individuals. We've learned so much about each other, and I'm um really excited to watch as we continue to embed those lessons in our day-to-day, uh, how that helps, you know, drive an unstoppable team uh to work here on behalf of this community. So I want to say thank you to you for that new model. I think it's gonna be really impactful for us. So um, so talk to me a little bit about your leadership call, your involvement too. So I know you're an alumni of our leadership program. What year were you? 23. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Best in a century.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Okay. Well, tell me a little bit about your leadership calling.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Okay. So yeah, so we got to play off the centennial like that.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

So tell me about your experience and why you found that valuable.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Well, you know, I had been in the community for, you know, 18 years or something by then. And so, you know, and so many of my fellow alums say the same thing, right? It's like, I thought I knew, I thought I knew Collier County. Um, but you get in there and and really dig deep, right, on um the issues, meeting the people, hearing in way more detail um about the things that are going on, our challenges, and and really the opportunities. And so many exciting things going on in Naples and Collier County. Um I and I think, again, a lot of my peers would also share the sentiment that it's the connections you make, right? So it's the learning, um, you know, seeing where you can have more impact, but the connections you make with people are just lifelong and so meaningful. And I I already had a lot of great friends in the business community that I met through the chamber, but this is next level.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Well, I'm so glad you've had such a great experience with leadership call, you're as so many of the alumni have, and recommend the program far and wide. I hear it so often. I grew up here and I learned things through this program that I never knew before, even though I've lived here my whole life. So I'm glad you had such a great experience. I know also with your unique skill set, you've been helping in enrich the work we do in matching needs. Will you talk a little bit about what the work is when we when we use the phrase matching needs with our alumni so that our um our community knows about how it's available and how we're continuing to evolve the work we do in that space?

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Right. Um that's one of the great benefits of um having the Leadership Collier program. You know, everybody goes through, you know, each of those days learning so much about where the needs are in the community, how they can support. So once they graduate from the program, they can come back to us and we help match them with volunteer leadership opportunities that are meaningful to them with nonprofits or public agencies or committees in the community to really help amplify their impact in new ways. And it has been such a joy working on that piece of the chamber business, so to speak, in my role as chief of staff, um, because I kind of I came to it very in a very entrepreneurial way. Like, okay, we have this great matching needs program that I learned about two years ago. If I were to approach this, you know, as me and my my business, what would I do? Well, I would work one-on-one with people and really find out what are you passionate about, what are your career goals, you know, what really um stuck out to you about the Leadership Collier program. And so um I'm able to have those one-on-one, I call them impact coaching sessions, and we really identify where those most meaningful connections are gonna be. And then we bring in our amazing chamber staff to help make those warm introductions to the organizations. And it's like magic. I mean, we've had like close to 100% placement rate, you know, with that program. The only time we haven't placed somebody, you know, using this program is when I kind of realized talking to somebody that, you know, maybe, you know, what you want is a little bit, you know, different from a volunteer leadership role. Like some people were actually looking to be the mentee and not the mentor because they were already doing so much volunteer leadership stuff. So, and this is part of my client thing. It's like you don't force something on your client because you're you got something to sell. It's like you you serve what there is in their best interest, and um, it's just been so much fun.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

I'm so glad to hear that. Well, we've enjoyed having you, and you know, we're a client of yours, um, and we really you are doing so much to help enrich our operation, but you also have been a member of the chamber. Tell me about what your membership experience has been like with the chamber and why you might recommend others consider joining.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Yeah, I think I've been a chamber member for probably close to 15 years or so in different um capacities. Because sometimes I joined as a nonprofit, so I've kind of worn different hats even. Um, but as Purpose Journey founder, um I have always looked at the chamber as I could I can't say an extension of my team because they're really not working just for me, but sometimes they make you feel that way, which is very special. You know, anytime I have had a question over the years, um, they've just always been so fantastic in helping me to really leverage uh all the benefits that I have as a chamber member. Um and again, just like with Leadership Collier, it's the connections, you know, and as I always say, you get out of it what you put into it. So, you know, I've always gone to a lot of events, I've gotten involved, volunteered, uh, all of those things. Um, but it's I I don't know that I would have um kept going with my business like in the early years had it not been for the chamber. So good.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Well I'm so glad that you found it so valuable. So Lisa, what are you finding that leaders are coming to you about and needing coaching for?

SPEAKER_00 18:47

So one thing for sure is um training and coaching specifically for managers. We've all heard that statistic, you know, or that that factoid that, you know, people leave their bosses, they don't leave their organizations. Um and there's just not enough training and focus on that level of leader in the organization. So there's been a huge gap in that area. So I love working with teams on love, you know, all levels at the leadership level, manager level, and then there's a lot of things that I do for um full teams. But you know, my approach is helping teams be both high performing and high functioning. So so often, right, we have teams who are really killing it, they're they're getting results, but there's tons of dysfunction, you know, or you know, there's toxic behavior, um, or you know, people get along great, but nothing's getting done. Or it's not getting done on time, or um, you know, to the level that, you know, they they're gonna have really optimized impact. So um that's I think kind of like my sweet spot when I work with teams and organizations is really help them get very, very clear on the culture and the values that are really going to drive their business, um, drive their interactions with not just employees, but all stakeholders. Um and you know, setting up accountability systems and processes that really drive accountability and um all the results that we're looking for, um, but in a very purpose-driven, uh, compassionate way.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Well, I love that because so often someone gets promoted because they're good at the work that they do. But does that mean that they are equipped with the skills needed to be a leader in the organization? Right. So I'm thrilled to hear that you're bringing that to the leaders in our community. Well, thank Lisa, thank you so much. I've so enjoyed getting to know more about your business. If you're interested in learning more about Purpose Journey, please reach out to Lisa to understand how she can help enhance and optimize your operation. Uh, and and thank you for all the community impact work you're doing here in Collier County. Thank you. Appreciate you. It's been fun. Good. Thank you again to our guests for joining us and for sharing their insights on today's episode of Chamber Chats. If you're interested in sharing your own story and you would like to be featured on a future episode of the podcast, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out to the Greater Naples Chamber to learn more about how to get involved. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time on Chamber Chats.