Extraordinary Women in Business: Denver
Game-Changing Growth
Christina Curtis’ data-driven approach unlocks the science behind high-performing teams, helping executives engage, lead, and achieve extraordinary results in an ever-changing landscape.
The skills required to lead high-performance teams have shifted more in the last two years than they did in the previous two decades,” explains Christina Curtis, founder of Curtis Leadership Consulting. “As the pandemic blurred the lines between work and home, it created a real awakening for the workforce. The rules of engagement have fundamentally changed.”
With the business world rapidly evolving, Curtis’ executive coaching skills are in high demand. Leaders are looking for answers on how to build, retain, and develop top talent. “The word ‘heliotropic’ comes to mind,” says Curtis, “where plants rotate towards the sun to enhance the photosynthesis process. Similarly, people rotate towards leaders who make them feel valued, seen, and heard, ultimately enabling them to perform at their best. Creating those conditions for growth is the most important job of any leader.”
Curtis is one of America’s most respected and sought-after executive coaches, working with companies including Microsoft, DaVita Inc.®, Google, Overstock.com®, Lockheed Martin, and Blackhorn Ventures.
Evolving Through Engagement
Given the rapid pace of business today, executives are learning how to build the plane while they fly it. Curtis Leadership Consulting provides leaders with a confidential space and industry-leading tools, frameworks, and strategies that help them think through how to show up in a magnetic, adaptable, and self-aware manner while scanning the horizon for unforeseen obstacles. To ensure leaders aren’t flying blind, Curtis arms her clients with the right level of data via in-depth interviews and assessments, quickly identifying their strengths and any potential behavioral derailers that could be quietly eroding their ability to excel.
The biggest challenge is identifying and changing the behaviors that may have helped leaders in the past but are holding them back from achieving an even brighter future.
“As humans, we operate 40% of the time on autopilot,” explains Curtis. “The busier our lives become, the more we rely on these automatic responses that come barreling down our well-honed neural pathways. When I work with leaders, it’s important to figure out which habits are working and which ones we need to turn off.
“The first priority is to create the conditions for leaders to show up at their best. This means reflecting on how and where we are spending our energy, and strategizing on how to avoid getting sucked down into the undertow of over-engagement,” she continues. “On airplanes, we are told to put our own oxygen mask on before helping others. If we don’t take care of ourselves first, we aren’t the only ones who suffer: Results and relationships aren’t far behind.
“Secondly, I encourage executives to see every interaction as an opportunity to enhance performance,” says Curtis. “If you notice things aren’t playing out as planned, pause and ask questions. The three most important words a leader can say are, ‘Tell me more.’ The secret is to constantly know what people are thinking so you can bring the room along with you as you run.”
Research shows that everything flows from the top, Curtis concludes, including a team’s results, morale, financial performance, and engagement. Executive coaching is a critical tool for exceptional leaders to access the best possible vantage point from which to lead their teams and drive the game-changing growth they are looking for.
