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Sheilah Hogan - Kainos Coaching & Consulting
What's your 30-second elevator speech?
All business leaders (everyone actually) experience dips in energy, focus or inspiration at times. My coaching practice delivers programs that help clarify, simplify and achieve their vision with a new level of purpose. And I make it fun!
Even In my single sessions, I witness people making breakthrough decisions more quickly and confidently. It's just a matter of creating the time & space for it.
Who inspires you the most to be the best you can be as a person?
A few of my inspirations are recently departed Notorious RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), Melinda Gates, Brene Brown, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Jacinda Ardern and the list goes on. My every day inspiration comes from my 3 daughters, as I try to make choices that I want them to be proud of, and help build their own sense of courage and independence.
I see you won the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007, which is understandable with the successful businesses you’ve started, scaled and run! Where do you get your entrepreneurial spirit from? and what were some of the roadblocks you faced when starting out?
I had moved to New York City just out of university and was working in a super cool job (Agency for Fashion Designers with clients like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren), but for a super ogre of a boss/business owner. I spent a year witnessing some shocking and unethical business and employment decisions being made by what I thought was a savvy business woman. That’s when I realised anyone could start a business and get away with it, LoL. I was inspired to do it better, with values and empathy. So my colleague and I broke off and started our own agency on the premise of looking after our staff, our Designers AND our clients with equal importance. And in the 7 years leading up to that award we grew at triple the pace as a result. From a few metal folding chairs and desks in a raw space in SoHo to 7 locations and 150+ staff. Crazy! Roadblocks - there have been some epics...managing work/life balance with getting married + 3 pregnancies while building an empire, navigating the unforeseen financial crisis of 2008, moving continents when we decided it was better to raise our family in Australia, then reinventing my career in a foreign country at the age of 40. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.
Now with over 20 + years at national and international companies in various leadership roles what do you find are the best leadership traits to have?
I always operated with the firm belief that your business is only as good as how you lead and inspire the people in the business. I’m glad to see Servant Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and similar human centred leadership approaches becoming more and more popular than traditional ‘top down’ models; when you invest in your people and customers, they will invest in you.
Can you tell us a little bit about your business Kainos Consulting, and the areas you specialise in?
Kainos means ‘fresh’, a new way of being. That was me in 2018 when I decided to make the big leap away from running consultancies that serviced the big end of town, including high stress environments and the inevitable commutes between Sydney CBD, Melbourne and Canberra.
I wanted to help small to medium sized businesses fast track their growth with the knowledge & programs I have adopted from great mentors, but with a focus on a more purposeful mindset. I have a Leadership series that covers the 6 key areas of any business wanting to scale, but I also love running 90 minute Vision Workshops, or 1:1 Mindset coaching for those that want to explore the idea of a Coach or Mentor. Some specific areas I can do a deep dive include Customer Experience Strategy, Business Development, Digital Transformation and Recruitment.
Can you tell me about one of your client success stories?
I was working with 2 CEOs that were considering a merger after co existing for a few years. They each had experienced some rapid success in their initial ‘start up’ years and were trying to figure out that next move. The goal was to 2x their current business model, but after my first 3 months working in the businesses it was clear that the way they got through their first 5 years wasn’t going to get them to their next level. Over the next 9 months there were some challenging decisions, loads of tension to lean into, and some personal development homework over the Christmas Holidays. At the conclusion of a 12 month contract they each came to very clear and very different visions for their companies. The outcome was completely unexpected, their revelations seemed to even surprise them. Their true passions came to light, and the way forward became clear as mud. It was awesome to watch them come alive with their own answers, and consciously, respectfully divide and conquer. Win win!
What’s your favourite thing about working at Motive Coworking?
There are a few things! The feel of community, the genuine smiles from Perry & Jack that greet me upon arrival. The sun-filled offices. The feeling of not being alone as a business of 1 - having the vibe that I can bounce off the fellow co workers throughout the day. Did I mention Friday BBQs?!
What does life look like outside your business profile? What do you like doing for fun?
Longggg lunches with good friends, travel & adventure, hanging out with my family - my husband and teenage girls are actually hysterical. (p.s. I wouldn’t call meditation fun, but it has changed the course of my life)
Is there anything you would like to share? Or anything you’d like to offer help with?
I’d love to offer a complimentary 60 minute coaching session to Motive members - mindset coaching is difficult to ‘explain’ but can be amazing to experience. Personal development is the greatest gift we can give ourselves, and the hardest to do on our own. I speak from experience, I did not get to this point without an amazing coach of my own.
Bonus Question: If you were a sandwich, what sort of sandwich would you be?
A Reuben. International, indulgent, multi layered. The more cheese and sauerkraut the better. Best when toasted. Haaaaa