For today’s podcast episode, I had the honor of talking with Catherine Calmes! She shares some amazing insight on her journey from being a home organizer to becoming a director of operations and what that title entails! 

Catherine also shares the five phases that CEOS have to go through from solopreneurship all the way to leading a business that has and functions with several departments. Grab your notes because there is a lot of amazing information in today’s episode!

Listed below are the major phases CEO’s grow through as they begin to build their teams! 

Listen to the episode now!

First Phase of CEO Leadership – Solopreneur

This is when you are doing all the things for your business without any help, and then at some point you realize you can do all the implementation and visioning for your business, so you hire a tech virtual assistant. From here you begin growing that team around you.

Stepping Into a Leadership Role

Now that you have a team and it’s not just you anymore, you start to step into that leadership role. Then, at some point you realize you can’t handle doing all the visioning AND management of your team alone. You begin to feel like the bottleneck of your business. 

Hiring a Director of Operations

This person will manage the team for you so you don’t feel like the bottleneck anymore. Now you as a leader can step into that role as a true CEO. You can be the visionary you were meant to be and then pass on that vision with your director of operations, who will then create an action plan for your team members. 

Bringing More People Onto Your Business

Now that everything is functioning well on an operational level, you can hire others to help with other aspects of your business. For example, a director of marketing who reports to the director of operations on all things regarding social media and your website. This will help you attract more people to your business.

Rounding Out Your Businesses

By hiring a director of marketing, your business is beginning to grow, and with this growth you now will begin looking to hire a director of products. Now, in this final step, you are rounding out all aspects of your business.  

What Else Do We Talk About on the Show?

• Partnership between a CEO and director of operations. 
• Going more in depth and discussing each of the five phases.
• What the signs and symptoms of knowing when to hire a director of operations are.
• Things you can do to prepare for the next move and transition. 
• What you should do before you hire a director of operations. 
• The growth potential in terms of the CEO themselves after moving past phase 3.  
• The tasks that start shaping the CEO role. 
• How to set the right accomplishable goals. 

Connect with Catherine!

Follow Catherine for tips and operations insights on Instagram

See how Catherine can help propel your business forward

Take Your Next Step!

Now is the time to discover your leadership style! Join the Joy to Lead Leadership Academy and learn how to hire, train, and support current and future team members!