Episode 1: Reducing Uncertainty with Elliot Felix

Elliot Felix is the CEO & Founder of brightspot which is a higher education strategy firm on a mission to help colleges and universities create more engaging and equitable student experiences by redesigning student services, enabling active learning in the classroom and online, and rethinking where and how people work. Over the past ten years, Elliot has grown brightspot from one employee to 14 employees and has worked with more than 90 colleges and universities – an industry going through enormous changes right now.

My conversation with Elliot provides insights on growing a business and the ways leaders can reduce uncertainty – as challenging as it is during a time like this. These are some of the key topics we examined together…

o Change is a disruptor AND an accelerator @15:02, 30:23

o Building trust in times of anxiety and ambiguity @16:08, 26:16

o Leadership as scout and shield @23:18

o Being a reflective leader makes you a better leader @22:37

o Communication and transparency: finding the right balance @18:42

o Bring clients together to solve complex challenges efficiently and effectively @13:57

o Balancing family and work during the pandemic; while building castles with a 5-year old @10:35

References Elliot made during our conversation:

o Elliot referenced Paul Pangaro, a cybernetic theorist, who said leadership is reducing uncertainty

o When balancing transparency as a leader, Elliot cited an article from McKinsey called The Dark Side of Transparency

o Elliot talked about brightspot’s board and how a particular board member, Mark Raheja, is helpful in providing perspective and insight

o Here is a coveted list of leadership lessons curated by Elliot over the past several years

o Please check out brightspot to find out more about the work Elliot and his team are doing in higher education – and beyond

To learn more about my work in executive coaching, leadership development and team effectiveness check out my website, connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at winnie@winnifred.org.

Reach out and tell me what was helpful about today’s episode or any suggestions you have for my show.

I look forward to sharing another transformative conversation with you next week!