Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brooke Linn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brooke, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

“Helping leaders build high performing teams that thrive in a happy, healthy, and sustainable work environment.”

The mission of my organization is the heart of why it exists. I have spent most of my career seeking out places where there is a need, and then finding new and innovative ways to respond in order to fulfill that need. My career path has been nonlinear, and I never dreamed when I left college twenty years ago that I would be running my own business today. Each time I saw a need, I took the opportunity to respond, and in turn, a new door opened for my career.

Over the years, my experiences have shown me there is a great need across all industries for strong leadership who know and understand the value of their employees. I have spent many years learning what it takes to build high performing teams, as well as increase retention rates, and that knowledge has positioned me to respond in a meaningful way to this need for organizations regardless of industry. My desire is to create positive impact, and my calling is to help leaders be the best they can be in order to create a thriving workplace. That is how the mission of my business came to be.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a proud graduate of Purdue University, where I have spent the last twelve years of my professional life. Ten years ago, I became certified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which was my first experience with a self-awareness assessment tool. At that point, I was working as an academic advisor, but I realized pretty quickly that I preferred career coaching and professional development. As time progressed, I pursued roles that allowed me to work more in these areas, becoming certified in additional assessment tools along the way. Eventually, I landed in a talent development role, which had a large responsibility in organizational development for this particular organization. I realized I had a lot of opportunity to use the assessment tools I had trained in over the years to drive positive cultural change and increase employee engagement. I spent the last four years contracting with outside companies as referrals came in, and eventually I had to make the decision to go out on my own. That happened about six months ago.

I offer a wide range of services under the umbrella of organizational development and professional coaching. I work with executive leadership teams to balance organizational health and strategy, and to design strategic goals that provide a clear focus for every member of the team. I also work with middle management to be effective communicators and create high performing teams. In addition, I have a fair amount of programming for first time managers to help equip them with foundational skills of effective people management. My work also includes team building workshops and professional coaching for team members at every level of the organization.

While I have many strategies for helping organizations improve their employee engagement and efficiency, I have one overarching goal that relates to the mission of my company – to create a professional environment where employees have the greatest opportunity to thrive. Happy employees are productive employees, and that energy is contagious. Highly engaged employees lead to healthy cultures, and those are the organizations people will fight to work for.

I am proud to have built a company on strong core values that I stick to no matter what – people, positive impact, and potential. The greatest benefit of being a business owner is having the ability to make critical decisions that will help me stay true to the foundation my company is built on. For example, with a core value of people, I can know right away through a conversation with leadership whether or not I am the right consultant to work with their company. If we are not on the same page that employees are the most important asset, it is easy for me to withdraw my name, This allows me the opportunity to seek out the right clients where there is the greatest potential for positive impact. That is what brings me fulfillment and joy in my work.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I’ve known for several years that I had an interest in going out on my own. I loved my work, but I felt that I could have a greater impact across multiple industries. I am a single mom, which I felt gave me an additional challenge in getting started with greater risk involved. As a result, I was very calculated with my decisions.

About five years ago, I was asked by a friend to conduct a CliftonStrengths workshop for the local city government. That was my first experience off-campus, as I worked at a Big Ten university at the time. From that experience, I was referred to the pastoral team of a large church. Referrals kept happening in that fashion, along with other requests coming from people finding my professional profile online. Because I had a fulltime job, I was able to keep the additional income I received from facilitating these workshops and training sessions. That built my initial financial cushion.

As more requests came in, I became more serious about potentially starting my own company. I created goals for myself, conducted the necessary research, and started working to build my professional network. I saved everything I could from my paychecks (in addition to profit from external workshops) for over two years in order to build up a large enough savings that would help me transition without worrying about my finances.

My New Year’s resolution in 2023 was to make that year my transition year. I thought it would take the entire year, but I was lucky enough in early summer to be offered two multi-month contracts. I knew that I couldn’t keep up with both of these contracts and my fulltime job, so that was the indicator that I need to start the transition process. I was blessed to have a supervisor who was aware of my goals and fully supportive of helping me get there. She was even willing to contract me out to finish a program I was starting in the fall, which I will be forever grateful for. It solidified that I was on the right path. We agreed on a six-week transition, which would take me to the beginning of September. I launched my business September 1st, with three signed contracts to get me through the end of the year. From there, it was a balance of providing excellent service to current clients while generating new potential leads and continuing to build my network.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

The answer to this question is simple for me (and it is foundational to my business) – put your people first. When you move into a managerial role, your number one job is to develop the people who report to you. They should have time on your schedule before anything else, and that time should be consistent on a weekly, or at the very least bi-weekly, basis. Rotate 1:1 meetings with team meetings to be sure you are tracking progress on team goals as well as individual goals. Coach your team members, advise them, give them feedback, and most important, care about them as people and not just as professionals.

Management, especially middle management, is a hard role to play in an organization. There can be a lot of frustrations and a lot of things that happen that are out of your control. It is your job to remain the champion, keep a positive attitude, and encourage your people, even when you are frustrated. Be as transparent as you can, and communicate effectively by sharing the purpose behind critical decisions made by leadership.

If you want to maintain high morale and lead one of the top performing teams in your organization, be a manager who truly loves people. Management isn’t for everyone, but if you’re in it for the right reasons, you will experience a truly fulfilling career while simultaneously meeting (and exceeding) goals every quarter.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brookeoc.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookelinn/
• Other: More social media coming soon.