We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cedric Solice. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cedric below.
Cedric, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
During the latter part of my time as an assistant coach and staff member for the Syracuse University Women’s Basketball team, I discovered a deep passion for public speaking. There had always been an internal motivation to help people grow and maximize their skill sets and potential, which initially drove me to pursue an education background in the performing arts and eventually a career in coaching. However, public speaking became an avenue that I recognized provided a platform to reach more people and communicate a helpful or developmental message that could change their lives. Being a collegiate coach at a notable school like Syracuse University provided a plethora of opportunities in the public speaking arena that both challenged me and inspired me to pursue this new endeavor. It unlocked the realization that I have something to say and share of value with people. It was truly an exciting breakthrough for me! As with most things in life, great opportunities eventually come to an end.
An extraordinary fifteen-year career at Syracuse University concluded in 2021, and with it, access to opportunities to public speak. Fortunately, I was hooked! The passion for public speaking turned into a love. It was one of the greatest vehicles I experienced that would allow me to deliver life-changing content to people who were hungry for it, and more importantly, needed it. The issue became that there was no longer the backing of a great institutional name. My name was not Simon Sinek or John Maxwell. The “popularity” I experience was affiliated with the title, program, and institution, not my name. A pivot was necessary to legitimize my desired endeavor. Creating a company seemed to be the logical solution to this challenge, but the idea of creating a company simply to public speak seemed to lack any type of significant depth. This new challenge forced me to explore other relatable areas that I possessed proficiency in, and I had to figure out a way to creatively package it.
Leadership development and training, organizational management, program culture development, executive consulting, and auditing were all areas I had spent nearly twenty years developing proficiency in. Coupled with a newfound love and desire for public speaking, I identified and organized the depth of services that would legitimize the formation of a company that could really be of service to people and organizations. In October of 2021 CLS Leadership Solutions crystalized into a company concept and fledgling brand on LinkedIn at the urging of my great friend Derrick Oliver, a soon to be retired USMC Major. Would it work? Would it become something? Would it become what I hoped it would be? Those were impossible questions for me to answer, but I was incredibly excited by the challenge because I knew that there was a need in each of the spaces that I was building the business to service.
Over the next eleven months I started to put a few pieces together here and there as I continued to develop this business concept. Daily it was revealed to me that there was and is a true need in the spaces of leadership discovery, enhancement, and development. Engagement increased and productivity along with content output ramped up. A big shout out goes to a newer friend, Matthew Askern, who I met as a result of building this brand. He provided key guidance that helped me take leaps forward in concept, development, and implementation. By September of 2022 CLS Leadership Solutions LLC officially became a company, once again at the urging and support of Derrick Oliver. CLS Leadership Solutions LLC was challenging the development of leadership in a different and seemingly refreshing way!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
An extremely varied background is what lead me to become the Founder and CEO of CLS Leadership Solutions LLC! Growing up as the child of a single parent and military officer was my first foray into the world of leadership. Major Lanette Solice, now Solice-Mauney, was no joke at home during my childhood throughout the 80’s and 90’s! Discipline and accountability were the order of the home, and she was one to always lead by example. Sports and music became childhood pastimes, and I learned so many lessons in leadership and performance. Discipline and accountability once again became paramount themes in my journey to become successful as I participated in those activities, which included a summer marching in a seventh ranked world class drum and bugle corps as a sophomore in high school. That particular experience was a life and trajectory changing! One could even say, it was a live saving experience. Drum and bugle corps is the very reason I went to college, and college is what redirected my life’s path.
Although I selected music education as an academic pursuit, and I possessed a great love for the teaching, discipline, and performance of music, I found myself continuously drawn to my parallel love of sports, particularly basketball. The combination of my musical and athletic experiences, both at the undergraduate and graduate school levels are ultimately what led me to my love and passion for the study and development of leaders and leadership. Great blessings and fortune repeatedly fell along my path as I was exposed to elite organization after organization. Learning how decisions were made, how cultures were developed and maintained, and what great leadership looked like was an education all unto itself. It planted seeds early on in way I could have never anticipated. Teaching world championship winning marching organizations and coaching a national championship runner-up collegiate women’s basketball team fortified all that I believe regarding leadership and organizational development. These experiences and the mentors that poured into me along the way are why CLS Leadership Solutions LLC exists today!
Challenging leaders to investigate their leadership capacity through the exploration of critical subjects, thoughts, and methods. Developing today’s leaders for tomorrow so others may excel. That is the vision and mission statement that serves as the guiding light for all that this company endeavors to achieve. A menu of services offered to clients include individual and group leadership training, organizational culture assessment and enhancement services, executive and organizational consultation services, and professional speaking services for small groups to large organizations. The focus of this company is not to create leaders per say, although that developmental capability exists. Enhancing the leadership capacity of leaders in a way that is authentic to them is the focus. Here is a perfect example. Walking into the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s office and telling General C. Q. Brown how to be a leader or what he should change to be a better leader is a foolish approach. General Brown is an apex leader who is admired throughout the ranks of the armed forces because of his leadership acumen and history. However, if I can sit with General Brown and ask him key questions regarding his approach and beliefs, of course after a period of observation, in a way that challenges him to deeply assess why he does what he does we can accomplish one of two things. It will either reaffirm his beliefs at the core of his leadership, or it will highlight an area or areas that could be enhanced. Enhancement is where the magic happens! That is what makes the CLS Leadership Solutions LLC approach unique from other leadership consultation firms.
The diversity of reach this platform provides is what I am most proud about. Leadership exists in every facet and endeavor of our society from the individual home structure to fortune 500 corporations, and everything in between. The ability to be able to consistently make an impact, great or small, across such a vast array of idioms, interests, and even cultures is inspiring to me. Each service provided has undergone numerous trials which has allowed me to provide a transformative product for each client that utilizes CLS Leadership Solutions LLC. You bring forward a challenge or problem, and CLS Leadership Solutions LLC will work to identify and help implement solutions that will fit your organizational culture and needs!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2021 my life took a major turn! Some would say in the moment for the worst, but in hindsight, it was for the best. At the time I certainly was not thinking that what occurred would be for my best interest, but time and God reveal things the human mind cannot always comprehend in the moment. After what some would call an illustrious fifteen-year career, my time with Syracuse University Women’s Basketball abruptly came to an end. It was quite a devastating experience to have a career that I worked so hard to build and sacrificed so much to build stripped away from me in an instant, and no one could really tell me why. We were very successful. We were graduating student-athletes. We were winning. We navigated our way through COVID-19. We overcame obstacle after obstacle, and quiet as it was kept, we were primed for another run at a final four. In the blink of an eye, it was all gone, and we never saw it coming. The worst part was it happened in a part of the year that was nearly impossible to recover from and secure another job in the profession. Enter the wilderness called unemployment!
For the first time in my adult life, I was unemployed, and I stayed that way for eight months. It was a very challenging time because I had no idea really what to do. Everyone thinks unemployment is a simple experience to navigate, especially when you have a college degree and legitimate professional experience that is transferrable. That is not the case, and I had a ton of lessons to learn. Fortunately, there were some resources in place that made the experience much easier to navigate at first. Also, I was able to get to a point where I secured the right amount of savings for a situation such as that. So many things had to happen to get back to the land of employment. The resume I was using was not suitable for what I was attempting to accomplish, and to be honest, I had no clue what I wanted to do. People who cared about me provided all sorts of great advice, but when I was in that situation I found myself in survival mode, and my acceptance of advice was not always the best. However, slowly but surely things started to settle, and I was able to create a battle plan.
Reimagining your life and career track in the middle of your life is a hefty challenge. Doing so when you have no job is nothing short of overwhelming! Career rediscovery is tricky simply because experience, or lack thereof, comes into play which has a direct impact on initial earnings. Typically careers outside of your primary track have the thinnest network bases as well. It is not just a process in reimagining a career track, it is a process in rebuilding a career pathway. Over time I was able to figure a few things out, and my network came through in what felt like the nineth inning, not once but twice! Another shout out has to go out to Derrick Oliver! He helped me pivot from a tough situation into a corporate opportunity. At the same time CLS Leadership Solutions LLC was developing day by day. Ultimately, I landed on my feet in a completely different career track in corporate America by leveraging my network, skill sets, passions, and purpose. Anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation, I would suggest utilizing that four-pronged approach. Most importantly, lean on your faith or belief system. I am a Christian, and I believe in God. Above all else, I believe doubling down on my faith and leaning into the promises of God for my life got my life back on track.
Here is a cheat list of things to consider and prioritize for anyone who finds themself in a similar situation.
– Double down on your faith.
– Create a new health maintenance routine. Exercise. Eat right. Identify self-care options that you can afford.
– Learn about applicant tracking systems so you can organize and optimize your resume accordingly.
– Work with a resume writer if you can afford one. It is an extremely worthwhile investment.
– Take a new professional headshot and utilize that as your social media image.
– If you do not have a LinkedIn account, get one! I was super resistant, but ultimately, that is where I found my next job.
– Identify your skill sets. Outline your passions. Identify your purpose. Work to align those with your job search.
– Stress test your network. Do not assume everyone you have speaking on your behalf is doing so positively.
– Pick an application route. Apply in volume or apply strategically.
– If your resources allow it, do not just take any job. Take the right job. I learned that lesson the hard way.
– Rest. You need to be at full go when you do get your next job, and you will get your next job. You need to be rested so you can perform at a high level and demonstrate your value consistently. A tired employee is an ineffective employee.
– Know that more often than not it is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. More importantly, know that you will get another job even when the rejection letters are telling you otherwise. You just need one yes in a sea of rejection.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is not my thing! Anyone who knows me knows that I am anti-social media to the extreme. It took incessant urging from Derrick Oliver to join LinkedIn. It is impossible to convey my appreciate for his wisdom and guidance. Joining LinkedIn was one of the best decisions I have made for CLS Leadership Solutions LLC. Expanding to YouTube with my The Solice Spot video communications has been beneficial as well. Matthew Askern, originally a LinkedIn connection and now friend, took time to explain to me how LinkedIn works. Two things have to happen right away. Add contacts at maximum volume, and post content.
Maximizing your contacts or connections will allow your content to travel farther. The initial instinct will be to add like-minded people as connections. That is a correct move, but not the only move. Add everyone you can at first. It is about degrees of separation. You do not know who people are connected to. One reaction to a post you created clicked by the right, but abstract person, could expose your content to future clientele that you would have never imagined reaching out to. CLS Leadership Solutions LLC and The Solice Spot took a huge leap forward when former NBA all-star Larry Johnson reacted to a few episodes. Viewership went from a few hundred people to three and sometimes four thousand people overnight during that period.
Content is essential to your branding. Be creative and varied in your content. Move between written, graphic creation, and video content if you have the resources to do so. Learn Canva! It is free and it will enhance your graphic presentation. If you have the resources pay for Canva Pro. It is truly worth it. Learn about the LinkedIn algorithm. It is important to know which time of the day is best for content distribution early on as you build your following. Post at least three times a week during the business week in the early going. Make sure you always react to your own postings. Your reaction is seen by others in your network. When the opportunity presents itself, utilize interactive options such as polls. People love to engage interactively, and polls are a great way to do that. Any videos you post should be less than two minutes. The ideal video timing is thirty to fifty seconds. Attention spans in the social media space are short. Impact needs to be early and big in the message. Be consistent in your branding across all posts so people latch on quickly, and your brand becomes easily recognizable. Every Solice Spot starts and ends the same. That is done for branding purposes. All graphics I post now possess my company name and logo. Brand saturation is incredibly important. Remember to be fun! Sometimes that requires a bit of deviation from your normal content to keep people interested and engaged. Be open to highlighting other people who operate in similar spaces to yours. You want to create advocates and allies, particularly in spaces where people are established. Most importantly, be consistent. You are only as relevant as the last content you created and presented. Social media is full of hungry hustlers. It is easy to quickly get buried into obscurity. Your consistency is your currency!
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedric-solice/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@clsleadershipsolutions1260
Image Credits
Betsy Mitchell – Boogie Band Photo
Michael Okoneiwski – Midwest Regional Championship Net Cutting Photo
Rob Segaar – Company Logo Design