We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kathleen Joy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kathleen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

As a seasoned advisor to senior leaders, I’ve always found joy in unlocking new perspectives and possibilities for individuals and teams. My career, centered around optimizing leadership and team performance, has been fulfilling. Yet, an inner calling for creative expression led me down an unconventional path. About 11 years ago,I began experimenting with interactive art installations. This wasn’t just a hobby; it was a quest to explore how different worldviews can aid in personal discovery and transformation.

One of my earliest and most impactful projects was “Letters to the Universe.” Teaming up with a group of teenagers, I embarked on summer tours, bringing a winged mailbox, furry clipboards, and kids in costumes to public spaces and festivals. This project wasn’t just about collecting over 5,000 letters; it was a masterclass in empathy, deep listening, and artful play for both me and the teenagers.
The success and joy derived from this project emboldened me. Over the following years, I produced six different interactive experiences. Each was a leap into the unknown, challenging me socially, intellectually, and physically. Though not all ventures produced the outcomes I desired, each was a learning experience, building my resilience and capacity to take bigger risks.

My latest venture is perhaps my most ambitious. I’m blending my leadership development expertise with immersive journeys. This fusion aims to step beyond conventional workshops, transforming leadership training into animated dinner parties, quest retreats, and art galleries doubling as assessment tools.

I think risk-taking involves more than courage. It requires discernment, devotion, and dedication. Equally important is to balance risk with some self-care, acknowledging that with greater leaps comes a greater need for stability and nurturing.

Each creative endeavor has not only enriched my life but also transformed the way others see themselves and the world. Stepping into the unknown can lead to personal growth, new insights, and an ever-expanding horizon of possibilities. Or at the very least, it’s never boring!

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?

As the founder and CEO ofLumiereWork™, I’m on a mission to ignite the joy and power of transformative perception in each and every leader and team. By changing our perceptions we can achieve deep intuitive understanding, gather wisdom, insights and options., we can increase empathy and Inspire more successful, inclusive business decisions. An unexpected shift in the way we understand things can sometimes be just the medicine we need for navigating the unknown.

For over two decades, I’ve been pioneering growth through holistic intelligence – simply, bringing your whole self to the world. I believe that everyone has the resources and intelligences to get what they desire, but few know how to seize them. My unique methodology gives changemakers the tools to perform at their best, delivering benefits that are both transformative and sustainable.

The LumiereWork™ experience brings together world-class consulting, personalized coaching, energy practices, and behavioral science to deliver change at scale – improving individual agility, impact and resilience. The results? Leaders who make an authentic difference, acting consciously and fully with great clarity and purpose, even in times of radical change.
My background is as diverse as it is accomplished. I’ve consulted for Fortune 500s, mid-sized companies with big ideas and fireball start-ups.

I just published my book Empowerment Admist Chaos: Master Any Moment with Creativity and Grace. It’s a map of the territory of change presented through a conversation with a customer service agent who works for the Universe in the Depart ment of Earth, and a human who is trying to sort out what the heck is actually happening here.

I’ve worked in 15 industries on two continents.

My MA is in Organizational Development; my BA in Public Relations. I’ve completed graduate-level work in Cross-Cultural Studies, am a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and a Certified Practitioner in The McKay Method of Energy Healing.

I’m also a 25 year member of the International Coaching Federation which means I adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards.

This melting pot of experiences matters. Each new step has taught me the power of exploring your own potential and the importance of guiding others to do the same.

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

Here are a couple of practices I’ve seen enacted that work. Teams need 5 foundational – a meaningful purpose (Big Why), clear and compelling goals, clear roles, common approaches/work processes, a complementary skill sets. I’ve often found that teams that stall may be missing one of these foundations. In addition, people need to feel momentum and some version of collective success. Success can come in the form of 3 categories: results/achievement, processes and operational efficiencies, and social connection and affiliation. Fostering some outcomes in any of these categories can help improve morale. During the pandemic I noticed that the need for connection has become more significant, and somewhat awkward. People lost some of their social skills during those 2 years which contributed to lower morale. Remote work dictates a different type of communication and collaboration as well and not all leaders and managers were ready for that. One thing that became prevalent was people needed more empathy and they needed to feel purposeful. This meant (and still means) that leaders who can help their teams feel seen and heard and working towards a meaningful goal, are often successful.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Essential to my work is trust. So after much trial and error, I’ve learned that potential clients have direct experience with me and my work is the best way for them to move towards engaging with me. I’ve begun doing more talks, hosting roundtables, attending networking events, and even producing pop-up events.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lumierework.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathijoy/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE6hsLiE64B49s1EqWA1BGQ

Image Credits
Theresa Vargo