We were lucky to catch up with Monique Waters recently and have shared our conversation below.

Monique, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?

Successful people possess purpose, vision and direction. Their mission grounds them, so they are able to plan ahead and therefore, articulate their direction.

They are strategic thinkers who aren’t afraid to go against the grain. When everyone else is neck deep defining progress by the number of white papers and press releases developed, it’s a strategic thinker that dares to ask
“Are we going in the right direction?”

I have advised many leaders in the last two decades and there is one common thread among the successful. Not everyone is a Cory Booker or Lauren Underwood, but every leader can define their success by learning to articulate their purpose,vision and direction.

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?

My career started with a public relations internship when I was sixteen years old. But my journey really progressed when I recognized my purpose. Once I understood my purpose, I crafted a plan and stuck to it, year-over-year. That laid the foundation for a career that spanned over two decades working with members of congress, a mayor and a host of executives.

Five years ago, I founded H2O Strategies after observing a significant gap in my industry. Studies show that only 23% of U.S. executives are strong strategic thinkers. Many leaders take a managerial perspective and think if they just do enough media interviews, host enough events or generate the right social media buzz their hard work will pay off.
Picture this, a brilliant executive is appointed to a leadership position in an organization. The leader is energized by the potential to really impact change so they hit the ground running. It’s only a matter of time before their vision is drowned out by the day-to-day hustle.

Sooner or later they are faced with this simple truth- you can’t have the fruit without the roots.
Translation: if you want communications to last beyond the moment & contribute to your organization’s long-term success, it has to be rooted in a strategy. That’s what H2O Strategies provides.

Through H2O Strategies, I am helping emerging leaders and executives reset their communication so that it mirrors their purpose, vision and direction. When my clients are conducting media interviews, launching awareness campaigns, testifying before committees or building out infrastructure for their teams, they are gleaning from the time they spend working with me.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My clients are the absolute best ambassadors. The work that I do is so specific to each client that their story becomes my story and their success becomes mine. I consider myself to be an effective messenger but it’s how they define the value of my work that really resonates with others. My growth strategy is shaped by their voices.

Our value as defined by H2O Strategies clients:

“the answer to the thing I knew we needed but didn’t know how to articulate”

“got our why’s aligned”

“no longer walking around in the dark”

“provided direction for me as a leader”

“gave us the tools, confidence and awareness to communicate with boldness”

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People- As a planner this book affirmed and challenged me to examine how my day-to-day actions align with what it means to be effective as a business owner, wife, friend and daughter.

Stick to the Plan – This e-workbook gave me the opportunity to share my personal journey and the steps I discovered along the way.    

Contact Info:

• Website: h2ostrategiesllc.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/H2OStickToThePlan
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquewaters/

Image Credits
Headshot taken by Robert Shanklin