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

Veronica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

The road to entrepreneurship is rarely an easy path. As a c-suite executive leading a team of courageous professionals I cherished the opportunities to help our associates grow in their careers. At the same time, I felt a burning desire to help nurture world-class leaders who may not have access to the corporate training of a formal organization. I felt called to the mission of developing the leader in each of us; from the CEO to the soccer mom; we all have a call to lead. I transformed my desire to make an impact into an organization committed to increasing our individual and collective leadership consciousness while establishing leadership as a universal competence, not simply a job-related skill.

We started by clarifying our vision, identifying our target audience and working to define our value proposition (customer promise). After becoming a legal entity and completing a business plan we began the process of developing our signature courses and working with a developer to build our “You Can Lead” Leadership Academy. We spent time building relationships and strengthening our credibility. We continued to revise our business model and expand our value proposition as we learned more about our customers’ needs. One of the greatest challenges we faced was balancing the desire to grow our business with realistic performance goals. As an entrepreneur, our talents and vision must be coupled with discipline and consistent action. It is our mission to help all people recognize and reach their highest leadership potential. We are excited to further reveal (launch) our dynamic leadership development community and welcome those interested in learning to lead where they are.

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’m Veronica Cochran and I believe Leadership Is For Everyone! Prior, to launching L.I.F.E. Concepts, our unique leadership development company, I had decades of leadership experience serving in a variety of management and executive leadership positions for both non-profit and for-profit organizations. The last 5 years, I have been privileged to serve as CEO of a not-for-profit membership association. These leadership experiences provided both personal and professional development opportunities to further shape my personal leadership philosophy and professional leadership brand. I learned to lead through education and experience with the guidance of some incredibly gracious mentors and advisors.

I know, firsthand, the anxieties associated with stepping into an entry-level leadership role for the first time, along with the complex challenges that exist for executive leaders. The global pandemic is further evolving our concept of leadership along with its ideals and expectations. I believe leadership is a learned practice rooted in responsibility and demonstrated through service. My business exists to help build individual and organizational leadership capability. I have tremendous respect for potential and a passion for developing it! That being said, LIFE Concepts partners with organizations to develop leadership potential and leverage leadership as an organizational asset to achieve business objectives.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have learned that a reputation is where client expectation meets client experience. We have worked to define and refine our value proposition as we better understood our market and client needs. We value our clients and seek to become partners in their longstanding organizational objectives and overall success. We have built our reputation by understanding the organization’s culture to better support its mission and vision, as well as maintaining constant leader check-ins, high-quality deliverables, and periodic strategic assessments. As an organization, we sought to prioritize credibility over visibility, while also finding personal congruence and alignment to encourage the needed motivation to accomplish the work.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

My most valuable leadership lesson is that leadership is not an independent enterprise. Leadership has traditionally been defined by titles, positions, and credentials. That mindset and model of leadership must evolve. In light of these traditional philosophies, leadership has been depicted as a personal privilege reserved for some rather than a responsibility for us all. Leadership is not position-centric nor can it be confined to an organizational chart. For leadership to be most effective it should be born of a collective capacity to achieve the desired goal.

As a young executive, I remember being frustrated with my team for lack of engagement, initiative, accountability, and innovation. I was burned out, frustrated, and contemplating a career change. Initially, I didn’t realize that my leadership philosophy and practice didn’t allow others to lead with me. In an effort to solve the problem, I became incredibly reflective and brutally honest with myself and vowed to lead differently. It became apparent that leadership should be a shared responsibility, and everyone had a unique capacity to lead. So, I began developing the leadership potential in others and was inspired by the results. I made this my life’s mission and work and continue to be inspired by its far-reaching impact.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.veronicacochran.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drveronica_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veronica.cochran.12
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronicacochranlifeconcepts
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeconceptsinc/featured