Meet Emily Rogers, the founder of The Leap to Lead, a coaching program that helps individuals and organizations step into the leadership roles they’ve always desired. Whether you’re a woman in a leadership position or a stay-at-home mom who has put her career on hold, Emily can help you take the leap to lead the second act of your life.
As a former senior HR leader in multiple industries, Emily draws on her experience and frameworks to empower women to take charge of their lives and become leaders in their own right. Her expertise has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including Inc. Magazine and ABC News Australia, where she shares her insights on navigating transitions and leading through changing environments.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Emily Rogers:
Describe who you are as a person, inside and outside of the workplace.
As a business owner and a mother, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to juggle multiple responsibilities while trying to progress towards our goals. To ensure I achieve mine, I am always planning—at the end of each day for the next, at the end of the week for the week ahead. Because of my planning, I am focused, and I can easily adapt to life’s challenges when they happen (because they do happen for all of us)! Everything I do is about being a positive role model for my girls, showing up not just for myself but for my daughters and my clients.
Describe your background and what did you do before you started/joined the company?
I had previously worked as a senior HR leader across multiple industries and countries, but following my husband’s career around Asia, it became more and more challenging to work in the traditional sense due to language and legal barriers. I made the decision to start my own business, drawing on my professional and personal experiences, and I now use the various frameworks I developed to empower women to be the leaders in their own lives.
Tell us about the inception of the company. How did it all start?
As mentioned, I found it difficult to pursue my HR career any further and made the decision to start my own business. My business started by providing transition support to mothers moving their families to new countries, I now provide transition and leadership coaching to individuals who want to take the next step in their career or life. I also work with organizations that want to turn their employees into true leaders that will move the organization forward.
What has made you successful? What do you value?
Life has taught me that nothing is constant, and as a business owner, I am prepared to adapt and change as the situation requires. I believe this makes me powerful as a coach, because I am able to flex with my client as their needs evolve and change.
Which are the major services of the company and how do the company to get ahead in the competition? What value-added services does the company provide?
Working with individuals, my most popular coaching package is The Vision Lab. A deep dive, 3-month coaching package that supports individuals to discover their unique strengths, overcome mindset challenges, and design a clear vision for themselves, including developing an action plan that supports their leap.
For organizations, I am uniquely positioned to support the wellbeing of their international assignees and families. Combining my professional and personal experience of moving countries every 2 years, The Transition Lab enables organizations to have the right talent in the right place. This 8-week online course enables settling the family faster while providing appropriate wellbeing support to the entire family. In addition, with The Leadership Lab, I can support organizations in developing their own leaders instead of wasting time and money buying from the market, which is simply too tight.
What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in and how do you build this culture?
The principles of The Leap To Lead are clarity, ownership, and growth. It is these three pillars that are core to how I operate as a business owner, and core to the coaching packages that I offer. I truly believe that with clarity, we are all able to take ownership of ourselves and our paths, ensuring we continue to grow.
Give us your opinion on; do organizations rely heavily on individual heroics or team processes?
I believe organizations and senior leaders can be struck by the heroic efforts of an individual, but they do so at their own peril. The very nature of being star-struck is short term, literally only while the light glows. Organizations need to rely on and develop their teams, their contributors, and their team leaders. While building teams can take time and energy, it is a much stronger long-term strategy for an organization. A large component of The Leadership Lab is focused on developing leaders confidence in coaching and communicating with their teams, which is critical if they are going to develop strong teams for the future.
What are your responsibilities as the Coach & Founder of the company? What is the happiest part of your daily routine?
As the coach and founder of The Leap To Lead I am responsible for everything. I develop the services, the weekly content, the social media presence, and the business strategy. It means I have to manage my time accordingly, ensure there is time dedicated to each facet of the business. I am happiest when I am serving my clients; seeing their growth is so rewarding.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Focus on coaching and communicating with your team. If you focus on coaching and communicate effectively from the get go, the team will develop a greater sense of trust in you, and their overall engagement will increase. When you have trust and engagement, you and your team can achieve great things!
