The Secret to Scaling 🚀🦄

What if 90 minutes could change the energy of your entire team?

Over the years, I’ve collected thousands of data points from BRAVE® workshops—from coaching high-growth companies, to working alongside Simon Sinek and his team, to helping leaders like you redefine what’s possible for themselves and their people in the face of rapid change, impossible deadlines, and inevitable culture challenges.

Here’s what I’ve found…

In just one session—90 to 120 minutes—teams feel the impact. I remember someone saying, “Wow, if our company had 90 minutes with you before COVID, it would have changed everything (for the better).” That made me smile.

When asked about the transformation, the most commonly used words post-session were: empowered, hopeful, confident, and motivated. Yes, these feel great to hear. But they aren’t just abstract feelings. They’re the foundations for real cultural shifts.

Science backs this up.

• Hope fuels resilience. Psychologist Charles Snyder’s research shows that hope gives people a sense of control and the motivation to pursue goals, even in the face of challenges. Without hope, teams become stagnant. With it, they see possibility where others see roadblocks.

• Confidence drives action. Studies on psychological safety show that when people feel capable, they take risks, speak up, and contribute their best ideas. Confidence creates an environment where team members can be ambitious and innovate without fear of judgment.

• Empowerment fosters ownership. When people feel empowered, they take responsibility and drive change themselves. This is what turns a disengaged team into a proactive one.

• Motivation sparks momentum. Motivation isn’t just about energy—it’s about connection. Teams that feel motivated collaborate better, persist through setbacks, and embrace the changes needed to grow.

When teams experience these emotions, they don’t just feel better—they function better. So as you round out the first quarter of 2025, how can you give these emotions to your team? It’ll be the best gift you can give them.

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BRAVE® in Practice

Let’s bring this hypothetical into real life. Recently, I started working with a team at a 🚀 of a company whose culture had taken so many hits that even leadership admitted, “People are skeptical.” I get it. Actually, I hear that response a lot. And I don’t blame them. They were dedicated to their company’s mission, but they were also feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and emotionally drained. Working at a startup can feel like whiplash sometimes.

Fast forward 120 minutes, and something began to shift. The skepticism gave way to something unexpected: hope. The energy in the room became lighter, more curious, more confident. Leaders and employees left feeling empowered to take the first steps toward real change.

After our second session together (we’re supporting them for six months), their CEO reported they were more present and engaged than they’d ever been—in the history of the company.

So, what happened?

It wasn’t magic. It was science.

Although, if I’m being honest… it totally feels like magic. 🦄

What happened with that skeptical team wasn’t because I told them what to do. It didn’t happen because I asked some magical question (although, I loooove good questions!). Their shift happened because we created space for them to reconnect with the best of themselves and the best of each other. And we had fun doing it.

P.S. The ripples don’t stop at work. People leave BRAVE® sessions feeling more confident about the impact they can make in every part of their lives. (Pssssst, that’s the whole point! If you know me, you know it all started because I wanted to make a difference around kitchen tables across the world, over coffee.)

So that data I mentioned? It drives everything we do.

When I rebranded BRAVE®, I leaned on these thousands of data points to craft a vision rooted in four words that encapsulate who we are—not just as a company, but as a community, as individual leaders making an impact. We are:

Bravely ambitious.

Bravely hopeful.

Bravely curious.

Bravely human.

These words guide everything. And if you know me, you get it.

Give me a team that has lost hope, feels wildly overwhelmed—even resentful. A team that, although deeply committed to the company’s mission, is frustrated, stressed, and feeling the need to protect their sanity and well-being.

Give me the hard projects—the ones that desperately need transformation.

I’m nothing if not bravely ambitious.

By giving teams a way to reconnect to the best in themselves and their teammates, we embrace the human side of work. We lean into the science behind optimizing the brain for performance, progress, and purpose. We don’t just restore hope—we ignite an insatiable curiosity to grow and become better, together.

BRAVE® isn’t just about leadership frameworks. It’s about the human potential we unlock when we create true community and space for vulnerability, connection, and trust.

If 90 minutes can give a frustrated team hope and a glimpse of what’s possible, imagine what six months can do…

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Your Takeaway

Most companies miss the step of creating a structure for their culture. They scale the product, the strategy, the team—but forget to scale how their people communicate, connect, and move through challenges together. They assume culture will just “happen” along the way, instead of being intentional about building it from the start. But guess what? YOUR PEOPLE NEED A PLAYBOOK.

The companies that win? They don’t just react to culture challenges—they build the structure to prevent them in the first place. They create a shared language that carries them through high-growth periods, rapid change, and uncertainty. (This is why BRAVE® is referred to as “the language of high performance leadership.”)

So, let me ask you this:

• When pressure spikes, does your team instinctively pull together in lock step—or are there constant bottlenecks, misunderstandings and changes in priorities?

• Are your top performers stepping up—or quietly considering their exit because they take on so much for everyone but don’t feel heard, valued, or supported?

• When someone raises a concern, is it met with action—or does it disappear into a void of “we’ll deal with it later, there’s too much going on”?

• Does your leadership team point out each others’ blind spots and trust each other enough to have the hard conversations—or does even one person avoid engaging and feedback?

• If everything in your business doubled overnight—headcount, revenue, expectations—would your culture hold strong, or would it collapse under the weight of the growth?

• Is your company’s culture truly an asset that fuels momentum, or is it something you secretly worry will become a liability?

If even one of these questions makes you uneasy, it’s time to take action before the next wave of growth makes the decision for you.

This isn’t just about culture. It’s about performance. It’s about your future.

• Hope fuels resilience. Without it, teams stall out.

• Confidence drives action. Without it, innovation dies.

• Empowerment fosters ownership. Without it, people disengage.

• Motivation sparks momentum. Without it, growth feels like a grind.

This isn’t fluffy. It’s science. And it’s exactly what we build inside every BRAVE® session.

Because bravely ambitious companies don’t wait for a culture problem to fix itself.

Because bravely hopeful leaders don’t let dysfunction quietly simmer beneath the surface.

Because bravely curious teams ask better questions and drive better decisions.

Because bravely human organizations don’t just talk about people-first leadership. They live it.

Take the reins LIVE IT.
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Bravely yours,

Elisabeth
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P.S. HELP!! Is someone you know at a start up that’s growing quickly? I’d love if you shared this email with them! We are always seeking to spread these tools and message to serve mission driven teams and help them change the world! 🌎 and you, BRAVE leader, are our best cheerleader 📣!! Thank you in advance❤️.