Tell us your name and a little about yourself.
My name is Kerry Goyette. I’m the mother of three kids and a consultant who is passionate about bringing out the potential in others. I have always loved people and find their stories so interesting – the good, the messy, all of it. It’s this love that led me to founding my consulting firm, Aperio, which engineer teams that work. I also love the ocean, reading, cooking, traveling, wine and wineries, and learning about and experiencing other cultures.
Why did you become an entrepreneur, speaker, author, etc in the first place?
In 2008, I was working in private practice as a clinical therapist and decided to pause my practice to help launch a start-up in the healthcare industry. I planned to help the start-up for two years, but I had so much fun that after those two years, I made the decision to go out on my own and help other organizations grow.
I committed myself to learning: in addition to key concepts and paradigms, I became certified in different analytics that can be used in the workplace. I wanted to make the soft science hard and I wanted to work with organizations to achieve great results through people. I hadn’t intended to start my own firm back in 2008, but showing the ROI of building great cultures became a passion. I followed my interests and curiosities, pursued different kinds of learning, and took risks. That’s how I ended up where I am today.
Tell us, how do you deal with fear?
My area of expertise is emotional intelligence, which has to do with fear. I define EQ as understanding the brain’s tendencies and habits (many of which are rooted in fear) and learn to intelligently use emotion. We like to think that many of our decisions come from logic, but neuroscience tells us otherwise. If we can’t quell the fear in the oldest part of the brain, the limbic system, we won’t be as effective at leading, making decisions, and taking bold risks.
My approach is to first take the time to really learn about the different causes of fear – fear as it comes up for you, your team, and your environment. Learn to recognize fear when it surfaces in an action or a way of thinking. Sometimes fear is helpful. Other times, it limits you in a negative way. Make a plan for how you and your team are going to recognize fear and what you’ll do when it surfaces. This is something that I really focus on with EI: we can’t necessarily control the way the brain will react. But we can work to recognize its tendencies and then choose if we want to act on them.
Tell us, how do you deal with rejection?
Rejection is tough. It’s intertwined with fear. Fear of failing, fear of not being good enough or not measuring up. When I’m rejected for a project that I thought was a perfect fit for my firm, I feel disappointed and early on I would even question myself. Over time, I’ve learned to try to find a key take away from every failure or rejection. What did I learn about myself? What can I use going forward? I remind myself that it’s not about me or my company and it’s not personal. It has to be the right fit, and if we’re not chosen then I choose to believe that it just opens up the door to another opportunity. I try to look on the positive.
