Women Winning Their Way

This week on CLARATY in Action, I sit down with Carol Schultz, founder and CEO of Vertical Elevation, for a real, no-BS conversation about one of the biggest traps leaders fall into: thinking too small.Carol brings decades of experience in executive search, leadership coaching, and building what she calls talent-centric organizations—businesses that align people, strategy, and vision to actually drive results. But here’s the truth we unpack in this episode:Most leaders aren’t stuck because they lack ability… they’re stuck because they’ve unconsciously shrunk their thinking.We talk about:How “playing small” shows up in decision-making, hiring, and leadership habitsThe blind spots that keep business owners doing everything themselves instead of scalingWhy alignment—at the leadership level first—is the key to unlocking growth across the entire organization And the hard truth: if you don’t expand your thinking, your business will never outgrow youCarol shares powerful insights on shifting from reactive leadership to intentional growth, and why investing in the right support (instead of trying to do it all) is often the breakthrough move leaders resist the most.This episode is a wake-up call to stop operating in limitation and start leading with clarity, vision, and bold decision-making.Bottom line:If your business feels stuck, it’s not just strategy—it’s mindset. And until you think bigger, nothing else changes.Carol Schultz is a recognized thought leader in the business world best known for her creation of “Talent-Centric Organizations” (TCOs). She has dedicated her career to creating spaces where employees feel valued and engaged, leadership is aligned, and the bottom line is ever-growing. She spent three decades as a professional recruiter and executive coach, working with leaders across various industries to gain clarity in their careers, create a culture of performance for their teams, and make bold leadership moves. Her clients ranged from Seed-stage pre-IPOs to publicly traded companies in various industries.  Years into her career, she noticed a pattern in the problems her clients were facing. CEOs had repeatedly approached her with what they thought was a “recruiting problem” or a “retention problem” because they were losing employees. However, it was revealed to be the same deeper issue every time: prioritizing money over talent.  Carol spent years researching and formulating an approach to this systemic problem. In her best-selling book, “Powered By People”, she uncovered a path forward: talent-centricity. She coined the term TCO to describe the result of a company that undergoes the process of refocusing on its employees and aligning its talent and business strategy to improve retention, culture, and profits.  She then designed and launched Vertical Elevation, a talent equity and leadership coaching and advisory firm dedicated to transforming companies into TCOs. To date, she and her team have helped businesses in almost every industry. Not only does she assist clients privately, but she also does speaking engagements to educate leaders collectively.  Passionate about entrepreneurship and inspiring future founders, she also hosts the “Evolving Your Workplace Show”, a podcast where she interviews various founders about their successes and failures.