Explore the EO Path of Leadership to learn about leadership opportunities within EO. Applications for Regional Council Members, Standing Committee Members and Portfolio Team Members are due 15 October 2024. Applications for Experts are due 15 January 2025. (View position descriptions.)
I joined Entrepreneurs’ Organization in 2016, unsure what to expect. I attended some learning events and socials, and began making connections. In true fashion I jumped right in — wanting to explore more.
Today, I serve as the Regional Chair in Canada, leading entrepreneurs who collectively account for thousands of jobs across the country and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic value.
In just eight years with EO, I’ve served in numerous leadership roles, traveled to dozens of cities, and enjoyed once-in-a-lifetime experiences, including jumping out of helicopters and wearing plaid (my RLA cohort will understand!). I’ve also had the opportunity to hear from and speak to major business thinkers, including Jim Kwik, Peter Diamandis, Brene Brown, Simon Sinek and Warren Rustand (just to name a few!). I have challenged myself in ways I never thought possible.
The travel, perks, fun, and connections have been truly amazing, but if I had to sum it up here are three main benefits I’ve gained from being a member leader in EO: collaboration, raising the bar, and the power of experience sharing.
1. Collaboration – The Collective
We are the sum of the five people we most closely surround ourselves with. When you find yourself the smartest person in the room, it is likely time to change rooms. I have been fundamentally impacted by the entrepreneurs who surround me in EO. The experience has impacted the core of who I am: As an entrepreneur, as a leader, and simply as a person.
In EO, I’ve found a unique space for real, unfiltered learning and growth. This peer-to-peer environment allows for vulnerability, accountability and idea exchange. I often use the reference in EO that it is like meeting people who are already at the summit climbing Everest — you start from an elevated place of connection.
The more time I spend collaborating with EOers, the more robust my ideas become, which in turn changed the way I ideate for my business. Some of my best ideas for my primary business, a wine retail and e-commerce brand, have come as a result. I dream even bigger — and now recognize dreams I didn’t know I even had or wanted.
The varied backgrounds and industries represented in EO provide a wealth of insights, and when you combine this with vision and accountability, the results are transformative. Having access to such varied outlooks in a collaborative environment is a rarity worth its weight in gold (or wine, in my case).
And when your closest collaborators also act as accountability partners, the benefits elevate to yet another level. Whether on EO leadership boards, in our Forums, or simply in relationships born throughout the organization, a structure to hold space for one another and be accountable makes goals all the more likely to be achieved. In EO, I both hold myself accountable more regularly and am held accountable by others.
2. Raising the Bar – Excellence is Contagious
Being surrounded by high-caliber leaders has raised my standards in every area of my life. And they were already high — so imagine that. The continuous exposure to entrepreneurs who excel in their industries has shown me the importance of refining processes, systems, and consistency — not just in theory but in execution. Can you imagine the innovation this sets the stage for?
Maybe it’s an osmosis thing, or perhaps it’s simply the product of being inspired. Regular exposure to anything will result in influence, so regular exposure to impressive leaders, seeing them in their element and hearing how they ideate, problem-solve, perceive situations, and navigate complexity has rubbed off on me.
I’ve always held high standards, but the execution and consistency piece is another thing entirely. Specifically, being privy to the “how”— the specific ways each entrepreneur grows and runs their business — is a game-changer for me. From Gino Wickman’s Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to Verne Harnish’s Scaling Up and beyond, I’ve learned and absorbed different models that some of the best entrepreneurs leverage in their businesses.
I always knew about the importance of formalized structure and processes. But after joining EO and being a part of numerous leadership boards, being “process-driven” goes from something entrepreneurs should embrace to being the key to growing a successful, high-impact business. The processes, systems and best practices I’ve learned have been transformative for my businesses, and they are directly linked to my experience as an EO member leader.
Entrepreneurs are notoriously obsessive learners. I’m a lifelong learner, but only after entering into leadership roles within an organization of peers did I realize how learning becomes the rocket fuel for growth. Suddenly, I strived to do everything quicker, smarter, better. But most importantly, I learned how to become an exponential thinker — not just an incremental thinker.
Did I mention how just learning to hear people and hold space can often sometimes get you to a place you never thought you would go?
3. Experience Sharing – You are Not Alone
The entrepreneurial journey is a unique one. Entrepreneurs live a unique experience: The highs are high, the lows are low, and the pressures can be difficult to explain to those outside of it. That’s why EO has been such a powerful space for me. It’s a safe place where I can share my struggles and successes with people who get it. As we know too well, the higher the climb, the harder the fall.
Joining Entrepreneurs’ Organization, then growing in the ranks of numerous leadership roles, has allowed me to share experiences, confide in others, embrace vulnerability and feel “normal” in the face of so many challenging decisions, situations and issues arising along my entrepreneurial path.
The starting place was just joining EO; I was hungry for something different. Joining EO changed my life and trajectory but being in leadership roles has propelled me into greatness, with how I show up, how I learn and how I lead.
There is no greater lesson than growing together with others. No matter how successful someone appears on the outside, we all face challenges, from mental health to financial pressures or just balancing it all. My EO community has given me the confidence to embrace it all. No matter what challenge I face — I know I am not alone — and I know all challenges are temporary. Solutions are always in reach with the right support system.
The Road Ahead
Being on this leadership path has fundamentally changed who I am. Not just as a business owner, but as a person — how I show up is different. My energy is different. I dream even bigger than I ever thought possible, and the desire to give back to this community of exceptional entrepreneurs drives me forward. I thrive knowing I can add value and leave anything and everything in a better place than I found it and we can do it all together.
Leading a board and region of high-performing personalities is no small feat but I am here for it.
It has been one of the most rewarding challenges of my life to date. More importantly, it has allowed me to model leadership and ambition for my 17-year-old daughter, showing her that smart, driven women can lead, build, thrive, and dream in any area they chose.
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization has been the launchpad for so much of my personal and professional growth. I am so excited for what the next chapter will bring. What greater gift than belonging to a community and family that supports the person you are becoming!
Contributed by Kate Holden, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of The Pourium, a fast-growing retail and e-commerce wine business. Kate’s EO Path of Leadership has taken her from president of EO Winnipeg, to serving the EO Canada Board as Canada’s Member Products Director, EO Canada’s Ad-Hoc Director, and currently as EO Canada’s Regional Chair. She also serves as president of the board of directors of The Dream Factory, a non-profit for children with life-threatening illnesses.
Explore the EO Path of Leadership to learn about leadership opportunities within EO. Applications for Regional Council Members, Standing Committee Members and Portfolio Team Members are due 15 October 2024. Applications for Experts are due 15 January 2025. (View position descriptions.)
For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.
