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About Lisa Conners, MBA, ACC, CPC
I’m Lisa, keynote speaker, leadership workshop creator, and a results-driven Certified Professional Coach (CPC). I hold International Coach Federation’s ACC Credential and an MBA. A strategic partner to executives, senior leaders and emerging leaders, I challenge my clients to identify and push past limiting beliefs so that they can dream bigger than they ever dared to before.
If you or your audience members want to create greater impact in your professional and personal lives, you’re in the right place!
Note: If you know me as Lisa Conners Vogt, here’s an important update - I changed my name to Lisa Conners!
My Story
I grew up in the Rochester, N.Y. area, graduated from Colgate University (where I majored in English and played soccer and rugby) and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Rochester in Marketing and Finance. Soon after graduating I moved to the Washington, D.C. area where my career quickly took off.
I led projects for consulting firms serving the finance sector and federal agencies. I managed programs for the Nasdaq stock market and NASD and even commuted from D.C. to Toronto while working with a banking client.
When my son was still quite young I jumped at an opportunity to work for a telecom company managing a multi-million dollar budget and dozens of staff members. I led a team that built the company’s first eCommerce systems. I hired and developed leaders, solved problems in a fast-paced team environment, and navigated corporate politics.
This was my dream job!
Until it wasn’t.
People sometimes ask themselves, “What would I do differently if I knew I had a life-threatening illness?” I began asking myself a similar question. Although I didn’t have an illness, I had a job that was sucking the life out of me.
I knew that the 60+ hours per week I spent at work, and the 10+ hours I spent commuting could be better used.
At the time I was married and my husband quit his job to be a “stay-at-home” dad. While he was very young, this was a fantastic arrangement for my son.
But… I wanted to spend more time with my son. And I wanted to make a more positive contribution to the world, develop a real social life, and get involved with our community.
I knew I needed to make a change. But to do what?!
I spent almost two years researching business opportunities. Every day I took one action, no matter how small, to figure out where to take my career. I met with consultants, went to trade shows, read industry publications, and analyzed business opportunities.
I ultimately purchased a 24,000 square foot children’s play and learning facility. It had a real, full-sized fire engine and ambulance, a giant sandbox, dress-up area, over-sized blocks, and party rooms. And, I created a store that sold educational toys online and in our bricks and mortar location.
The business thrived!
And then the economy tanked and life got extremely challenging.
I knew I needed to make a change…again. But to do what?!
I thought carefully about my values, experience and skills, and realized that I felt most fulfilled when my work was driven by a purpose…a distinct mission.
So I updated my resume and set out to find a meaningful job with a non-profit organization.
I joined SOS Children’s Villages, which provides long-term, stable homes for orphaned, abandoned and abused children. I led their marketing and PR department and was able to expand their fundraising initiatives to help provide children in the U.S. and around the world with stable homes. I managed corporate and celebrity partnerships, worked closely with the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, and even had an amazing meeting with Angelina Jolie at her home in L.A.!
In the span of seven years, I transitioned from unhappily toiling in a large corporation, to owning and operating a family-oriented business, to helping provide children with stable homes. I was making a difference, developing my skills, and meeting amazing people!
After several years I transitioned to a job with an insurance company three miles from home. (A job close to home is highly unusual in the DC area!) There, I was able to take my marketing and PR skills to the next level while learning another industry.
Throughout my career, one step led to another, and another, and another. I continuously challenged myself to develop new skills, meet new people and maintain a positive outlook.
My habit of taking action prepared me for what came next…breast cancer.
It all started with a routine, annual mammogram.
The radiologist spotted something suspicious and asked me to return for a follow-up appointment. He showed me “calcification” spots that had shifted over the past few years and said that these could be a sign of cancer, or they might be benign. This finding sent me into a frenzy of biopsies, sonograms, an MRI, other tests and consultations.
I was ultimately diagnosed with breast cancer and chose to have a bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.
Thanks to my family, my surgical team, and friends, I had an amazing experience. I am grateful that today I am doing very well with a 1% chance of recurrence.
Following surgery, I wrote and published an e-book, Ever Better: Five Sources for Personal Growth, Happiness and Confidence. (It’s outdated at this point but send me an email if you’d like a .pdf copy.) Creating the e-book led me to create the Ever Better Podcast with the goal of sharing positive, inspiring stories from people who navigated challenging career or life transitions. The podcast is on hiatus but you can listen to over 200 published episodes on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play or iHeartRadio.
An unexpected pattern emerged as I created podcasts. Over and over again, guests told me that I asked powerful questions and suggested that I consider coaching. It took many months for me to recognize that I had been coaching executives and team members for years, and that with some additional training, this could be the next step in my career!
I’ve been a full-time Speaker and Executive and Leadership Coach since 2018. I’m certified through the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the College of Executive Coaching. It’s often said that great coaches have great coaches. I’ve completed intensive coach training with Tara Mohr, author of Playing Big, Michael Neill, author of Creating the Impossible, and Steve Chandler, creator of Coaching Prosperity School. I’m a Certified Trainer for Everything DiSC assessments and workshops, and Authorized Facilitator for Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team assessments and workshops. After all of this training and thousands of hours of working with clients, I still prioritize developing my speaking, coaching and facilitation skills and am always working with my own coach.