How to Build a Strengths-Based Partnership — Lessons from Kolbe and the CEO Whisperer, Cameron Herold

Finding the right balance between the leaders of your organization is absolutely critical to success, and instinctive strengths play a huge role in that balance. So, how do you ensure that your CEO and COO, can collaborate in a way that propels you towards completing your company’s mission? 

“I realized why people thought I was crazy!” — In this episode of Powered by Instinct, Cameron Herold, the founder of COO Alliance, joins our host Amy Bruske to discuss Kolbe and how taking the assessment changed his perspective on how he approaches diversity of strengths in the work environment. Cameron also discusses company culture, leadership dynamics, and the breakthrough moment when he discovered just how much not understanding the instinctive strengths of others impacted his ability to collaborate with them. 

Host: Amy Bruske (3583)

Guest-at-a-Glance 

Name: Cameron Herold (4393)

What he does: Cameron is the founder of COO Alliance. 

Company: COO Alliance 

Noteworthy: Cameron is also the host of the Second in Command Podcast and the author of several books. He is known by the nickname the “CEO Whisperer”. 

Where to find Cameron: LinkedIn 

Podcast Insights 

🎙️Kolbe helped me understand that our differences should connect and not separate us. Similar to our previous guests, Cameron explains how Kolbe brought a new perspective on how people get things done, especially in the workplace. Being different, as Cameron says, is an advantage in helping businesses grow. ''I did my Kolbe profile in 2002, then I did it again around ten years ago, and both times, the number was the same: 4, 3, 9, 3. So I feel confident that that's my grounding. But one thing I had to learn from doing some work with Kolbe was how to work with the high Fact Finders and the high Follow Thrus to understand their styles so that I can accommodate them and not be too fast for them. [...] I think the biggest gift I can give them is to say, 'Do you have any more questions? What other questions might you have?' Or sometimes to say, 'Here's my bucket. Keep telling me all the cool shit you want to. I might not let it sit in my brain, but I'm quite happy every once in a while to let you tell me more,' because that’s what they need to do.'' 

🎙️It took me years to recognize and understand my strengths, but once I did it, everything fell into place. Cameron loves to work under pressure and leave everything to the last minute. This approach has always worked for him. However, it was hard for him and those around him to understand or approve of his way of doing things. ''I'd built three companies prior to doing my first Kolbe profile. So, I'd already done some pretty big substantial businesses. When I did the Kolbe, all of a sudden, I realized why people thought I was crazy, why they thought I was making it up on the fly or shooting from the hip, or why my thinking out loud bothered them. Because they didn't understand where it was coming from and how it made me. So it gave them a glimpse into me.'' 

🎙️My goal is to help my manager grow as a leader. Cameron is an entrepreneur, speaker, and educator. He is a lifelong learner and believes in constant growth. In addition, he is on a mission to share his skills and knowledge with others and help his team members develop as professionals. ''One of the biggest shortcuts that I'm obsessed about right now is not just growing my skills as a leader, but how do I grow the skills of all of the managers in my company, so that I give them the leadership skills.''