Over the last couple of months, we've been spotlighting our amazing team members at The Violet Group. To catch up on past posts, click here.
Now let's spotlight, Stefanie Mockler, Ph.D.! As Co-Founder and President of The Violet Group, Stefanie exemplifies the qualities of a strong, results-focused, visionary, and balanced business leader.
With an education in Industrial-Organizational psychology and 10+ years of leadership consulting, Stefanie has harnessed her expertise to build and lead a company that has a strong culture of collaboration, inclusion, and high performance - not an easy balance to strike, to be sure!
Stefanie’s leadership at TVG is marked by her strategic vision and unwavering commitment to her team and clients. She understands the intricate balance between personal and professional life, and her holistic approach to leadership consulting ensures that her clients thrive in all areas. This philosophy reflects her belief that success in one domain supports and enhances success in others.
Throughout her career, Stefanie has demonstrated exceptional skill in helping clients solve their biggest leadership challenges, partnering closely to design bespoke and high impact learning experiences, and coaching leaders through pivotal transitions. Her ability to navigate and lead in a progressively ambiguous environment showcases her adaptability and forward-thinking mindset.
Let's learn more about Stefanie...
Q: Stefanie, what's a book, podcast, or movie that has had a significant impact on you and why?
A: The book How Women Rise by Marshall Goldsmith and Sally Helgesen. The book offers ways that, as women, we can overcome and address things that may get in our way - or hold us back - at work.
This book really resonated with me, and highlighted areas in my own professional life that I needed to address and work through.
By incorporating the insights from this book, I became a better and more effective coach and have recommended it time and time again in my work. For men, it provides valuable insights into the challenges women face at work, helping them become better allies and supporters.
One key takeaway from the book is the importance of not solely relying on building expertise. Building relationships, maintaining visibility, and proactively pursuing opportunities is just as important for ultimate career growth.
Q: What inspired you to start The Violet Group?
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit.
I enjoy creating things from scratch, I have a strong vision for what excellent looks like, and I get a lot of satisfaction from being able to create opportunities for others and build a firm with an excellent team by my side.
What ultimately propelled me to take the leap was beginning to collaborate with my business partner, Kelly Levin, about 7 years ago.
We were at a similar career stage, and as we started working together, we recognized that our very different and distinct strengths, when combined, could be a really powerful way to lead a business. That, combined with my desire to drive impact, cemented my choice.
I’ve always had a strong set of values that guide me and my decisions: I want to win, excel, and accomplish big things, but I want to do it in collaboration with others.
I’m not out to directly compete and battle people in this field, I think there's an abundance of opportunity to go around!
I believe that companies can succeed and achieve really amazing outcomes while also treating people well, communicating transparently, providing people with opportunities for learning and growth, and really delivering exceptional value to clients, too.
In sum, I want it all and I think that starting my own business was the best way I could do that.
Q: What's one skill or talent you have that isn't directly related to your job, but you're really proud of?
A: I’m really damn good at organizing things. For example, I LOVE to clean out and organize my closet, my bathroom, or my drawers (and I do this for my family members too).
I also enjoy organizing - there's something therapeutic about cleaning things out, getting rid of things, decluttering, and being able to put something back together in a way that makes more sense to me.
Q: If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
A: My maternal grandfather passed away when my mom was a child, so I never had the chance to meet him, but I've heard a lot about him over the years. He shaped both my mother's and grandmother's lives in many ways, so I'd like to sit down and talk to him and figure out why he operated the way he did. I'm incredibly curious to learn more about the person he was and to understand him better.
I’m a psychologist through and through, I guess!
Q: What's a hobby or interest of yours that might surprise your colleagues?
A: I love to people watch, sit back and observe other people’s interactions.
The reason this might be surprising is because I also love being on stage and in the center of the conversation; wanting to sit on the outskirts and observe may not immediately "fit" what others see in me (though, I doubt this would surprise Kelly or others who know me well - they've seen me get lost in people-watching).
In a majority of situations, especially professionally, I'm central to conversations - leading a conversation, leading a meeting, actively engaging with people, so I enjoy a chance to sit back and observe without the pressure to perform.
On a recent trip to Spain with my partner Sam, we found a little table at a café and shared a pitcher of sangria, We're different in a number of ways, but we both love to people-watch and create stories about the people we observe.
Q: What has been your favorite part about being a Co-Founder of TVG so far?
A: Being able to make decisions and choices for what we want to go after, how we want to work with each other and our clients, and what we stand for.
Perhaps ironically, that been the most challenging part for me as well because it's meant that I’ve had to make some tough decisions.
I've had to make choices that may be unpopular, but are what's best for the business and align with where we're headed.
I've loved getting to create a culture at TVG that allows people to be their best and do what works for them. I think Kelly and I have done an exceptional job of matching people's interests and skills with their role at TVG.
Commentaires