From a vision at 17 years old to running a full-fledged business today, Dominique Farnan is the embodiment of a dream chaser. Leading her life to where it is today came with its challenges, but they’ve only made her a stronger, more heart-centered leader. Her thriving business is all thanks to hard work, dedication, and most notably, investment in coaching. Read on to learn more.
The role of CEO is not an easy title to obtain let alone maintain. It may seem straightforward from the outside looking in, but running a business comes with an unprecedented amount of responsibilities, and if not conducted properly, can send a business tumbling.
One woman knows just how important the role is, but is redefining the common notions associated with being a CEO.
Team-oriented? Check. Leadership skills? Check. Prioritizing a healthy work environment? Double check. These are just a few of the qualities that not only define Dominique Farnan but also her company DotConnect, a recruitment agency named by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in America. Founded in 2011, the talent agency has been dedicated to building lasting teams while promoting a positive corporate culture, an aspect you don’t see very often.
It’s not every day that the CEO of a company is more invested in developing the team versus increasing profit, but Farnan is not just any CEO.
“I’m focused on us (DotConnect) and how we show up, how I show up, how my team shows up, and being the light in the dark places or corporate,” Farnan says. Her company helps to connect the dots for other businesses to create their dream team.
But helping others scale their team is not possible if your own team is lacking that certain spark. And a moment in time allowed Farnan to realize this gap.
Hitting a rough patch in 2019 seemed like a dent in the armor, but as they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. “We were operating very disparately and dysfunctionally,” she discusses, and ultimately she decided to stop and re-analyze her company’s structure. “I use the analogy that we became like McDonald’s fries: wherever you went and experienced our team, it felt and looked the same. It became consistent.” Slowly but surely, the dots started to connect.
“I wasn’t necessarily focused on growth from a financial standpoint, I was focused more on growing the team skills, capabilities, competence, redefining our culture, and then also just really leveling up our processes and our systems,” she explains. How’s that for a refreshing standpoint on a business’s priorities?
From that point on, Farnan redirected her focus to fostering a healthy work environment by starting at the management level-CEO. But for her, it was a personal quest, one she knew had to be undertaken.
“I have to do something different. This isn’t working for me anymore,” she recalls thinking, “and I hired my first coach. That was a huge investment for me, time, effort, energy, and money-wise, but it transformed my business because that coach brought up a lot of my blind spots and things I had never even thought about.”
This is exactly what a coach does. We tend to get stuck in the same habits, behaviors, and actions without even realizing it. Our personal growth becomes stunted, and over time what used to work no longer does. It’s like a lightbulb: after a duration of time, it will eventually burn out. And when it does, a new one is put in its place.
Part of life is evolution. And that includes changes in society, trends, businesses, technology, and us as humans. When we lack change, it not only affects us on a personal level but can bleed into our professional life.
Whether you’re a CEO or a team member, if you’re not looking after yourself it will reflect in every area of your life. When Farnan became aware of this, she doubled down on coaching and went all in.
“I wasn’t just leading on my own anymore. I had people who I could bounce ideas off of and mentors and coaches and people who would support me,” Farnan shares. And after joining a group called Leaders Create Leaders by Gerard Adams, it all came together.
“I focused a lot on how I can be of service to my team and support them in their growth,” the conscious leader explains, which is now an integral part of her company.
“Regardless of if you stay with us for a day or a year or five years or forever, the time that you work with us is the best time of your career. And it’s the most transformational time of your career when you look back and say, ‘I love that team. I love my boss. I love my job. I love our clients. I love the work I was doing. I love the challenge. I love my growth.’”
When you put in the work, results will follow. And that’s exactly what occurred. Farnan saw a shift in her team and also in those who left gracefully. “You’ve changed my life” or “I’ll work for free just to stay connected to this team,” are a few examples of how her dedication to fostering a positive company culture paid off. And it all started with investing in a coach.
“For 2023, the expectation is for my leadership team that everybody has a coach … and has their own personal professional development track that they’re investing in and that we’re also helping to invest in for them,” says Farnan.
Big things are coming for this company and you don’t want to miss it.
Take it from Dominique Farnan, a team-oriented mindset will lead your business all the way. Follow her on LinkedIn to stay connected, and if your team is in need of professional help to connect the dots, visit her website today.