by Laura Keane
For two years, I’ve been partnering with founders and leadership teams every day, but that doesn’t mean I have it all figured out. One of my favorite parts of being a Fractional Integrator, and hell, a human, is that I get to figure it out (“it” being business, leadership, life as a human) alongside some amazing people.
When I was considering a career change in 2023, I asked myself these questions over several overly caffeinated clarity breaks at my favorite coffee shop.
What if I could continue learning and sharing EOS? I love the framework and I love the Integrator seat. I had seen first hand the change it can create in teams.
What if I could get into other industries to keep learning about more stuff? I get bored easily.
What if I could do that with more people than just my current company? The more people I can help, the better!
What if those people were “my people”? Serious about the work, genuinely enjoy learning but can also share a laugh during a meeting.
What if we could have some fun along the way? We spend a lot of time together running a business. Let’s make it fun when we can.
What if I could do that and be an amazing mom to the best kid ever? The kid is awesome for real. Not biased at all.
What if I could do that and have time for the other things I care about? Catch me at a concert, yoga studio or on a plane to a new place.
What if I could do that while being compensated appropriately? Sorry, not sorry.
What if this list was not a pipe dream but could work IRL? Spoiler alert: It’s called the EOS life and it does exist in the wild.
Joining Catalyst Integrators as a Fractional Integrator felt like cracking the code. Sometimes I still ask myself “Is this for real?”
I spend my days with clients and teams I REALLY LIKE, enjoying the work we do together. I would be friends with these people if I met them out in the world. We learn from each other every time we are together. They value my input. They give me feedback to help me learn and grow.
We roll up our sleeves to restructure accountability charts, then we do it again as the business scales and changes. We build simple, actionable scorecards to foster accountability and clarity. We whittle Rocks down multiple times until we have a realistic, achievable set we can actually complete. We talk about (and solve) the hard stuff, the great stuff, the annoying stuff and that thing that everyone avoids talking about. And yes, we have a little fun along the way. (beachside dinner, yoga class or hike anyone?)
And then there’s Catalyst team: the most brilliant group of weirdos I’ve ever met. It works. We know that to be seriously great at your job, you don’t have to take yourself too seriously. We show up as our full authentic selves for each other. Every damn day. We extend conference trips to spend free time together. No pressure, just time to unwind, share learnings and have some adventures. (think tiki bars, ghost tours and spa days). We speak freely, we laugh, sometimes we get vulnerable and shed a tear. There’s hugging. And awkward dancing.
I’ve stretched myself in ways I didn’t think I could. I’ve helped solve some big, hairy problems I wasn’t sure I knew how to tackle. I’ve stepped in new industries and worked with brilliant humans from all walks of life from all over the world. I’ve also discovered that sometimes addresses in Spain are misleading and you end up in the wrong city in an Uber. But hey—every great journey needs a little adventure, right?