Navigating transitions in leadership with Celeste Ford and Janet Grondin

Join us for part two of our discussion with Celeste Ford, board chair and founder of Stellar Solutions, and Janet Grondin, CEO of Stellar Solutions, where we focus on how to navigate leadership transitions successfully. Together, they reveal a playbook for how to complete a leadership transition which includes continuous coaching, clear communication, and thoughtful planning.

Show Notes:
(1:00) Succession planning: Celeste talks about how she followed her gut and knew when it was time to transition from CEO to something new. 

(4:20) The role of coaching: Janet talks about deviating from your plan and the role coaching plays in transition.

(8:22) How to let go: Celeste shares how she let go of being the CEO, going out on a win (Baldrige) and announcing on the fourth of July. 

(12:40) Breaking down the transition: Janet relays what she does for a new role transition talking through her thought process step-by-step. 

(15:10) How to take care of yourself: The leaders acknowledge that we are always in transition at some point. We swap strategies for how to stimulate yourself physically and mentally. 

About Celeste: She founded Stellar Solutions in 1995 and served as CEO until 2018 with the mission to deliver high-impact performance for defense, intelligence, commercial, civil and international clients. She established Stellar Solutions Foundation in 1998, QuakeFinder humanitarian R&D program in 2001, and expanded Stellar’s global presence. She launched Stellar Ventures in 2022 to invest in the next generation of space technology companies. Celeste is Board Chair and Founder of Stellar Solutions, Inc., a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award-winning aerospace engineering company. She is Managing Director at Stellar Ventures.

About Janet: She is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stellar Solutions Inc., a small, woman-owned business and leading provider of high-impact engineering services to significant intelligence, defense, civil, commercial, and international customers for the past 29 years. Prior to this role, she served as Vice President for Intelligence Programs, Vice President, Defense Programs and Director of Emerging Space Capabilities. Janet is a former Northrop Grumman Director and a retired USAF Colonel with 30+ years of experience in navigation, remote sensing, satellite communications, launch, space superiority, and launch ranges.

Resources:

Part 1: Leading Dream Jobs in Aerospace with Celeste Ford and Janet Grondin - Seasons Leadership Podcast

www.stellarsolutions.com

https://baldrigefoundation.org

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome everybody to the Seasons Leadership Podcast, where we are committed to leaders everywhere, at all levels, who want to make progress on their leadership journey. We will bring you actionable advice to improve your leadership and life today.

Speaker 2: 0:15

Thank you for joining us At Seasons Leadership. We share a vision to make excellent leadership the world-wide standard. Learn more at seasonsleadershipcom. Okay, welcome back, celeste and Janet. I'm so excited to continue this conversation and we're going to talk about in this half transitions, because you have both had multiple transitions in your career and and most recently well recently in the last couple years into your new role, so you are working together differently. Um, can you just talk about how you did that and you know what approaches you took and what made it work for you?

Speaker 3: 1:05

Well, I guess I can do the history from the last podcast. We both switched jobs and ended up at Stellar and I think the Stellar process. We do have a succession planning process and every year we sit down and we talk about, you know, the CEO succession, but also leadership teams and from emergency needs for leadership to the what we call the gene pool of maybe some of the newer people that we want to develop. So we have this, you know, laid out, but we learned that we may think that's what we're going to do, but then sometimes you look at it and you think, hmm, that team isn't very diverse, that's not how we want to look. Or, hmm, we've been looking at these same people and they're not. We don't really believe they can do that next job and that's why they keep appearing down, you know. And so we had to actually rethink, you know, on paper, this is the succession plan to what is our gut telling us and what do we do?

Speaker 3: 2:17

And I think Janet's, you know, in the early days, okay, I hired my friends. I'll be honest, if I knew somebody in the sector who was a superstar and a great leader, I just, you know, my only challenge was come over here to do that because this is a better place than over there there there, because I knew I'd seen them in action. They were good leader and, you know, embodied all the principles I was trying to do. Well, that works up to a point. You hire all your friends. Well, then they hire their friends, and now Janet's dealing with much bigger numbers. So there's more, maybe, rigor involved in how, like, we didn't advertise for jobs or all those things that you need to do that Janet's doing.

Speaker 3: 3:06

So that's kind of how it all got started.

Speaker 3: 3:08

I'll let Janet talk about where we are and where we go from here.

Speaker 3: 3:13

And oh, of course, the biggest part is you can never get rid of those darn founders. You know, like I was there so long and I had a COO and I had leads and they were doing more and more of the work every year, and so I think one of the most important things is the founder has to have an exit, and winning the Baldrige gave me a good exit for not wanting to be like, you know, the quarterback who stayed too long with the team and everyone's wondering, okay, we, we like her, but when are we going to get a turn? So I feel like for me that was a natural time to transition to board chair. And then, you know, just leaping into Stellar Ventures was actually a slow process of angel investing, doing well and then deciding to raise a fund, which is a whole nother skill set, with another group of people. But, as you pointed out, it ties very nicely together with Stellar Solutions strategic goals. That's sort of the past and how we got to where we are.

Speaker 4: 4:15

Yeah, there's a lot to what Celeste said, I think, on the secession piece. You know, when I left North of grumman I came to stellar, I was like, well, I'll work for another eight or ten years and then I'm just gonna retire. And I was not thinking, oh, I'm gonna run stellar one day. Right, that was not on my, it was not in my plan. Um, and I think it was maybe about a year, year and a half into Stellar and my boss, who was Betsy Pimentel at the time, she said, hey, I just want to let you know, we're going to have our succession meeting and and you're in the plan, and I was like, hmm, so I had to really think about that.

Speaker 4: 4:58

I had to get some coaching and some, you know outside opinion. You know it was like I said and some, you know outside opinion, you know it was like I said I was, I wasn't on mentally on that path and so obviously, you know I I came around to that, but I thought that was a really smart way to do it because you know, then you weren't left with a cliff kind of. You know, hey, the boss wants to know do you want to take over something? And you have to answer in 24 hours or some weird thing like that. Right, it was sort of more natural. It's like I had the time to kind of absorb it and then think about it. So the succession plan process is quite good I think, and we do a good job with that, but then so kind of fast forward to the transition itself. You know, celeste, I remember when I first started she said, well, we should probably talk, you know, once a month or something.

Speaker 3: 5:54

I was like oh, no, once a week.

Speaker 4: 5:55

It's like I need to talk to you once a week because I didn't have enough understanding of the business really to run it. And so she was very generous with her time and we we did. We talked once a week, probably an hour every week. I got a lot of coaching, a lot of prioritization, you know, because when you first take over, people will show up in your office and they want to do the thing that they've been longing to do for the last 15 years and finally, you know, maybe Janet will approve it. You know, you just don't see that stuff coming.

Speaker 4: 6:30

Celeste helped me really focus on, you know, customer visits, critical needs, dream jobs. This is where our focus is, and I think without that I'm not sure it would have been a very successful transition, because she really helped me, you know, transfer from her founder's knowledge base. What was important to her for the company and that gave me the room transition was, you know, having the having the foresight to have a succession plan, but then also the support and coaching, you know, on into that the role. So you know, so I didn't go off one direction and she's like, no, that's, you know, that's not the direction I want you to go, janet, so so that's not the direction.

Speaker 1: 7:23

I want you to go, janet. I want to continue this conversation about transitions and take it into more of an internal or personal viewpoint. You can pick any transition you want to pick, or a combination of them, and what I'd really like to know about is maybe things you experienced or things you learned, or both, in going through these different transitions. For example, janet, you said I have the job I didn't dream job I didn't even know I wanted or I didn't dream of having right. And so when you find yourself about to make a transition, maybe one you didn't know you were going to be making what kind of things come up for you personally and what have you learned from that?

Speaker 3: 8:10

Well, mine, I guess I'll answer the hard one, because that's what everyone wants to hear. Like you're a founder, you know, like my identity for my entire career is wrapped up as being CEO of Stellar Solutions in some way shape or form. And how do you really let go of that in the best interest of the company? And I belong to a CEO group out here and there were a few of us, laughingly, that we called the horizontal exit strategy. We did not have a plan. We're going to work till we die and then over to you people.

Speaker 3: 8:50

So obviously that was not in the best interest of you know, I've always said I wanted stellar solutions to be built to last, not built to flip, which wasn't even a thing, you know, 25 years ago. But now I have to very much differentiate, because everyone's starting a business now is to flip it and make money, and that's not our model. Our model is this slow and careful growth. You know around high impact and customer critical needs and dream jobs. So when I knew, though, that time had come, I felt like you know, sometimes you're dealing with the same problem for the 10th time and you're not putting as much as love and energy and patience into the solution. And I knew I had reached a point where it was time, and I also knew I had really competent leadership team, and any of them could run the company. They'd been at Stellar, you know they, they understood Stellar, so it was really a matter of me letting go, and it was funny because I agonized over the win. You know like, okay, you know once you're not horizontal, when is it you?

Speaker 3: 10:05

know, and I think the Baldrige win kind of helped me think. Well, I don't want to wait till the 25th anniversary or the end of the year, because that's what everybody does and if there's anything you know about me and Stellar year, because that's what everybody does and if there's anything you know about me and stellar, you do not do what everybody else does. You think about what you want to do and figure out how to do it. And so I went out on the 4th of july. I remember writing the letter and having people tweak it and sending it to stellar on the 4th of July. So everybody got it and I could do my one-on-ones as required and it was a memorable day with things shooting up in the air in honor of it, although not the rest of the world knew that's why all those fireworks were going off. So that was my personal thing.

Speaker 3: 10:55

I guess I wasn't worried really about the ability of the other people to lead the company I've won. I'm one that just loves introducing people to each other and projects and letting go and watching others blossom. So that was not the issue for me. It's like what am I going to spend my time? And you know. So there was that personal thing of worrying about, you know, worrying about maybe being too hands-on like with Janet saying she appreciated the mentoring and why I suggest it once a month instead of once a week was I was a little worried that I do have high energy and I do have all this history and I'd be, you know, like stifling what I was wanting to, to let go of.

Speaker 3: 11:41

So I think, as it turns out, you know, transitioning went very smoothly and I had plenty of things that I'm doing and the stellar ventures thing wasn't anticipated but just grew from there and, um, that's, that's my personal angst and how I dealt with it.

Speaker 1: 12:03

One thing that really came up for me and we'll get to Janet next, but the that really came up for me in that, celeste was that you were using your values, your personal values, to guide what you did and when you did it, both with the. I'm not going to do the same thing everybody else does and, um, I don't like the horizontal exit strategy, right? So, living into your own values as you, as you made those decisions, I think that's that's brilliant, janet. What was your story?

Speaker 4: 12:34

Um well, you asked about any transition any transition, and so I'll give you sort of, maybe, my general approach to transition, because I did have a number of transitions in the service after the service. So the transition to the ceo role, I think the things that were mostly unique about that I kind of already covered. But when I do transition into a new role, typically I spend a lot of time trying to understand not only the mission but the people involved, because so from my perspective, the people, people do the mission right, the mission's why we exist. But but you know, I try to understand who's on the team, what do they need, um, and what needs to get done right. So what, what's the job jar? I think you know as you transition, so kind of kind of assessing um, and then you know, once I kind of get into the job, then it becomes all right, well, needs to change. And then where are the changes going to be? You know where are they going to really, you know, move somebody's cheese, for example, right, because you know if there's something needs to get done, there's probably something that needs to change. And then you sort of have to figure out what that is and who's going to be impacted.

Speaker 4: 13:59

And then I would say the final piece is leadership. You have to get the right people on the bus. You kind of have to set a direction. So I don't like to set a direction until I know who's on the team, what needs to get done, make sure we're all kind of pointing the right direction in terms of what it is we're trying to do.

Speaker 4: 14:18

And then I look at my leadership team and I have to ask them are you with me or not? Because this is what I need you to do. And typically in every transition that I've been in, most people jump on board with you and then there's a few that don't want to, and then you just have to find a way for them to be valuable to the organization. And so you know once that's kind of all complete, then I sort of think the transition's complete. You know, once you get executing and rolling but you know that's how I approach them is to make sure that I've got really you get the right leadership team is kind of what Sla said before you get the right leadership team and you can do anything. That's where I try to focus.

Speaker 2: 15:03

Well, it's just it's. I mean, we're always in transition somewhere, right? So it's so nice to to hear your lessons, and it also occurs to me that you know, as we go through transition, sometimes they're stressful, and when we're under stress, sometimes it's. You know, we're not our best selves. How do you take care of yourself? You know, how do you stay healthy so that you are on top of your game all the time?

Speaker 3: 15:36

Well, the obvious answer for me is exercise, and one of those what am I going to do with my time? Transition things was oh, I'm going to exercise in the morning and not have to worry that I got to be at this meeting or skip it because I've got this business trip and so on. So I feel like you do need to take care of yourself. I wasn't good about scheduling doctor appointments. I did a better job getting my car in to get service than myself. That's not good. So I think the exercise the you know, taking care of yourself so that you can truly be available to others was a really important thing, and also stimulating other sides of your brain, because, you know, we're all aerospace and all this, but some of my best ideas come from.

Speaker 3: 16:28

You know, I was an engineer by day, actress by night. So drama and theater is a big thing for me, theater is a big thing for me, and I felt like that whole side of my brain like gave me actually an unfair advantage in engineering world, because where did I learn how to enunciate and project? Not in my engineering class, but in that play I was in or that theater class, and also, you know how you get into character. Well, you know this calls for calm, but compassionate. You know how you get into character. Well, you know this calls for calm, but compassionate. You know, and you think about that. So that was a hobby, turned business and now turned back to a hobby. You know more time for things like that. So I think that's. You know you stimulate yourself physically, mentally and take care of your health and it's a good thing for everything that touches on you.

Speaker 2: 17:23

That's fantastic, well, and what a gem of a nugget of knowledge that we have here. You're an actress.

Speaker 3: 17:32

Well, former actress, I haven't starred in anything lately, as you've noticed on the big screen, but I am on the board of our San Francisco Theater, american Conservatory Theater. So, wow, I still see a lot of plays, great how about you, janet?

Speaker 4: 17:51

I don't, I aspire to be uh, is uh good at taking care of myself, I would say. But uh, yeah, I agree with all those categories. Theoretically, I can't say I'm doing a lot of exercise right now, but, um, but yeah, from time to time I can put it all together and then it. You know. So I struggle to to, you know, to make sure that I'm getting all of my exercise and eating right, and from time to time I have to reset, kind of get back, you know, get back to basics. But that's absolutely right, I think, for me too. You know, family time is rejuvenating for me. So I live in Northern Virginia. Both of my sisters live in Northern Virginia, so I get to see them frequently. Now, um, we haven't been together for most of our, in fact our entire adult lives, so it's really a lot of fun for us.

Speaker 4: 18:44

And then, uh, I have two boys, two grown boys, one in Los Angeles and one in Michigan, and I've been able to see them, you three, four, five times a year, and so that you know that makes me happy and um, and then you know my husband and I take, take trips and kind of get away and unplug a little bit.

Speaker 3: 19:03

So that's how, that's how I keep, you know, kind of keep myself on an even keel and I have to say when I started Stellar I'm glad you said that, janet, because I viewed family and work as this integrated thing that if you were at Stellar you weren't choosing, you know, I didn't want people to to think that that. You know it's a 24-hour day and how do you use those 24 hours? You know, in the early days I had really young kids and you know you can be sure we all sat down to dinner and family, you know, and then go back and generate an invoice or something after they were all in bed. So it's like if you're not happy, your family is your support system. That's why we invite spouses to our annual strategic planning meeting, because if they're not helping on the home front, you're not as able to do all the great things that you might want to do.

Speaker 3: 20:03

So I've always viewed the family and the work as being an integrated thing, either or at Stellar. And then you know, I think you two would probably say the same thing about exercise and travel, you know, and eating right. Two would probably say the same thing about exercise and travel. But you know, and eating right, like okay, we're all supposed to do that and we know it and you know you have to look in the mirror to to put the blame on you know time management.

Speaker 1: 20:26

It's not really somebody else's fault it'll be helpful for people to know that, no matter what level you get to, you still have the same human challenges that everybody has.

Speaker 2: 20:40

It's true. It is, but it's so important to take care of yourself, because we can't give to others if we're not. Our maybe best self might be too, too aspirational, but at least we're pretty good.

Speaker 1: 20:59

It's true, You're absolutely right so oh well, this hour has gone very quickly, or this half hour of this section has gone very quickly, but we'd like to end with one last thing. You'd give you a chance to say one last thing you'd like for our listeners to hear yeah, I'm gonna say that I'll go first so that you don't have that pressure.

Speaker 3: 21:20

And I'm gonna say the same thing reach for the stars, because it doesn't only apply to your work life, it applies to your time management, to your health, to everything. Just, you have to believe in yourself and set those goals and reach out there and and do it, the sky's the limit as they say, or not even the limit anymore.

Speaker 4: 21:40

Janet's getting us to mars yeah cis lunar is not even the limit now.

Speaker 4: 21:45

Yeah, yeah yeah, no, I think. Uh, you know, if I were to, to impart one piece of advice, to be if you're're, if you're not happy, you need to make a change, because there's no reason not to be doing what you love. And, um, you know it, it doesn't mean it happens, you know, overnight, but everybody should be happy doing what they're doing. There's plenty of work out there and cool missions and exciting things to be a part of, and you know so. Don't waste another second. Go find your dream job, go after it.

Speaker 1: 22:22

Thank you both for being with us today. Thank you both. Thank you, thank you, listeners, for joining us today. We hope that you were inspired by this conversation.

Speaker 2: 22:33

And we invite you to join our community on Patreon See the link below. There you will find more resources to help you on your leadership journey.

Speaker 1: 22:42

Make sure to join us next time for more conversation about leadership excellence.