Meet Michelle Von Ruden
Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Von Ruden. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
I was unhappy with the job I was at. My boss was a Level 1 leader, meaning a leader by title only, yet they were at the top of the organization. For someone like me, who studied and practiced good leadership, this was difficult for me to say the least. Thankfully, a recruiter reached out with the perfect role. I was ecstatic, the first two interviews went well and once I returned from a state Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference, I would do the final in-person interview.
That SHRM conference changed my trajectory. I met people who were making leadership their job. What? We can do that. I came home and my husband and I toyed with the idea, but again I had an amazing opportunity staring at me, it couldn’t be ignored. As fate would have it, I bombed the financial portion of the in-person interview. I was too excited to talk about leadership and building teams to be bothered with finances. It was for a financial role!
Surprisingly, the recruiter told me if I worked with a CPA firm and proved I knew what I was doing, I would still be in the running. Great, I can do that. As soon as I got off the call, however, I was sick to my stomach. I decided after a few hours of misery and one call to my amazingly supportive husband, to turn down the opportunity. I informed them I would be opening a leadership company and to call me if they wanted to talk about leadership.
I registered my new company Von Ruden Coaching and Consulting, LLC. that night with the state of Wisconsin. I didn’t know what the next step was, but I knew the journey was beginning.
A week or so later a conversation with my Level 1 Leader should have cost me my life. My boss called and questioned my integrity, my highest core value, to push buttons based off some narrative she created in her own head without evidence or a care in the world. Little did she know I was wearing a Holter monitor at the time. You see, when I was a baby, I had open heart surgery and every year I get put on a monitor just to see how things are going, the doctors never imagined I’d live this long.
About 15 minutes after the call with my boss, I got a call from my cardiologist. He is frantic asking me questions like “How long were you unconscious for?” “Did you hit your head?” “Do you need an ambulance?” “How can I help?” I told him I was okay, but that he in fact was scaring me. He asked me what I was doing 15 minutes prior and I told him about the conversation with my boss. He responded by asking me not to talk to them anymore. I told him I needed to know what was going on.
Well as fate has it, I went into Ventricular Tachycardia (V-Tach) while on the phone with my boss. This is an irregular heart rhythm which can lead to sudden death after 3-5 beats. Hence, my doctor being so frantic. I learned I was in V-Tach for 41 beats. I again shouldn’t be here.
This sealed the deal for me. I had to get out, but I knew I needed to do more than just get out. That night I emailed the John Maxwell Leadership Team. I knew my purpose was to help develop leaders so that others wouldn’t have to go through what I did. I knew that I had the skills and know how to help others and I love helping people.
Joining the John Maxwell Leadership Team, gave me credibility that I had yet to earn in the field. Coming from the finance background, people didn’t see me as they would have if I had left the training and development, or HR filed. I was just as fired up though. I know I can make a lasting impact.
Michelle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I love leadership and personal development. Even back in school I was always the one being picked by teachers to go on leadership retreats. I attribute personal development for all of my success. I always keep growing and learning. I often joke that if I could get paid to go to college I would. Thankfully, I found the next best things.
In my business I work with individuals, entrepreneurs, teams, and companies through coaching, speaking, training, and providing DISC Behavioral Assessments.
I often hear, I will worry about leadership skills once I become a leader. I tell people the time to start is now. This is where my coaching comes in. I like working with induvial who have recently graduated high school and college. This is the perfect time to work on your leadership skills including but not limited to, goal setting, time management, prioritization, and delegation. For those who are ready to get promoted or were recently promoted we talk about the skills above but also add in what it is like to go from peer to boss, how to set boundaries, how to develop others.
Professional speaker is a title I never thought I would have, but here we are, and I love it! Being on a stage no matter how big or small allows me to share my story, it allows my passion to shine through. While speaking I am presenting your message as well in a way that will connect with the audience. They leave with inspiration, motivation, and actionable take-aways.
Training and DISC behavioral analysis round out my services. I offer DISC to all my clients so that I know how to best speak and support them. All training is unique to each company I work with as not all companies face the same problems. I provide trainings such as lunch and learns, conference style sessions, and ongoing education which allows us to talk about problems facing you in the moment with role-playing so we can learn by doing.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Shortly after partnering with the John Maxwell Team, my son and I were in a terrible car accident. We were hit by a distracted driver who ran a stop sign at 55MPH. We were also traveling 55MPH. They missed his door by mere inches. Thankfully my son came away with a couple non-surgical fractures in his face and a concussion. I took the brunt of the injuries. In summary, I broke my neck, dislocated the center of my foot, fragments from my kneecap broke off, I tore ligaments in my shoulder and also suffered from a long-term concussion. By the time my recovery is over I will have had to had 3 surgeries and lots of physical therapy.
At this point, I could have canceled my partnership with The John Maxwell Leadership Team, anyone would have understood. I had a long road ahead of me. Instead, I doubled down and called my contact there and explained what happened. I said my goal is to get healed enough to get on a plane and go to the International Maxwell Conference to be certified. I knew if I didn’t keep moving forward, I would regret it. I didn’t survive open heart surgery as a baby, V-Tach, and a terrible car accident to rest on my laurels, I keep surviving because I’m here to make a difference. Remember, nothing worthwhile is ever easy.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Networking has been my most effective strategy thus far. When I decided to go full-time in January, I knew this would be my starting point. In the beginning I joined all of the groups I could find and attended every event I could, however, I was quickly losing out. I was spending so much time in my business, that I didn’t have time to work on my business. After two months, I took a hard look at what I was spending my time on and with whom. Which networks were adding value and which one’s wouldn’t flinch if they didn’t see me again. I started designing my internal network and making sure they were up to date with what I was doing and also, I wanted to make sure I was in their loop. Networking goes both ways. At Business Network International (BNI), we call it “Givers Gain.”
I did this same assessment for all of the conferences I was invited to attend. For the most part, if I speak at a conference I stay for the entirety of the event. This gives me the opportunity to network with the group and also gives the other attendees more access to me. I really love being in rooms with like-minded people who are there to help others succeed, networking does that for me.
