behind the brand
I believe there comes a point in time when the thing that created all your success, your drive, power, enthusiasm, strategy, aptitude, research, perfectionism, serving, and agreeing, will suddenly stop working.
And that’s where the real journey begins.
meet whitney
In 2016, I returned to Des Moines, Iowa after 10 years away, moved in with my mom, and launched my first business. I had $15 in my bank account and no backup plan. For some people, this risk would have created inaction. For me, it was the ultimate motivation.
I sprinted every day from coffee to lunch to happy hour, making a new connection at every meal. I took whatever work came my way. I got up early and stayed up late. I said yes to it all and quickly built my business from zero to six figures in one year.
Fast forward three years later and that business was thriving, but I was sinking. I had a small dedicated part-time team. I knew it was time to expand but there was too much of my fear in the way. To grow, I had to address the parts of me that need to learn to be open, trust, and collaborate.
Enter, the Enneagram and Emotional Intelligence.
“The Enneagram felt like a breath of fresh air. The assessment results made me feel eerily seen.”
I read about the parts of me people admire and about the parts of me I work so hard to avoid, control, or mitigate. The Enneagram helped me realize that my strengths and weaknesses are forever linked and how my weaknesses are the driving force behind my strength. I am magic because of my internal mess.
My Enneagram 8 typing was no surprise, I have always been fast, direct, big-picture-focused, assertive, and responsible. People easily hand over responsibility when I walk into a room. I generally feel like I get what I want. While these traits and truths made my ego feel important and influential, they didn’t work to build the talent around me.
What I realized is that I wanted to be responsible, but it was equally important that my team felt they had power and direction as well. I started working on the parts of myself that felt threatened by others’ greatness. As I changed, the people around me changed. As I released control, my employees took more.
Last year, I looked up and realized I was running a business, but now, only responsible for a very small portion of it. I have strong employees who take action, create from a sense of strong personal power, and actively challenged my biases. They have made my business 10X better than I could have alone, all because I decided I had to be better for them. For me, being better meant doing and dictating less, while guiding and listening more.
True leaders don’t just do the work; they show people how the work gets done. For me, this means creating balance and boundaries in my life, listening more than I talk, utilizing the massive strengths of those around me, and accepting the weaknesses that come with those strengths. It’s vital to know that no person or employee is perfect, but I know what their best looks like, and I know how to ask for it.
Armed with healthy emotional intelligence and the Enneagram, I walk into my days with a sense of ease that didn’t exist 3 years ago. If you’re reading this, I want this for you too. Life is a lot better and easier with trust and empathy on your side.
Reach out.
Let’s get to work.
what is evoke eq?
EVOKE:
To bring forward, recall, or uncover.
Emotional Quotient:
The ability to consistently understand, utilize, and manage emotions to relieve stress, tension, and negative thought patterns. The skillset behind effective communication, conflict management, empathy, resilience, and personal power.
Whitney’s Other Brands
BOLD. COMMITTED. EXPANSIVE.
Unapologetically Extra is a rally cry. A call forward. A movement.
Born out of years as a photographer, at UE you will find my personal writing, a mix between memoir and manifesto, along with EXTRA merch and collaborations.
Are you ready to go all in on your passion?
CLEAN. CLASSIC. COMPLETELY YOU.
Ivory House Photography is my first business, found 7+ years ago with the belief that every single human deserves to feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera.
If you have yet to feel that, then click below! We’d love to meet you.