What if the bravest act of leadership is knowing when it’s time to pause?
In this deeply personal episode, Kris invites listeners into the raw, honest crossroads she’s currently navigating—one marked by completion, uncertainty, and a longing for deeper, more human connection. After nearly 400 episodes, thousands of hours of recording, and decades spent teaching leaders how to lead, she shares the truth many high-achieving women rarely admit out loud: sometimes the thing we’ve mastered is the very thing we’re meant to release.
Kris reflects on how leadership hasn’t fundamentally changed—and on the bittersweet realization that she has said everything she came here to say. She talks openly about shifting away from the isolating online model that has defined the last several years and into work that brings her back into rooms, back into community, back into the presence she craves.
She also guides listeners through a powerful reframing of accountability—not as pressure, but as profound self-care. Because when we don’t follow through on the promises we make to ourselves, the weight of that avoidance becomes its own burden.
This episode is a pause, not a goodbye—a moment of truth-telling, gratitude, and trust in what comes next.
If you'd like to stay in touch to receive updates about what we've got coming up, visit www.thevisionary.ceo
We love the idea of accountability—until it gets uncomfortable. Until it requires us to tell the truth and stop making excuses for what we’ve been tolerating. In this powerful episode, Kris Plachy explores the deep connection between accountability, self-trust, and personal agency—and why even the most successful women can find themselves over-tolerating, over-accommodating, and avoiding difficult conversations.
Kris challenges high-achieving women to stop externalizing the problem (“Why won’t they just…”) and instead reclaim responsibility for their own responses, expectations, and results. The truth? Accountability isn’t about controlling others—it’s about your willingness to show up, follow through, and address what needs to be addressed, even when it’s uncomfortable.
She reminds listeners that every relationship, every result, and every outcome in your life begins with your own accountability—and that reclaiming this power is the most freeing leadership practice there is.
This conversation is an invitation to take your power back—not by controlling others, but by mastering the only person you can truly lead: yourself.
Ready to tackle your biggest challenges and set yourself up for an incredible year ahead? Book a Visionary.CEO Starter Session with Kris Plachy to get personalized guidance and your own custom journal to keep you accountable—all designed to help you achieve what you really want. Reserve your spot today at www.theVisionary.CEO/starter!
In this week’s episode of Leadership is Feminine®, Kris speaks straight to the hearts of high-achieving women who are carrying so much—the businesses they run, the households they manage, the people they care for, and the decisions they make every hour of the day. Kris argues that successful women don’t just deserve joy. They require it.
After years of hosting immersive client retreats, she’s seen firsthand what happens when accomplished women are offered a space designed entirely for them: where they don’t have to drive, plan, decide, or take care of anyone. They get to receive. And something powerful happens.
They come back to themselves.
These experiences aren’t frivolous. They are healing. They restore the spirit of a woman who spends her life pouring into everyone else. Kris makes the case that joy is a strategic investment. And it is necessary if we want to lead sustainably.
This is your invitation to recapture delight—to make room for play, presence, and wonder.
Are you on our list to get first-to-know updates? Visit www.thevisionary.ceo/notes.
Kris is back with another round of the pet sitting saga—but this time, it’s about more than just unreliable pet sitters. It’s a story about accountability, boundaries, and leadership. Through a string of mishaps (and three fired sitters), Kris explores how these small, personal frustrations mirror the much larger issue of how we manage people in our lives and businesses.
When expectations aren’t met, many leaders justify, tolerate, or avoid confrontation. But as Kris shares, avoiding accountability—whether with a pet sitter or an employee—only recycles poor performance and creates a culture of tolerance instead of trust.
This conversation is an invitation to protect your standards, honor your agreements, and lead with both compassion and clarity—because accountability isn’t cruelty; it’s integrity in action.
It’s time to stop tolerating and start leading. Join me at www.thevisionary.ceo/sagemm to learn more about the new Sage Mini-Mastermind that starts November 4th.
This week on Leadership is Feminine, Kris Plachy and her Director of Operations, Michelle Arant, sit down for an unscripted conversation that captures leadership in its most human form. What started as a casual team discussion turned into a powerful reflection on how we handle discomfort, accountability, and growth — both in business and in life.
Through the lens of a lighthearted story about a pet sitter, Kris and Michelle explore how everyday moments can reveal our relationship with responsibility and self-management. They discuss the tendency to over-accommodate others, the generational shifts in resilience and follow-through, and why true leadership demands that we get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Their conversation is an honest reminder that friction isn’t failure — it’s feedback. Whether you’re mentoring a new hire, raising kids, or running a multimillion-dollar company, the path to better leadership begins with allowing discomfort to do its work.
This conversation invites you to pause and ask: Where am I protecting others — or myself — from the very discomfort that could lead to growth?
Wanna join us for the Sage Mini Mastermind? Visit www.thevisionary.ceo/sagemm to learn the details and register.
What if your mind needed the same care as your home? In this episode, Kris introduces the concept of brainkeeping—a leadership practice as vital as housekeeping. Just as we tidy our physical spaces, our mental and emotional spaces require regular clearing, reflection, and renewal.
Kris shares how her lifelong curiosity and deep conversations with friends and clients have shaped her unique approach to coaching high-achieving women. Through brainkeeping she helps leaders sort through the clutter of overthinking, self-doubt, and noise—so they can access their clarity, wisdom, and creativity.
She explores why so many women leaders stay in constant motion, what happens when you stop long enough to ask “why,” and how stillness and inquiry can become your most powerful strategic tools.
This conversation is an invitation to pause, recalibrate, and reconnect with your mind—the most valuable asset you have as a leader.
Ready for your own Brainkeeping? Join the Sage Mini Mind Interest List Today! www.thevisionary.ceo/sagemm
As we head into the final quarter of the year, Kris invites you to shift your focus—from running the business to owning the business. She challenges high-achieving female founders to stop operating on autopilot and start thinking like the visionary asset holders they are.
Too many women spend years building companies without ever asking the most important question: What’s the plan? Whether you eventually want to sell, scale back, or simply create more freedom, your business deserves a clear direction—and so do you.
Kris also introduces the Sage Mini Mastermind, a 12-week experience for women running multi-million-dollar businesses who are ready to step out of the weeds, lead from wisdom, and build a business that runs beautifully—with or without them.
Here’s what we explore in this episode:
This episode is your reminder that your company isn’t just a vehicle for achievement—it’s an asset for freedom. The Sage Era begins when you stop measuring success by how busy you are and start designing your business to serve the woman you’ve become.
Don’t leave your biggest asset to chance—get on the Sage Mini Mastermind waitlist now at www.thevisionary.ceo/sagemm.
What does it feel like to finally stop overworking, over-explaining, and over-proving—and instead lead from a place of grounded confidence? In this episode, Kris shows us what life and leadership look like when self-trust and self-worth are fully integrated.
She shares the story of a client who went from being minimized by her partners to running a thriving $10M company while taking a guilt-free month away from her business. This transformation illustrates the power of moving beyond surface-level fixes to address the root issue: believing yourself and believing in yourself.
Kris outlines the real markers of integration: working in resonance instead of overwork, resting as a source of strength, setting boundaries without apology, and claiming your right to joy and desire. This is the Sage Era—where your wisdom serves not just you, but those you lead and influence.
This conversation is an invitation into the Sage Era—where your wisdom, value, and authority aren’t up for debate.
Your journey starts with clarity. Head to thevisionary.ceo/trust and take the Self-Trust & Self-Worth Index Kris designed to give you immediate insight.
What if your worth wasn’t tied to your revenue, your output, or anyone else’s approval? In this episode, Kris takes us deeper into the heart of worthiness and why so many high-achieving women still wrestle with believing in themselves—even after building successful companies, raising families, and achieving goals most people only dream of.
Kris breaks down the difference between self-trust (believing yourself) and self-worth (believing in yourself), and why the latter is the quiet, constant hum that shapes everything you do. She explores how conditional worth shows up in subtle ways—like people pleasing, avoiding difficult conversations, or downplaying your own success—and why guilt over what you’ve built is often a sign you don’t fully own your value yet.
This episode is your invitation to stop proving, release guilt, and reclaim the truth: you are already the prize.
Your journey starts with clarity. Head to thevisionary.ceo/trust and take the Self-Trust & Self-Worth Index Kris designed to give you immediate insight.
Why can you trust yourself to build a multimillion-dollar company—but not to have one hard conversation? In this episode, Kris pulls back the curtain on the anatomy of self-trust. From visionary ideas to money, health, relationships, and leadership, she reveals why so many women compartmentalize their confidence—rock solid in some domains, shaky in others.
You’ll hear how past experiences, identity “totems,” and cultural conditioning quietly erode our confidence, and why fear, vulnerability, and inherited stories often dictate where we doubt ourselves most. More importantly, Kris shows you how to begin repairing that trust—through awareness, reframing, and practice—so you can finally stop second-guessing and start standing fully in the leader you already are.
This episode calls you to stop treating self-trust like a mystery and start treating it like a skill. You don’t have to be perfect—you just have to start believing yourself again.
Your journey starts with clarity. Head to thevisionary.ceo/trust and take the Self-Trust & Self-Worth Index Kris designed to give you immediate insight.
Why do so many accomplished women still doubt themselves—even after building extraordinary lives and businesses? Kris continues her Self-Trust & Self-Worth mini-series with a powerful exploration of the programming women inherit from generations before us.
She invites us to reflect on the systemic, cultural, and ancestral patterns that quietly shape how women value themselves—and why even the most accomplished female founders still lie awake at night second-guessing their own decisions.
From hiding success out of guilt to resisting difficult conversations at work, Kris shows how the paradox of female leadership is never about capability—it’s about the stories we’ve absorbed about what women “should” be. And she challenges us to stop playing small, stop apologizing for what we’ve built, and start owning the lives we’ve worked so hard to create.
This episode is your reminder that you are not broken—and you’re not alone. The work ahead isn’t about fixing yourself, it’s about unlearning what never belonged to you in the first place.
Your journey starts with clarity. Head to thevisionary.ceo/trust and take the Self-Trust & Self-Worth Index Kris designed to give you immediate insight.
Kris launches a brand-new mini-series with a masterclass on Self-Trust and Self-Worth for Female Founders. And she encourages us to ask: Why do we trust ourselves to build entire businesses—but not to have one hard conversation?
After wrapping the seven transitions of Beyond the CEO, this next season dives deeper—into the paradox that so many successful women face: the ability to make bold, visionary moves while quietly second-guessing themselves in the day-to-day.
Across the next five weeks, you’ll hear Kris unpack her full Self-Trust and Self-Worth masterclass, designed to help you see how every “tactical” problem—whether it’s firing someone, raising your rates, or stepping back from the business—is rooted in how much you believe yourself, and how much you believe in yourself.
This episode is your invitation to stop treating the symptoms and start healing the root. Because when you strengthen self-trust and self-worth, you don’t just lead better—you build a business and a life that finally feels aligned with the woman you’ve already proven yourself to be.
Your journey starts with clarity. Head to thevisionary.ceo/trust and take the Self-Trust & Self-Worth Index Kris designed to give you immediate insight.
What’s your plan for the business you’ve worked so hard to build?
After walking through all seven transitions in the Beyond the CEO series, Kris is turning her focus to what comes next: the tactical and strategic steps every founder must take to ensure the business can run—and even thrive—without her constant presence.
This isn’t just about getting through today’s to-do list. It’s about preparing your business, your team, and yourself for what’s ahead—whether that’s scaling, exiting, or simply reclaiming more of your life. Because the truth is, too many women wait until they’re burned out before asking the hard questions: Is my business ready? Am I ready? What happens after this season ends?
This episode is your invitation to stop avoiding the practical steps and start laying the foundation for a business you can lead and leave. Because the earlier you prepare, the more options you have—and the more freedom you create to design what’s next.
Wanna know more details about the Sage: Coaching for Female Founders that will be starting in October? Visit www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondtheceo to add your name to the interest list.
Are you willing to release control and trust others with what you’ve built
In this episode, Kris closes out the Beyond the CEO series by walking through the final transitions that take you from structure and strategy into wisdom and possibility. It’s not just about building processes—it’s about letting go of false truths, reclaiming clarity, playing without an agenda, and stepping fully into Sage energy.
This is where leadership becomes less about control and more about trust, curiosity, and freedom.
This episode is your invitation to stop defaulting to what’s inherited, expected, or safe—and start building a business you can both lead and leave. Because when you do, you create the freedom to explore what’s next and the impact to feed the future with your wisdom.
Interested in more of what we've been teaching here?
Visit www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondtheceo to add your name to the interest list.
Want some coaching on these transitions I've been featuring in this series?
Visit www.thevisionary.ceo/callin to learn more and submit an application. If selected, your call will be published on this podcast in future episodes.
Have you been intentional about what stays in your life—and what goes?
If you’ve been following this special Beyond the CEO mini-series on the seven transitions every founder must face, you know last week was all about play, curiosity, and exploration. Now, in Transition Six—Intentional Design—we take everything you’ve discovered in that playful, curious phase and start shaping it into a grounded, deliberate vision for what’s next.
This isn’t about hustling toward another “should.” It’s about building your next chapter with clarity, purpose, and your own rules. Kris shares why this stage only works if you’ve truly given yourself the gift of experimentation first—and how skipping that step leads to recreating the same patterns you’ve outgrown.
She walks through her own clarity breakthroughs (including a newfound love of pickleball, hosting in-person gatherings, and refining her environment) and invites you to ask yourself: What’s in? What’s out? What’s worth designing into the next version of your life?
This episode is your invitation to stop defaulting to what’s inherited, expected, or safe—and start crafting a life and business that reflects the woman you are now.
The best way to stay in the know? Get on the list.
I’ve got some exciting things coming your way, and I always share with my email list first. Head to the thevisionary.ceo/notes and opt in.
Learn more at www.thevisionary.ceo/hawaii
Play. Stillness. Curiosity. When did you stop giving yourself that permission?
You’re going through the motions in a life you once dreamed of—and wondering when that dream stopped being yours.
In this episode—the next in Kris's series on the seven essential transitions every successful woman must navigate—she invites you to consider the one most of us avoid: curiosity, play, and exploration.
This isn’t a conversation about productivity or purpose. It’s about what happens when you finally lift your head, look around, and realize: the version of you running the show today isn’t the woman you were 20 years ago. So why are you still living like she’s in charge?
Kris shares stories from two recent retreats—including the meditations, discomfort, and unexpected conversations that shook something loose. And she poses a question that might just be your wake-up call: What if it doesn’t matter which path you choose next—only that it brings you joy?
You can’t find what’s next wearing the coat of who you used to be.
So try something on. See how it fits. And don’t be surprised if it changes everything.
The best way to stay in the know? Get on the list.
I’ve got some exciting things coming your way, and I always share with my email list first. Head to the thevisionary.ceo/notes and opt in.
Loving the podcast? Let me know.
If this episode resonated with you, would you take a moment to leave a quick review on iTunes or Spotify? It means the world—and it helps more women find this work.
As a thank you, I have a little something I’d love to send your way. Just email a screenshot of your review to hello@thevisionaryceo.com.
In this fourth installment of the Seven Transitions Every Successful Woman Must Navigate series, Kris explores the fog that can settle in after years of striving, building, leading, and achieving.
When the urgency fades, when the goals have been met, when your days are no longer dictated by survival or ambition... who are you now?
This is the striver’s dilemma.
In this episode, Kris shares reflections from two recent retreats—one with Arthur Brooks, one with Rebecca Campbell—that offered wildly different but equally profound insights. She weaves together data, mysticism, and lived experience to guide you through the discomfort (and deep potential) of Transition Four: Reclaiming Future Clarity.
If you’re standing in the in-between—done with what was, unsure of what’s next—this episode will meet you there. Not with answers, but with the kind of questions that can change everything.
The best way to stay in the know? Get on the list.
I’ve got some exciting things coming your way, and I always share with my email list first. Head to the thevisionary.ceo/notes and opt in.
If this episode resonated with you, would you take a moment to leave a quick review on iTunes or Spotify? It means the world—and it helps more women find this work.
As a thank you, I have a little something I’d love to send your way. Just email a screenshot of your review to hello@thevisionaryceo.com.
You’re not trapped by your business, your team, or even your schedule.
You’re trapped by the stories you’ve been telling yourself about what has to happen next.
In this third installment of the special mini-series on the seven transitions every successful woman must navigate when she knows it’s time for something new, Kris unpacks the beliefs that quietly hold you back—the false truths that keep high-achieving women stuck in businesses they’ve already outgrown.
She gets right to the heart of the stories we cling to when we’re afraid to move on, and dismantles them one by one. Like the belief that if you step back and the business doesn’t thrive, you’ve failed. That if you’re no longer running things, you’ve somehow lost your relevance. That wanting something new makes you ungrateful—or worse, that letting go means it was never enough to begin with.
This episode is not about dismantling your success—it’s about unhooking from the beliefs that keep you small, tired, and holding on too tightly.
The best way to stay in the know? Get on the list.
I’ve got some exciting things coming your way, and I always share with my email list first. Head to the thevisionary.ceo/notes and opt in.
Are you the biggest bottleneck in your business—and don’t even realize it?
You didn’t build your company to babysit it. But if you’re still the one making every call, solving every fire, and holding the reins so tightly no one else can lead...this episode is your wake-up call.
In this second installment of the special mini-series on the seven essential transitions every successful woman must navigate when she knows it’s time for something new, Kris explores what it really means to step into the advisory consultant role for the very business you created and the team you built. If you’ve ever felt the urge to evolve beyond the business you built, this is your roadmap—and your invitation.
It’s not just about delegation. It’s about identity.
Because learning to release control doesn’t start with your team—it starts with you. Letting go of being the person who approves every decision, solves every problem, or catches every dropped ball requires more than systems—it requires a shift in who you believe yourself to be.
Kris walks through why founders get stuck in a cycle of over-functioning, how perfectionism masks fear, and why holding the metaphorical bat too tightly means no one else will dare take a swing.
This episode calls you forward—not to abandon your company, but to evolve into a different kind of leader: one who guides instead of manages, who advises instead of reacts, and who trusts her team to rise.
Wanna know if your business is ready to run without you? Take the short quiz here: www.thevisionary.CEO/businessready.
You say you want freedom. But are you really ready for it?
This week, Kris kicks off the first of seven essential transitions every successful woman must navigate when she knows it’s time for something new.
It starts with a brutally honest question: Is your business ready to run without you?
And are you ready to let it?
In this episode, Kris unpacks what readiness really means—not just logistically, but emotionally. Because saying you’re done and being done are two very different things.
This isn’t about stepping down. It’s about stepping into a new version of you.
And readiness is just the beginning.
Wanna know if your business is ready to run without you? Take the short quiz here: www.thevisionary.CEO/businessready.
The One Hour Leader Blueprint thevisionary.ceo/onehourleaderblueprint
The One Hour Leader Coach thevisionary.ceo/onehourleadercoach
This season marks a turning point—not just for the podcast, but for the visionary women who listen. If you’ve ever wondered what comes after success, you’re in the right place.
In this kickoff to a brand-new series, Kris introduces a deeply personal—and much-needed—conversation: what it means to go beyond the CEO. Because sometimes, the biggest transition isn’t building the business... it’s releasing your grip on it.
This isn’t about retirement. It’s about reinvention.
And if you’re feeling restless, you’re not alone.
Tune in now and meet the woman you’re becoming—one transition at a time. And be sure to listen to upcoming episodes as Kris explores the seven transitions every founder must face to move into her next chapter.
Join me in Sonoma in August so we can meet in person! Go to www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondceo to register your interest.
The One Hour Leader Blueprint thevisionary.ceo/onehourleaderblueprint
The One Hour Leader Coach thevisionary.ceo/onehourleadercoach
You built the business. You built the team. You built the life. But now… what?
This is the moment no one warns you about. When the business you poured everything into is running—maybe even thriving—but you feel restless. Detached. Like maybe you’ve outgrown what once felt like everything.
In this episode, Kris Plachy opens the door to a new conversation—one that’s been quietly forming behind the scenes. This isn’t a pivot away from leadership. It’s a leap into deeper truth.
She speaks directly to the woman who’s questioning what’s next:
It’s time to meet her—the woman beyond the CEO.
The raw emotional terrain of success that no one prepares you for
If you’ve built a beautiful business but you’re starting to dream in a new direction, Kris made this episode for you.
This is your invitation to the age era.
And Kris will meet you there.
Join me in Sonoma in August so we can meet in person! Go to www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondceo to register your interest.
This one’s raw. Tender. And so incredibly real.
My client came into this conversation thinking she needed clarity. She was looking for the right answers—about her role, her goals, her business. But what came out was something much more vulnerable: the pressure to perform, the fear of letting people down, and the quiet ache of not being fully seen.
This episode is a front-row seat to what happens when a powerful woman stops performing and starts telling the truth.
This is the unfiltered, Beyond the CEO moment so many women never get to speak out loud—but you’ll hear it here.
Join me in Sonoma in August so we can meet in person! Go to www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondceo to register your interest.
This one hit deep.
I’m talking to a founder who’s done everything “right.” Built the business. Achieved success. Carried the weight. But now… she’s just tired. Tired of running, of holding it all together, of pretending she still wants what she once did.
She thought we’d be talking about planning and priorities. Instead, we had one of the most honest conversations I’ve ever had with a woman who’s quietly—and bravely—acknowledging that her current chapter is over.
This is Beyond the CEO work in real time. And if you’ve been secretly wondering if you’re allowed to want something new, this episode is your permission slip.
Join me in Sonoma in August so we can meet in person! Go to www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondceo to register your interest.
This episode is for the woman who’s built a thriving business—and still hears a quiet voice inside asking, “Is this really it?”
My client came to this session frustrated with herself for not trusting her team or delegating enough. But what we uncovered wasn’t about delegation at all. It was about the fear of stepping away. The pressure to keep going. And the guilt that creeps in when you consider wanting more for yourself… or maybe something entirely different.
This is the kind of conversation most women are having only in their heads. But here, we say it out loud. And that’s where the real shift begins.
Listen now—and if it speaks to you, leave a review and share it with a woman you admire who might be in her own what’s next moment.
Contact Information and Recommended Resources
Join me in Sonoma in August so we can meet in person! Go to www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondceo to register your interest.