Christy Honeycutt

I attribute my success to pure curiosity and grit, and not wanting to perpetuate past situations. My mom and my stepmom weren't allowed to have a bank account unless a man signed for it back in the 70s. You couldn't have a credit card unless a man signed for it, your dad or your husband. You couldn't play sports. There were so many different things, and I'm Native American, so I've come up against a lot of things, but it's just a great opportunity to rise regardless of the situation and just keep pushing. I realize how far, as women, we've come, and that we're not done. We need to keep pushing.

The best career advice I've ever received would be to bet on yourself. And the best advice I personally give is that relationships aren't owned by your company, they're not owned by anybody else, they're owned by yourself. So any relationship you have is owned by you, because people move around all the time.

I think that, for me, the biggest challenge is ego. The second you put ego over what's best for your company or what's best for your employees, you've already failed. And I've watched it happen and watched some people leave and all the good things.

Integrity is something that I value, along with vulnerability and transparency. I coach founders and CEOs, and for me, I won't engage with somebody that doesn't have those qualities, because you have to be able to regulate yourself and know, have agency over yourself and your emotions, and understand that you're not perfect. Good leaders know that they don't know everything. Good leaders always fall down, and they celebrate the falls because you win some, and you learn some. If you have those qualities, anything can be accomplished.