Faith-Based Leadership
Queen of the Trades
What if leadership wasn’t just about systems and results? What if it was about being a spiritually minded leader and managing with soul? In an industry as tough and gritty as the trades, that idea might seem out of place. But I’ve learned firsthand that being spiritually grounded can completely shift how you show up for your team, your business, and yourself. I didn’t always see our business as a calling, but over time, it became clear. The path was never perfectly mapped out if anything, it was full of unknowns. But there was a purpose behind it, something bigger than just making a...
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Replay: Bringing Passion Back To The Trades With Alexis Aranda
Queen of the Trades
Please enjoy this replay of my very first episode! I'm your host Alexis Aranda. Today, I'm sharing my story with all of you, listeners. I was born in a suburb outside of Chicago and had a fantastic childhood. My parents were supportive. We had a lot of love and a lot of great memories, but we didn't have a lot of money. At a very young age, I strongly desired to create wealth for my family. I knew this was what I was called to do. I also had a passion for working. From babysitting to working at a local grocery store, I was always earning money. My best friend's dad was a tradesman....
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Avoid Burn Out
Queen of the Trades
Spring’s hectic pace hits hard in the trades and lately I’ve felt the pressure myself. Long hours, tight deadlines, and family commitments can drain every bit of energy if we let them. In today’s episode I open up about the moment I realized I was saying yes to everything except rest, and how that wake up call pushed me to build habits that protect both mind and body. You’ll hear why real burnout statistics in our industry matter, especially for men who still feel they have to tough it out. I’ll walk you through five practices that keep me grounded, from carving out a true day...
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Extreme Ownership Part 2
Queen of the Trades
A few weeks ago I shared some thoughts on extreme ownership and the response was overwhelming. It’s clear that a lot of us are ready to stop pointing fingers and start stepping into real leadership. So today, I want to go even deeper. Specifically, we're talking about how to take ownership without getting defensive. If you've ever felt your ego kick in during a tough conversation or found yourself making excuses instead of taking the hit, this is for you. We’ll break down what it actually looks like to let go of ego, build self-awareness, listen with intention, and communicate with...
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6 Functions of a Professional Manager
Queen of the Trades
Do you ever feel like you're juggling a million things as a manager and still wondering if you’re doing it right? I get it because I’ve been there. In this episode, I’m sharing the six core functions every professional manager needs to master in order to lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose, especially in the fast-paced world of the trades. These aren’t just generic leadership tips. This is the real, practical framework that changed how I run teams, build people up, and keep our business on track. Whether you’re brand new to management or you’ve been in the game for a while...
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Emotional Intelligence
Queen of the Trades
It’s easy to underestimate just how powerful emotional intelligence can be, especially when you're managing a business, leading a team, or simply trying to keep it all together. But what if mastering your emotions was the key to transforming frustration into growth, and conflict into clarity? In this episode, we talk about what emotional intelligence really means and why it's one of the most underrated leadership tools in the trades. You’ll hear a real story of what happens when emotions start to take over, and how a moment of self-awareness changed the course of an entire...
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Extreme Ownership
Queen of the Trades
There’s a moment in business where everything feels like it’s falling apart—a job goes sideways, a customer’s upset, and your first instinct is to say, “This isn’t my fault.” Been there? Me too. But what if I told you that the most powerful thing you can do as a leader is to say, “This is on me—let’s fix it.” That mindset? It’s called extreme ownership, and it has completely changed the way I lead my team, run our business, and show up every day in the trades. In this episode, I’m breaking down what extreme ownership really means, how Jocko Willink, a former Navy SEAL...
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Navigating Conflict Keeping the Peace
Queen of the Trades
Properly navigating conflict builds trust, strengthens relationships, and turns challenges into opportunities for growth.Whether it’s with a customer, an employee, or even a competitor, conflict is bound to happen. And let’s be real, when you’re pushing for growth and making big moves, you’re going to ruffle some feathers. But here’s the thing, conflict doesn’t have to be a disaster. In fact, if you handle it right, it can actually help you build trust and strengthen relationships. In this episode, I’m sharing a real-life situation where I had to step in and de-escalate a tough...
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The Power of EOS: Breaking Through Business Plateaus
Queen of the Trades
When I first started implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System, or EOS, in my business, I had no idea just how much it would change the way we operated. At the time, our leadership team was all over the place—juggling too many projects, struggling to finish what we started, and feeling like we were just maintaining instead of truly growing. Something had to change. That’s when I came across the book Traction by Gino Wickman, and it felt like it was written just for us. Today, I want to take you inside our EOS journey, share how we’ve used this system to create more clarity and...
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My Biggest Leadership Mistakes
Queen of the Trades
Leadership is not about avoiding mistakes; it is about learning from them and growing stronger. In this episode, I want to share with you the three biggest mistakes I've made as a leader in the trades. I'm sharing these with you because I want you, as fellow leaders in the trades, to learn from my mistakes and avoid these pitfalls. As leaders, growth comes from learning, evolving, and improving ourselves, our teams, and our companies. Remember, leadership is not about being perfect. I'll explain how I wrongly assumed that all trade operations functioned identically, undervalued the...
info_outlineDo you know what makes or breaks your success? Having a team that works together effectively. Today, we'll look at how to work well as a team. Working as a team is vital in our industry, whether you're dealing with clogged drains or managing sophisticated HVAC systems.
We look at four essential ideas that will help you become a valuable team player and contribute to your organization's success. We'll talk about identifying personality types for better communication, not taking things personally, working together toward common goals, and sacrificing your ego for the greater good.
We'll also discuss how team sports experience may influence your teamwork abilities, the importance of having clear short- and long-term goals, and the "mirror and door" leadership strategy, in which leaders accept failures while celebrating team victories.
So, if you're ready to improve your communication skills, create a winning team culture, and revive your enthusiasm for the trades, stick around. Let’s advance our careers together!
Episode Highlights:
[01:26] Being part of a team is a really important skill that we all need to learn.
[01:36] When I interview people, I ask them if they played any team sports as a child.
[02:39] The home service business is a team sport. Communication and teamwork is key to having a successful business.
[03:22] Today I'm going to share four key principles to have an effective team in a home services business.
[03:37] We need to understand personality types in order to communicate with people effectively. It's important to treat people how they want to be treated.
[04:17] I appreciate directness, but not everyone is like that.
[05:33] 1. Understand the personalities of people on your team so you can communicate with them in a way that they'll understand.
[05:45] 2. When you're part of a team, you can't take anything personally.
[07:51] The more we can learn not to feel personally attacked, the better we will be at solving the issues.
[08:17] 3. We need to unite around the goal. It's important for leaders to keep the team focused on the goal.
[09:11] I love our daily huddles where each department sets their goal for the day.
[10:45] Make sure you're uniting around common goals and making each team member in the organization aware of those goals.
[11:07] 4. Surrender your ego. Your ego is not your friend. It's not about you. It's about the team and everyone achieving their goals.
[12:04] We can't grow unless we're challenged. Be open to constructive feedback when you're part of a team.
[13:03] Using the "mirror and door" approach. Owning mistakes you make. Surrender your ego and give credit to team members when necessary. Accept responsibility for outcomes.
[14:53] Be aware of how your ego may be getting in the way of you working effectively on a team.
[15:47] 1. Understand people's personality types. 2. Don't take anything personally. 3. Unite around the common goal. 4. Surrender your ego.
[16:46] Start with building a strong team that focuses on success.
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