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_outlineThere’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 inspired this approach, and the four principles that will level up your leadership game—fast. I’m also sharing a behind-the-scenes look at what happened when we launched the HVAC side of our business and it didn’t go as planned. (Spoiler alert: there were a lot of lessons.)
If you’re ready to stop playing the blame game and start leading with clarity, confidence, and accountability, this one’s for you. Let’s get into it.
Episode Highlights:
[01:34] Today we're talking about a leadership mindset that completely shifted the way that I run our business, lead my team, and
show up as a woman in the trades. It's called extreme ownership, and it comes straight from the former Navy SEAL and
commander named Jocko Willink.
[02:14] True leadership kicks in when everything is going wrong. I'm going to break down the key principles from Extreme Ownership and how they apply to your business.
[02:42] As a leader, you're responsible for everything in your business.
[03:13] There are no bad teams, only bad leaders.
[04:13] An ultimate leadership story from the book about Jocko's SEAL unit on a mission in Ramadi.
[05:25] There was miscommunication and chaos and a friendly fire situation broke out. Jocko took full responsibility.
[06:11] In the trades, we have the chance to say, "that's on me, and let me fix it" when something goes wrong.
[06:38] 1. Take ownership always. It's not about taking blame. It's about taking control of the situation.
[07:53] A personal example from when we decided to open up our HVAC side of the business.
[09:04] 2. No excuses. Just solutions. Leaders focus on the next steps not excuses.
[11:02] 3. Believe in the mission. If you're not sold on your company's vision, neither is your team.
[12:37] It's important to have an empowering mission that your team can get behind.
[13:28] 4. Decentralized command. You can't micromanage every area of the business.
[14:45] As a leader in the trades, when you take full responsibility, you remove the ability for other people to question your leadership.
[15:09] Extreme Ownership means that all of it belongs to you, the mistakes and the victories.
[15:33] When something doesn't go as planned, I want you to pause and ask, what could I have done differently? What can I do now to fix it? And how do I lead better next time?
Resources & Links Related to this Episode
● Pure Plumbing & Air Facebook
● Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win (New Edition)