Randi Næss: Into Our Hearts—The “Next Big Thing” in Leadership

Leading ourselves, others, leaders, teams, functions, businesses

A pioneering consultant recognised globally, Randi knows how to set boundaries for rest, play and work scarcely without enthusiasm. Authenticity comes first to Randi and is her secret weapon in getting out of where she found herself mildly supported, lacking structure, and deeply embedded in a negative culture. Displaying her resiliency Randi has emerged successful amidst a murky terrain of power games. These manifested in unusual ways and always challenged Randi, steadfastly “Leading […] with integrity.”

Randi has adopted a commendably sober view on her emotions and teaches that YOU can also learn from YOUR emotions.

From a career as an award-winning consultant to quitting your job just before the pandemic, what led to such a life-changing decision?
Many people lost their jobs, and it was a period of uncertainty, did you ever experience a moment of panic or anxiety?

Life-changing Decisions From a Place of Real Self-love

As an award-winning consultant, I gained new clarity about success. I had several AHA-moments. I practiced an attitude where authenticity was key to experience joyful success.

I practiced healthy boundaries to keep space for rest, play and meet clients with energy. I did workarounds from a less than optimal supportive system, structure and culture. By being connected to my natural talent and energy I delivered outstanding results. With so many years of working hard, and working a lot, success came with an experience of more ease. I had a type of WOW-moment in my career.

Along with success came experiences of a type of power game from a few key players. I was played related to a paragraph in my contract—a section that was key to me accepting the job offer. I respected and loved myself enough to walk away. Leading myself with integrity, head held high, was my choice.

AHA and WOW moments connected me to my next phase in my purpose and on my path. I understood I could make a bigger difference in business: enriching people’s lives and increasing profit. At the same time I could align to key global goals for the planet.

Painful Pandemic – Gain from the pain

When I left my job as an award-winning consultant, I had a plan! Nothing turned out as planned. Challenges showed up like a row of pearls for growth. My relatively big financial investments did not yield a short-term return on investment as expected.

Business Partners turned out not to be a good match. During the pandemic, my strength was tested in the most unusual and diverse ways—in all areas of life.

One late evening, just before bedtime I had a physical experience around my chest where my heart and left arm are. Not feeling safe, I called a number for emergencies. I took some tests. Totally fine. I was calm through the whole experience. I had lived with a lot of depressed emotions for an extended period. For a while, I thought it was a reaction from stress or anxiety. In retrospect, I understand it was a tight muscle playing games with me. Peradventure, a heart-opening too?

The pandemic happens to be catalytic – to me. I changed. I came closer to who I am at my core. I took new steps toward the authentic me. My experienced delays turned out to benefit me in the long run. After the pandemic I decided to shake things up to support the movement. I did a 360-degree turn.

Creating a fresh new beginning from a sturdy foundation of mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, financial, and social strength, today I am experiencing a flow of opportunities. These opportunities are aligned with my wishes and heart’s ardent desire. Like a new basket of nest eggs from returns of investments over time.

The pandemic became a time for people to explore their own journey. You describe yourself becoming a ‘master of your emotions.’ Tell us more about this phase of your life. 

Embrace Empowering Emotions

Through a personal growth journey, I discovered how emotions, energy and creation are connected. I learned how to shift and change my internal emotions to be more empowering.

Today I see emotions as facts, as numbers. You benefit from understanding what’s behind emotions. What could happen if LOVE were a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) in business and life? I believe love can change the world. It can happen by you and me elevating our love-game. Us being the change we want to see in the world.

You mention how you went from ‘stressful success’ to ‘joyful successes.’ What are some key lessons you learnt in the corporate world that helped you in your own business? Did you experience corporate burnout? 

From Stressful Success to Joyful Successes

In a phase as an executive leader, I believed:

• Working hard and working a lot to get the job done was being responsible.

I learned that being responsible is about taking better decisions from a higher perspective.

I believed:

• Being a professional executive leader was about being serious. I suppressed my natural playful energy.

I learned that work is supposed to be fun and enjoyable at any level of the organization.

I believed:

• Mastering dancing with wolves and swimming with sharks was part of the game. That staying calm and steady in any situation was expected from me.

I learned how important it is to be aware of how you feel, that work life is not supposed to feel like a battlefield.

When beliefs change, so much can change with them.

I became wise in love

From lessons learned in the corporate sphere, I`m practicing a wiser, newer way of being responsible. I am elevating my business Bridge2Thrive into the market by these principles:

1. Keeping LOVE as the # 1 KPI in business and life. Taking wiser decisions from the heart.
2. Living and leading as authentically as I can and introducing more balance.
3. Allowing the business to unfold in a more natural flow, from a healthier and more balanced personal foundation that allows the delivering of more value.

I love, live and lead better by embracing authenticity, love and joy. I became wise in love. I am living what I teach.

Rethink When Leadership and Work-life Become Suffering

I experienced a type of emptiness and unfulfillment in the corporate world. Today I understand it is a phase on the journey to burnout. If I did not quit my executive job, it would take me to burnout.

When leadership becomes suffering, it’s time to rethink. Leadership is meant to be enjoyable. At all levels. I left a Flying Adventure in the Airline industry after about 15 years. I was a leader of change trusted by the top management group. I surprised most people around me by taking such an unconventional next-step in my career. From the heart. Aligning my purpose. I loved it!

How was your experience working in a male-dominated field? 

Into Our Hearts

In a male and masculinity-dominant corporate world, I was focusing on fulfilling my leadership role.

In retrospect I can see smart male leaders using female leaders to get the job done. Females were helping males to get bonuses and climb the traditional career ladder to the top. This could be a female self-sabotage pattern.

As a female leader I was leaning into my masculine approach too. To make a lot happen within a limited time.

I gained more clarity. If our masculine and feminine approach is not balanced, it might take us into “old fashion push strategies.” We start forcing things to happen. This might end up in most people feeling stuck in the process and ultimately unfulfilled. Phases of stress and burnout would take over.

When we as male or females are playing out our femininity, we tend to relate increasingly from our hearts. From the imbalances between the feminine and masculine I see in business, I believe “into our heart” is the next important thing in leadership.

You describe yourself as a ‘disruptive entrepreneur’ – what does that entail? 

People. Planet. Profit.

Becoming a disruptive entrepreneur opened an opportunity for me to consciously use more of my natural talents, skills, and abilities. Using them for renewal has become important.

I am passionate about creating solutions—combine personal ease and joy with authentic business success—that is the mission I am on. I see love as an irreplaceable ingredient. I am eager to share what I have discovered and learned, that other leaders might benefit from it.

I have created new wise leadership programs unlike any other programs in the market. I combine research, proven tools, and methods in a new powerful way.  Value driven service innovation is my focus.

Together with leaders who are open, curious and willing to try out the new, we co-create to the highest good of the majority. People, planet, and profit.

With more than 15 years as a senior manager and change leader in the corporate world, we would love to hear your expertise. What are three key traits of a good leader?

Elevate Leadership Capacity

The three key traits of a good leader, as I see it today, are all about how personal capacity empowers one’s leadership capacity:

1. Master Emotions. Understanding the Power of Emotions to Lead Yourself and Lead People is focal as leadership is about people. Re-engage from the heart.

• Master Balance. Balance work, rest and play to thrive and lead at your best. Secure this for the people you lead, likewise.

• Master Higher Perspectives. Decisions taken from a higher perspective normally create more space for leading and empowering others.

Knowing is just part of the game. Practicing is what introduces the gamechanger on the journey for you to experience joyful success.

What advice would you give to other like-minded people hoping to quit the corporate world to pursue a new path?

How to be on top of your own game

My 8 best pieces of advice to the like-minded hoping to level up their leadership game, quit a corporate job to start their own business, or just change career path, is that you:

1. Start exploring your authenticity, passion, and purpose. Gain more clarity and confidence about your direction.
2. Take enough time to make a wise decision. Be clear on your next wise step.
3. Trust yourself to find solutions when the unexpected happens.
4. Build strength at a mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, financial, and social level to support you through challenging times.
5. Embrace an attitude of challenges being opportunities for personal growth.
6. Stay out of the blame-game. Focus on growing yourself.
7. Take pauses to rest and play. It’s not a race to win.
8. Let go of what is not serving you from your past. Heal the heart. Forgive.

These 8 pieces of advice will help you to be on top of your own game, securing an uncommon self-transcendence.

What does women-empowerment mean to you?

Raising Feminine Power

Women-empowerment is to me about following heart-felt balance and mastering the dynamics between our feminine and masculine energies, a novel approach. In practical life this means to acknowledge the masculine and raise the feminine. Raising feminine power is an opportunity, a crucible of femininity I see in today’s considerably masculine business world.