Get to Know Our Founder & CEO: Leigh Ann Errico
Women's History Month is a fitting time to shine a spotlight on women who have not only made their mark in history but who continue to inspire and empower others today. So we took this opportunity to talk to our own CEO and founder of LAeRRICO & Partners, Leigh Ann Errico, whose professional life has been not just about building her firm, but also about uplifting others along the way.
What inspired you to start LAeRRICO & Partners?
Leigh Ann: I wanted to create an offering in the market that was unique – where all leaders’ needs were being met in a highly customized fashion. I was very focused on providing deep levels of support to leaders and a safe space where they could be authentic and vulnerable in order to examine their patterns and make choices that better served them. And at the time, I had recently started a family with my husband, so I wanted to have the flexibility to make my own schedule while raising our children and growing my business.
What professional challenges did you face as a woman entrepreneur? How did you overcome them?
Leigh Ann: Focused on my north star – doing my very best work and delighting my clients, which led to referrals and repeat business. I mostly competed with myself to continue to do better each time and find novel ways to create offerings in the market that did not exist and could help leaders realize their maximum potential. By taking this approach, I didn’t have a lot of time to think specifically about the challenges of being a female business owner.
I do recall that when I first started my firm, I tried very hard to win over a couple of male-owned and male partner-led firms to partner with me and they were not biting. I tend to look at those rejections as a blessing and I also try to use that feeling of being dismissed as motivation. I say this to my kids now, too, “Use that disappointment to learn something and for good.” Incidentally, those firms I was trying to join went out of business, eventually, so I guess I “dodged a bullet.”
How do you help other women leaders overcome similar challenges?
Leigh Ann: Helping other human beings and women to thrive is a huge passion for me. I always try to LIFT women leaders. For example, when I see a female leader is going out on her own in her own practice, I reach out directly to offer support. We may only “know each other” on Linkedin, but I book time to have a call and to share that I want to help pave her way with a smoother path than the one I had. I offer tools, advice, templates – whatever she might need to help kickstart her practice. I share all the things I had to figure out on my own.
When I was a VP of HR earlier in my career, there was a restructuring and as a result, I had to process the termination of a female peer and part of the standard protocol was to accompany her out of the building. She had never been very friendly or congenial during our time working together and I had a choice to either relish in her downfall or choose to be kind. I chose the kindness path and treated her termination with care and compassion. She said to me, “You could have been really brutal to me today and you were really gracious.” She is now one of my dear friends to this day, all because of that interaction where I had a choice to make.
It is my way of paying it forward and sending the karmic boomerang in the right direction.
What are some ways you mentor or support women?
Leigh Ann: I take young women under my wing whenever I possibly can. Oftentimes I am selected in my practice to coach “up and coming female leaders” – women who lead and also have young families to raise. I really enjoy helping these women to find their boundaries and their stride.
My daughters, Samantha and Charlotte, (and my two sons!) are also my ongoing daily mentees. I want to ensure they have all my lessons and hacks before I leave this world someday hopefully a long, long time from now. Often times, I tell my daughters stories to illustrate the point, I give them memorable quotes I have heard in my 30 years in business working with such fascinating people, which I hope will stick with them. It is so rewarding to help my daughters navigate through interviews for various opportunities, conflicts they are dealing with, and ways they may want to consider to reframe a situation that will better serve their headspace.
Leigh Ann with her daughters (pictured left and right) and her mother (center).
What is a specific moment in your career that had a significant impact on your success as a female entrepreneur?
Leigh Ann: Choosing to leave my job as a Global HR Executive – with all of the influence and benefits that went with it – was a very painful and scary decision. So much of my identity was wrapped up in my job title and role, and so many of my friends were woven into that life I had built. When I decided to leave and start LAeRRICO & Partners, it was depressing and lonely at first. I had a little baby girl and would take a train with my babysitter and child to Washington D.C. once a month to go to Georgetown University to become trained as an Executive Coach. At times I wondered if I had done the right thing by walking away from Corporate. I had to build my company from scratch – I had no contracts, no templates, no revenue, and no customers. But it just takes one positive thing to happen where you can find a Win and build momentum.
Now it has been 17 years as an entrepreneur and I have achieved more than I could have ever imagined. Each day, looking for that one Win – just like I did when I started out. The best part is all of the truly fascinating and beautiful people I have met in my journey from all over the world. Everyone's story is incredible – what humans can achieve and overcome is remarkable and I get to witness so much of that magic in the work I get to do.
How were you mentored by other women throughout your career?
Leigh Ann: When I first started my career, I had an amazing mentor in a female executive at AT&T. She saw something in me and she believed in me. Her faith in me was fuel to ignite my growth. She later hired me to join her team on Wall Street and then I was promoted to Vice President in my late 20s. Fast forward to present day, 30 years later, and she is still one of my best friends and advisors. I try to be this kind of mentor to others and pay her kindness forward.
What advice would you give to other aspiring women leaders?
Leigh Ann: Be you. Know your values and your purpose and do all things through your alignment with these core principles. Keep in mind that every interaction is what forms your relationships with people – and those relationships are what drives the results. So be present, be respectful, and be a team player whom people can trust.
In your experience, what unique strengths or qualities do women bring to leadership positions?
Leigh Ann: Women are able to coordinate and achieve a tremendous amount – a lot of plates spinning at once. That can be a tremendous strength. But it also can be an overused skill that should be monitored for burn out, anxiety, and other health risks. Unfortunately, this problem is simultaneously pervasive and misunderstood. To decipher the causes and solutions to this epidemic, I assembled a team of experts across neuroscience, immunology, and somatic health to produce a program that specifically teaches clients how to avoid and/or recover from the consequences of chronic stress.
In our modern world, empathy and emotional intelligence are a huge benefit and females often tend to be very high EQ [Emotional Intelligence Quotient].
It's Women's History Month! Who are some women in history who have inspired you and why?
Leigh Ann: My mother, Rose Marie Nicholson is my first inspiration as she sacrificed everything for me and my brothers and is my biggest fan. The kind of backing that my mom gave me had me feeling like I could achieve anything I set my mind to – her support emboldened me to dream really big and “go out and slay the dragons.”
Rosa Parks also really stands out in my mind. During a pivotal moment in history, she held the line and took a stand without backing down. Her strength and bravery are awe inspiring.
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Leigh Ann’s dedication to creating positive change and lifting others up is at the heart of LAeRRICO & Partners. Contact us if you could use personalized support on your leadership journey.
