Are you willing to release control and trust others with what you’ve built

In this episode, Kris closes out the Beyond the CEO series by walking through the final transitions that take you from structure and strategy into wisdom and possibility. It’s not just about building processes—it’s about letting go of false truths, reclaiming clarity, playing without an agenda, and stepping fully into Sage energy.

This is where leadership becomes less about control and more about trust, curiosity, and freedom.

• The surprising power of asking “What do you think?” instead of giving answers
• Why restless, “itchy” seasons are signs of growth, not failure
• How boredom after success reveals what was missing all along
• The trap of being needed versus the freedom of being trusted
• What Sage energy looks like in practice—and why it always whispers, “There’s more.

This episode is your invitation to stop defaulting to what’s inherited, expected, or safe—and start building a business you can both lead and leave. Because when you do, you create the freedom to explore what’s next and the impact to feed the future with your wisdom.

Interested in more of what we've been teaching here?

Visit www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondtheceo to add your name to the interest list.

Want some coaching on these transitions I've been featuring in this series?

Visit www.thevisionary.ceo/callin to learn more and submit an application. If selected, your call will be published on this podcast in future episodes. 

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Have you been intentional about what stays in your life—and what goes?

If you’ve been following this special Beyond the CEO mini-series on the seven transitions every founder must face, you know last week was all about play, curiosity, and exploration. Now, in Transition Six—Intentional Design—we take everything you’ve discovered in that playful, curious phase and start shaping it into a grounded, deliberate vision for what’s next.

This isn’t about hustling toward another “should.” It’s about building your next chapter with clarity, purpose, and your own rules. Kris shares why this stage only works if you’ve truly given yourself the gift of experimentation first—and how skipping that step leads to recreating the same patterns you’ve outgrown.

She walks through her own clarity breakthroughs (including a newfound love of pickleball, hosting in-person gatherings, and refining her environment) and invites you to ask yourself: What’s in? What’s out? What’s worth designing into the next version of your life?

• Why play and exploration are prerequisites for true clarity
• How to sculpt a new vision without dragging old expectations into it
• The importance of refining, not just adding
• Why environment, people, and commitments all deserve intentional choice
• How universal truths guide every stage of your evolution

This episode is your invitation to stop defaulting to what’s inherited, expected, or safe—and start crafting a life and business that reflects the woman you are now.

The best way to stay in the know? Get on the list. I’ve got some exciting things coming your way, and I always share with my email list first. Head to the thevisionary.ceo/notes and opt in.

Learn more at www.thevisionary.ceo/hawaii

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Play. Stillness. Curiosity. When did you stop giving yourself that permission? You’re going through the motions in a life you once dreamed of—and wondering when that dream stopped being yours.

In this episode—the next in Kris's series on the seven essential transitions every successful woman must navigate—she invites you to consider the one most of us avoid: curiosity, play, and exploration.

This isn’t a conversation about productivity or purpose. It’s about what happens when you finally lift your head, look around, and realize: the version of you running the show today isn’t the woman you were 20 years ago. So why are you still living like she’s in charge?

Kris shares stories from two recent retreats—including the meditations, discomfort, and unexpected conversations that shook something loose. And she poses a question that might just be your wake-up call: What if it doesn’t matter which path you choose next—only that it brings you joy?

• Why women who “have it all” still feel restless
• The comfort cage—and how it tricks you into staying stuck
• How exploration opens doors clarity alone never could
• Why you owe it to yourself (and your future) to get uncomfortable
• The identity shift that comes from doing something—anything—new

You can’t find what’s next wearing the coat of who you used to be.

So try something on. See how it fits. And don’t be surprised if it changes everything.

The best way to stay in the know? Get on the list.

I’ve got some exciting things coming your way, and I always share with my email list first. Head to the thevisionary.ceo/notes and opt in.

Loving the podcast? Let me know.

If this episode resonated with you, would you take a moment to leave a quick review on iTunes or Spotify? It means the world—and it helps more women find this work.

As a thank you, I have a little something I’d love to send your way. Just email a screenshot of your review to [email protected].

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In this fourth installment of the Seven Transitions Every Successful Woman Must Navigate series, Kris explores the fog that can settle in after years of striving, building, leading, and achieving.

When the urgency fades, when the goals have been met, when your days are no longer dictated by survival or ambition... who are you now?

This is the striver’s dilemma.

In this episode, Kris shares reflections from two recent retreats—one with Arthur Brooks, one with Rebecca Campbell—that offered wildly different but equally profound insights. She weaves together data, mysticism, and lived experience to guide you through the discomfort (and deep potential) of Transition Four: Reclaiming Future Clarity.

• Why dreaming after success feels murky, not magical
• How the absence of urgency can feel disorienting instead of freeing
• The one question to ask before launching into your next project or business
• Why the next version of you won’t be found in a revenue dashboard or your to-do list

If you’re standing in the in-between—done with what was, unsure of what’s next—this episode will meet you there. Not with answers, but with the kind of questions that can change everything.

The best way to stay in the know? Get on the list.

I’ve got some exciting things coming your way, and I always share with my email list first. Head to the thevisionary.ceo/notes and opt in.

If this episode resonated with you, would you take a moment to leave a quick review on iTunes or Spotify? It means the world—and it helps more women find this work.

As a thank you, I have a little something I’d love to send your way. Just email a screenshot of your review to [email protected].

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You’re not trapped by your business, your team, or even your schedule.

You’re trapped by the stories you’ve been telling yourself about what has to happen next.

In this third installment of the special mini-series on the seven transitions every successful woman must navigate when she knows it’s time for something new, Kris unpacks the beliefs that quietly hold you back—the false truths that keep high-achieving women stuck in businesses they’ve already outgrown.

She gets right to the heart of the stories we cling to when we’re afraid to move on, and dismantles them one by one. Like the belief that if you step back and the business doesn’t thrive, you’ve failed. That if you’re no longer running things, you’ve somehow lost your relevance. That wanting something new makes you ungrateful—or worse, that letting go means it was never enough to begin with.

• Why it’s not your job to make the business live forever
• How to let go without guilt, shame, or fear of becoming invisible
• The difference between relevance and resonance—and why resonance is what actually matters
• What it means to be a woman in transition and still be powerful
• How to redefine your value outside of what you produce

This episode is not about dismantling your success—it’s about unhooking from the beliefs that keep you small, tired, and holding on too tightly.

The best way to stay in the know? Get on the list.

I’ve got some exciting things coming your way, and I always share with my email list first. Head to the thevisionary.ceo/notes and opt in.

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Are you the biggest bottleneck in your business—and don’t even realize it?

You didn’t build your company to babysit it. But if you’re still the one making every call, solving every fire, and holding the reins so tightly no one else can lead...this episode is your wake-up call.

In this second installment of the special mini-series on the seven essential transitions every successful woman must navigate when she knows it’s time for something new, Kris explores what it really means to step into the advisory consultant role for the very business you created and the team you built. If you’ve ever felt the urge to evolve beyond the business you built, this is your roadmap—and your invitation. It’s not just about delegation. It’s about identity. Because learning to release control doesn’t start with your team—it starts with you. Letting go of being the person who approves every decision, solves every problem, or catches every dropped ball requires more than systems—it requires a shift in who you believe yourself to be.

Kris walks through why founders get stuck in a cycle of over-functioning, how perfectionism masks fear, and why holding the metaphorical bat too tightly means no one else will dare take a swing.

• The difference between being essential and being in the way
• Why your team may be relying on you more than they need to
• What mentorship and true leadership actually look like
• How to grow your business by getting out of the weeds
• What really happens—emotionally and practically—when you loosen your grip

This episode calls you forward—not to abandon your company, but to evolve into a different kind of leader: one who guides instead of manages, who advises instead of reacts, and who trusts her team to rise.

Wanna know if your business is ready to run without you? Take the short quiz here: www.thevisionary.CEO/businessready.

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You say you want freedom. But are you really ready for it?

This week, Kris kicks off the first of seven essential transitions every successful woman must navigate when she knows it’s time for something new.

It starts with a brutally honest question: Is your business ready to run without you? And are you ready to let it?

In this episode, Kris unpacks what readiness really means—not just logistically, but emotionally. Because saying you’re done and being done are two very different things.

• The trap of being needed—and why it’s so hard to let go
• How your team might be holding you back (even if they mean well)
• Why control feels safer than it really is
• And how to know if you’re truly ready for what’s next

This isn’t about stepping down. It’s about stepping into a new version of you.

And readiness is just the beginning.

Wanna know if your business is ready to run without you? Take the short quiz here: www.thevisionary.CEO/businessready.

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The One Hour Leader Coach thevisionary.ceo/onehourleadercoach

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This season marks a turning point—not just for the podcast, but for the visionary women who listen. If you’ve ever wondered what comes after success, you’re in the right place.

In this kickoff to a brand-new series, Kris introduces a deeply personal—and much-needed—conversation: what it means to go beyond the CEO. Because sometimes, the biggest transition isn’t building the business... it’s releasing your grip on it.

• What it really takes to prepare your business (and yourself) to function without you
• Why staying too long might be holding you—and your team—back
• How AI and legacy leadership tools can still support your team while you evolve

This isn’t about retirement. It’s about reinvention. And if you’re feeling restless, you’re not alone.

Tune in now and meet the woman you’re becoming—one transition at a time. And be sure to listen to upcoming episodes as Kris explores the seven transitions every founder must face to move into her next chapter.

Join me in Sonoma in August so we can meet in person! Go to www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondceo to register your interest.

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You built the business. You built the team. You built the life. But now… what?

This is the moment no one warns you about. When the business you poured everything into is running—maybe even thriving—but you feel restless. Detached. Like maybe you’ve outgrown what once felt like everything.

In this episode, Kris Plachy opens the door to a new conversation—one that’s been quietly forming behind the scenes. This isn’t a pivot away from leadership. It’s a leap into deeper truth.

She speaks directly to the woman who’s questioning what’s next:

• The one who can’t imagine walking away, but can’t imagine staying the same.
• The one who keeps showing up for her business, but secretly wonders if it’s still hers to love.
• The one who has succeeded by every metric but still lies awake at night asking, “Who am I now?”

It’s time to meet her—the woman beyond the CEO.

The raw emotional terrain of success that no one prepares you for

• Why so many Gen X founders are hearing a whisper they can’t ignore
• The difference between leaving a business and leaving yourself behind
• And how to start writing the next chapter—without rushing the ending of this one

If you’ve built a beautiful business but you’re starting to dream in a new direction, Kris made this episode for you.

This is your invitation to the age era.

And Kris will meet you there.

Join me in Sonoma in August so we can meet in person! Go to www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondceo to register your interest.

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This one’s raw. Tender. And so incredibly real.

My client came into this conversation thinking she needed clarity. She was looking for the right answers—about her role, her goals, her business. But what came out was something much more vulnerable: the pressure to perform, the fear of letting people down, and the quiet ache of not being fully seen.

This episode is a front-row seat to what happens when a powerful woman stops performing and starts telling the truth.

• The invisible cost of always being ‘the capable one’
• What it really feels like to outgrow your own success
• How to let your soul lead—especially when your head says, “Just keep going”

This is the unfiltered, Beyond the CEO moment so many women never get to speak out loud—but you’ll hear it here.

Join me in Sonoma in August so we can meet in person! Go to www.thevisionary.ceo/beyondceo to register your interest.

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