Kerry Goyette works at the intersection of emotional intelligence, leadership development, and neuroscience research. She is the Founder & President of Aperio Consulting Group, which uses workplace analytics and research-based strategies to build high-performance teams. Kerry has consulted for organizations around the world and has given keynotes at the Global HR Inside Summit in Austria and the 2018 Best Employers Awards in Barbados. Her popular TEDx Talk, “Stop Trying to Motivate Your Employees” tackles the well-intentioned, but often unsuccessful methods leaders use in employee engagement. Kerry is the award-winning author of The Non-Obvious Guide to Emotional Intelligence, which was selected as one of the “Best Business Books for Summer 2019” by Forbes magazine. Her work has been featured in The Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, CEO World Magazine, Inc., CNBC Make It, BNN Bloomberg, and Entrepreneur magazine. She is a Certified Professional Behavior Analyst, Certified Forensic Interviewer, and serves on the University of Missouri MBA Advisory Board. She studies the predictors of entrepreneurial success as a co-leader of the Centennial Investors Research Task Force.

Get to know Kerry:

What do you enjoy about the work you do?

I love it when something clicks for a client. Often, a client has tried different strategies to no avail. Then we figure out the one habit that’s derailing their success. It’s a fantastic moment of insight. Sometimes that habit can be subtle or unconscious, but when we make it conscious, they’re able to do something about it. It’s a non-obvious insight. When people get unstuck, I get excited.

What gets you most fired up in terms of a technology, tool, trend, or advancement?

Artificial intelligence. I’m fascinated by AI because it's powerful and relatively raw technology. In previous Aperio studies, we’ve analyzed how people and teams perform–and the statistics have revealed really interesting patterns. Now that we’ve added AI, we’re looking not only at features of successful teams, but also at profiles of success. We’re able to honor the complexity of success and the whole human being. We can use what we know and what we learn to work smarter, better, and unlock insights that were unavailable until now.

What is the biggest obstacle you face in your line of work?

Despite tech’s increasing role in the workplace, human beings are still the decisive factor in everything we do. And humans come with complexity and challenges. In our work, we ask people and organizations to change. It's not easy. From where I sit on the outside, I often see clearly how a team or leader can be so much more. It’s frustrating to see people or teams wallowing in counterproductive behaviors. They are incredibly smart and yet they often get in their own way. I give them the tools and nudges to get there, but making change is incredibly difficult.

What would you tell your younger self?

Don’t be afraid to fail. I’ve learned that we hold ourselves back so much. Early in my career, I wanted to play it safe and I was so careful not to make a mistake. I now embrace failure. I’ve consistently pushed myself beyond what I thought were my limits and I’ve grown so much because of it. I wish I would have done that earlier. It would have made things more interesting and a lot more fun.