LAS VEGAS — According to an article in Forbes, there are a few specific skills a successful leader should possess. Sincere enthusiasm, decisiveness, integrity, managerial competence, loyalty, empowerment and charisma. Krista Whitley possesses all of those skills with ease and grace, maneuvering within the industry with great agility and success as a CEO. It’s this success as a CEO that has contributed to Whitley’s ability to build her brands into industry powerhouses.
Whitley’s enthusiasm is sincere and contagious. She won’t endorse or support a product in which she genuinely doesn’t believe. And, her support for a product simply cannot be manufactured or concocted. It is a natural byproduct of her joy.
“I don’t dream of retiring or changing the day-to-day life that I have now. My wildest goal is to continue what I’m doing every day,” Whitley said. “When I say I am living my dream, I really am.”
Whitley possesses a data-driven philosophy when approaching client and team issues. That data allows her to lead fearlessly. She understands her team’s ability to produce. And, she knows where her team stands. Numbers are always at the top of her mind.
“I analyze the data daily. Not just the company data, but the data for how I spent my day, what that investment gained me and where I can improve tomorrow,” she said.
Whitley believes that companies should strive to be diverse, efficient, relentless when it comes to optimizing teams, decisive and always looking for opportunities. She understands how to let her team work and create in the work environment without micromanagement. It is this ability to understand her team resources that sets her apart from other managers and CEOs. She has lined up her team and knows the exact place in the game to bring them in.
It is the recipe for success that led to Whitley being named no. 21 on CannabisBusinessExecutive.com’s 2019 Power Women of Cannabis.
“I have overcome the odds, set healthy boundaries and led fearlessly. It’s led to some priceless lessons some might call failures, but I wouldn’t trade the woman I am for any of it,” Whitley said. “The real secret is there is no secret. I’ve earned everything I have.”