 About The Ultimate CEO
The Ultimate CEO was born from my own personal experience of running a business that was thriving from the outside but felt unfulfilling from the inside. I was achieving all the markers of success (six figures âď¸ moved to the beach âď¸ my boyfriend left his job âď¸ press âď¸10k months âď¸ winning awards âď¸) but I wasn't very happy.
On reflection I realised:
The work I was doing didn't align with my vision
I wasn't utilising my strengths in my work
There was no clear purpose behind what I was doing
My days were full of draining, cup-emptying activities
The goals I had set were extrinsic not intrinsic
I was chasing markers of success that weren't 'me'
There was very little fun, joy, or happiness in my business
My business was working, but it wasn't working for me.
So I closed my business down and started again, with the focus on how I could thrive as a purpose-led business owner so that I could create my own version of success and be a happy, fulfilled and joyful CEO.
Private Podcast
If you love the juiciest of gossip and the real BTS, I have a private podcast that dives into my mental health, the worst times of my life, and how mentoring saved me. It goes into some of the not so happy moments of my life but it also explains exactly how I ended up here.
Optimising your business starts with optimising your mind.
Traditional Business
Have you ever read a book that made you feel like you need to go and buy a suit, work 90 hour weeks, live off protein shakes and be in the gym a 5am in order to be 'successful'?
Because I have, and I'm not ashamed to admit I got swept up in it too!
There is a LOT of advice out there about being strategic, maximising profits and building something that can scale. The advice is usually something along of the lines of "do X, Y and Z despite the sacrifices required and THEN you will be happy in the hypothetical future" (that none of us are guaranteed).
This kind of advice is helpful *to a point* but it overlooks one big thing: we are not machines, we are humans.
We are full of complicated emotions, dreams, relationships, anxieties and secrets. We are messy, chaotic and unpredictable.Â
Oh and science told us long ago that happiness is actually acquired on the journey toward something, not the achievement of it, so that is all a load of BS really!Â
What We Suggest
We now have enough evidence to say that those old-school bro methods are not enough to create fulfilled and happy entrepreneurs.
It's clear that the 24/7 hustle, prioritisation of income alone, and putting off of happiness for the hypothetical future is not only harmful to us (mentally and physically) but is also is unlikely to lead to greater business success in the long run!
Yup, we've been bamboozled.
But now we know better, it's time to do better.
At The Ultimate CEO my coaching is psychology-infused, research-backed and evidence-based. I work closely with the academic world in order to keep on top of emerging research findings, be at the forefront of the coaching world, and be part of the wider coaching community to be continuously learning and growing.
The focus of The Ultimate CEO is to help CEOs, entrepreneurs and leaders to thrive by doing the deeper work and utilising psychology. The result? Happier CEOs who are thriving, fulfilled and joyful.
What psychology says about business:
- Happier people tend to be more successful and make more sales and so there are MANY benefits for everyone but especially business owners
- Research shows that people trying to achieve goals without doing the deeper work end up feeling no more fulfilled even when they reach those goals and so are often unhappy despite their achievements
- People who chase success in business without the deeper reasoning behind what they do have been shown to quit quicker, so strategy alone isnât actually sustainable
- There is new evidence showing that coaches might do more harm than good if they arenât aware of the limits of their coachingÂ
- Some commonly used coaching tools have been found to make certain groups of people feel worse so itâs important coaches know how to identify which tools are right for which people
- There is currently no regulation within the coaching industry (plenty of Netflix documentaries showing the harm this can do!) and so many people are offering âpositive psychologyâ or âsales psychologyâ without a psychology background and teaching potentially harmful techniques
- Psychologist Grant (2007) suggested âtraining in mental health issues, understanding of mood disorders and referral procedures to be a compulsory part of any coach certification processâ and so itâs looking like the coaching space may be heading this way longer term
Hi, I'm Jemma
I'm the founder of The Ultimate CEO (and you might remember me as founder of Virtually Done before that!)
What Iâm currently up to:
- Completing my MSc Positive Psychology & Coaching Psychology
- Working toward becoming a chartered psychologist within the UK
- Co-editing a journal at the British Psychological Society
- Mentoring and coaching at UEL
Fun facts:
- I once spontaneously signed up for a same-day sky dive over Byron Bay in Australia even though Iâd never considered it before - one of the best things I ever did!
- Iâm absolutely terrified of driving. I hate it sooooo much but itâs something Iâm really pushing myself to do this year in the hope that one day I might suddenly love it?
- Despite being pretty introverted and loving being at home, I actually spent a good few years in my early twenties travelling the world on my own and have so many stories I could write a book!
- Me and my boyfriend moved to Devon into our beach-side home the year that I made my first six figures which is something Iâd wanted to do since I was tiny and still makes me emotional to think about.
- I actually already have a masters in forensic psychology and crime because I thought for a while Iâd go into working in a prison. I volunteered as a mentor for ex-offenders for a while and loved it. While I donât want to do this anymore, I do think Iâll get involved again one day in some capacity.
My big life goals
- Be the author of a best-selling bookÂ
- Write for a psychology magazine
- Qualify as a chartered psychologist
- Carry out research that positively impacts the coaching space
- Start (and later sell) an ecommerce business
- Start a charity for young offenders
- Invest in women's health
- Do a PhD in psychology
My markers of success
- How well I sleep at night
- The quality of my relationships
- How I feel when I wake up every morning (this used to be when I'd be my most anxious!)
- How many books I read
- The frequency of laughter in my life
- Number of beach walks I get to take
- How healthy I'm feeling in my body
- The number of things I have to be excited about
