CATHY CHRISTEN
Culture Architect, Executive Leadership Strategist and Two-Time Bestselling Author
About Cathy Christen
Technology can scale your output. Only leadership can scale your people.
Cathy Christen is a Culture Architect, Executive Leadership Strategist and two-time bestselling author with more than 23 years of experience building businesses and developing high-performing teams. For much of that time she was often the only woman in the room, and it shaped the direct, people-first way she leads today.
As Founder and CEO of Elevated You, Co-Founder of GoBundance Women and creator of The SCALE Framework™, Cathy works with founders, CEOs and executive teams to build the alignment, ownership and culture they need to grow with less dependency on any one leader. Her core belief is simple: culture does not break when a company scales. It reveals what was already there.
Her latest book, The SCALE Advantage, lays out a practical operating system for stronger systems, aligned leadership and a culture of ownership, so a business gives its leaders more freedom rather than less. It follows her earlier bestseller, Life as a Masterpiece, on building success without losing yourself along the way.
On stage, Cathy brings vibrant energy, real-world experience and tools leaders can use the next morning. Whether the topic is trust, misalignment, culture as a profit driver or leading teams through AI, audiences leave with a clearer view of what is holding their team back and a practical plan to fix it. She has shared her ideas on The Lifestyle Investor with Justin Donald, Sharon Lechter's Play Big Movement, Now Media's Power CEOs and many more shows for entrepreneurs and executives.
A wife and mother of three, Cathy leads with faith, integrity and intention, and she travels across the U.S. for keynotes, interactive workshops, executive retreats and founder and leadership events, with virtual delivery available.
- 23+ years building businesses and high-performing teams
- Two-time bestselling author, The SCALE Advantage and Life as a Masterpiece
- Founder & CEO of Elevated You
- Co-Founder of GoBundance Women, a community of executives, entrepreneurs and investors
- Creator of The SCALE Framework™, a culture-first operating system for growing companies
- Featured on The Lifestyle Investor, Play Big Movement and Power CEOs
Read the feature: Most Leadership Teams Aren't Broken. They're Almost Aligned.
Watch Cathy in Conversation
Speaking Topics
Why Trust, Alignment & Accountability Matter More Than Ever • Best for: corporate conferences, leadership summits, association events and all-team meetings.
Technology changes how we work. People determine how well we work together. Great teams aren't built on talent alone. They're built on trust, clarity and accountability. Cathy shows leaders how to create environments where people communicate openly, take ownership and make decisions with confidence, so the team doesn't depend on one leader.
Your Audience Leaves With
- The three foundations of high-performing teams.
- How to build trust and accountability without micromanaging.
- A plan for developing confident people who take ownership.
Why Leadership, Culture & Clarity Must Come Before Automation • Best for: organizations adopting AI, technology and innovation events, executive teams navigating workplace change.
What happens when you give a disconnected team the power to move ten times faster? You may just get faster confusion. AI can make teams faster, but it can't fix confusion, poor leadership or a lack of ownership. Cathy shows leaders how to close the clarity, culture and leadership gaps that make or break AI implementation.
Your Audience Leaves With
- Why AI won't solve existing leadership and culture problems.
- How to align people and processes before automation.
- Ways to use AI to empower teams and reduce founder dependence.
Why Talented Leadership Teams Still Struggle to Win Together • Best for: executive retreats, board and leadership offsites, founder and CEO events.
Most leadership teams aren't broken. They're almost aligned. And almost is expensive. Unclear priorities, slow decisions and competing agendas quietly drain time, money and momentum. Cathy shows how to build a leadership team that truly executes together.
Your Leaders Leave With
- The hidden warning signs of leadership misalignment.
- What being almost aligned really costs the business.
- A path to shared priorities, ownership and accountability.
The Hidden Cost of a Culture That Isn't Working • Best for: companies facing rapid growth, retention and engagement challenges, HR and people-leader audiences.
Every company has a culture. The question is whether you're building it intentionally or letting it happen by default. Culture affects far more than morale. Cathy reveals how the behaviors leaders tolerate, reward and repeat drive retention, execution and profitability.
Your Audience Leaves With
- The hidden financial costs of cultural breakdowns.
- The leadership behaviors that strengthen or erode culture.
- How to create accountability and ownership that drive results.
The SCALE Framework™
A culture-first operating system behind every one of Cathy's keynotes. Scale Without Sacrifice™.
What Leaders Say
She built what most entrepreneurs only talk about: a business that runs on systems, culture, and leadership instead of her constant presence.
Justin Donald, #1 WSJ & USA Today Bestselling Author, The Lifestyle InvestorCathy taught me how culture and alignment take a team to the next level, and how to empower people to grow into more. I've used those lessons in every business I've been part of since, and they helped me almost double my business in a year.
Marielou Greaney, Former Founder & CEO, Red Wagon GrovesShe's somebody that can elevate not only an individual but a group of people … her energy is contagious. You want Cathy in and around your organization no matter what.
Jon Vroman, Founder, Front Row DadsI would really recommend bringing Cathy as a speaker or hiring her as a coach because her nature is to always overdeliver and to really give just a ton of value for the time.
John KanePeople should hire Cathy as a business coach and speaker because she's walked the walk. … She will provide a transformational discussion in order to help your staff or help your business move to the next level.
Carolyn ColleenWhere Cathy Appears
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