Today on Alive in the Fire, I’m excited to share an inspiring interview with Kelsey Neff.

Kelsey is a writer, activist, entrepreneur and lover of all the weird and wonderful complexities of humanity. She founded By Design Consulting in 2020 in response to the high need for leadership support and workforce development perpetuated by the Great Resignation.

Kelsey works with leaders to help them lead more effectively, and with teams to work together more efficiently. Recently she achieved a life milestone of traveling to 30 countries by the time she turned 30, now she is actively working on 50 by 50.

She also recently published 52 Weeks of Impact: A Guidebook for Your First Year of Leadership, an awesome book and amazing leadership guide for new leaders.

Without further ado, let’s dive in!

An Interview with Kelsey Neff, Entrepreneur and Author

How long have you been writing?

I have kept a journal since fourth grade that is part memories, part life processing and part creative writing. When I entered college and my professional career I began learning more technical writing and delved into strategic planning, grant writing, annual reports, etc. As my career advanced, I strengthened the professional writing side and tried to balance it with creative writing projects because I love them. I wrote a few short stories, personal essays, and even some poetry as well. 52 Weeks of Impact is my first book which I started writing in December 2022, and it just launched in March 2024. I’m currently in the development phase of a few more book projects, so I’m really just getting started with my writing career.

Give us a quick intro to your book - who's it for? What's it about?

52 Weeks of Impact is designed to help first time managers and new leaders navigate their first year in leadership. I have been in the leadership game for over ten years so it’s a culmination of everything I’ve learned to this point — either through mentors, experts in the field, my own experience or observing the experiences of others. It’s a mix of stories combined with practical advice for application. There are also guided prompts so the reader can document their own experiences in that first year. I like to say it’s both your compass and your creation — the goal being at the end of the year readers will be able to look back and reflect on growth and progress.

What inspired you to write it? What's the "why" behind the book?

I started my consulting business in 2021 with a goal to help leaders lead more effectively and teams work together more efficiently. I started posting content on social media about management, company culture and how to build strong, healthy team dynamics. Every time I posted about leadership or management I would get comments and DMs from new managers talking about their struggle and how they felt their companies weren’t providing adequate training or support as they transitioned into their new role.

One comment in particular really struck me: “I feel like I am being thrown into the water and told to teach myself to swim or drown.” I felt that comment in my bones, the desperation of it wrenched me. Particularly because that was my experience as a new manager, had leadership TikTok been around 10 years ago I would have been leaving the same comments on videos. Desperate for someone to hear, to listen and to help. It is for this person, for countless others trying to navigate this milestone without support, and for my past self that this book is for and the “why” behind writing it.

What are your goals for writing this book? Is it tied to your business, a personal dream, maybe a combination of both?

52 Weeks of Impact is the first of a series of books discussing leadership and company culture that I will release through my business. It is my contribution to the world of leadership literature, which has helped build my toolkit over the years. It’s how I can pay forward the knowledge and experience I have gained in order to help someone just starting out. Hopefully it will grow the business as well and lead to more opportunties to engage with this community.

Who do you hope finds this book and reads it?

I hope 52 Weeks finds someone who feels lost in their new job and needs some guidance on where to invest their energy. Someone that needs encouragement to find their voice and their why. I hope they engage with the content and record their milestones in it so it becomes thier story as well as mine. I want them to pick it off the shelf in 10 years and be able to look back at a time in their career when they experienced massive growth and saw their dreams become a reality.

Did you self publish or work with a publisher? How was that? What did you like/dislike about your publishing experience?

After months of going back and forth and doing a lot of research, I decided to self publish. As it is my first book I wanted to learn and be involved in every step of the process, and ultimately I didn’t like the idea of turning that over to someone else. I wanted to make sure that I retained ownership over my work, which is something I don’t like about traditional publishing. There are so many different arragements and options when it comes to publishing and I’m definitely open to exploring them all, but for this one I wanted to feel like I had complete control over the process. Self publishing made me feel empowered and I learned SO many new skills. However, I spent so much precious time on that learning curve as it is a HUGE commitment to do it all yourself.

Tell us a bit about your business, what you love to do, who you love to work with. Any exciting announcements/offerings coming up? Anything you're excited for in 2024?

By Design Consulting is a professional firm offering strategic planning and professional development services. The goal is to help companies do what they do a little bit better— more efficient, streamlined, and with a clear focus and vision. I like to work with both the people and the policies to get companies moving in the right direction. I worked in an extremely toxic organization for years, and felt the impact that can have on both the company and the individual. My goal is to help both sides work towards creating safer, kinder, more equitable work environments. There is a lot coming up in the next year! 52 Weeks launches as eBook and paperback and I have a workbook on my website that readers can use to keep track of their progress, also launching March 19th. Eventually 52 Weeks will also have an online course for those that learn better through that model, or for readers who want to dive a little deeper. Additionally, I’m piloting an online course that helps participants develop in demand “people skills” such as innovation, creativity, team work, communication, etc. that will be launching late summer/early fall.

How can people get a hold of you to work with you if they're interested?

My website is the easiest way! You can find it at https://www.bydesignconsulting.space/. I’m also active on Instagram (@bydesignconsulting_BDC) and TikTok (@bydesignconsulting).

Thanks, Kelsey, for your valuable insights and work in leadership— it is so needed in today’s fast-paced corporate world!

For anyone in leadership, I highly encourage you to check out Kelsey’s work, read her book, and connect with her for more support in your career and with work/life balance.

Stay tuned for more interviews like this with badass women. Cheers!

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