Valerie Renee
Executive Principal
Envision Strategies
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Valerie Renee is a keynote speaker, Master Certified Professional Coach, and connection strategist who helps foodservice and hospitality leaders strengthen performance through intentional human connection. With a career spanning hospitality consulting, sales strategy, and leadership development, she brings real-world insight into the relationship-driven dynamics that power successful teams and exceptional guest experiences. Valerie equips organizations to build trust, improve communication, and create cultures where people don’t just show up but fully thrive.
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IT SHOULD ALL BEGIN WITH CURIOSITY
A short memoir by Valerie Renee, MCPC
I spent many years working for a foodservice design company that designed dining centers for colleges and universities. Because foodservice design isn’t a licensed trade, we partnered with architects to integrate our work into their plans and produce the required drawings.
On one particular project, we teamed with both an architect and a construction company to pursue a design-build project at a university in Colorado. I had the privilege and the pleasure of representing my company during the team’s presentation to the university.
Like most of these presentations, we spent the bulk of our time explaining our respective expertise and outlining all the reasons we were the right team for the job. We wrapped up with the predictable, “Do you have any questions?”
Silence.
After a few awkward moments, I asked if I could pose a question to them instead. They eagerly said yes. I don’t remember exactly what I asked, only that it was a question specific to the university and the project - something that showed genuine curiosity about what mattered to them.
That single question completely changed the mood in the room.
What followed was real dialogue between the university team and the design-build group. The rest of our allotted time was spent in conversation, not presentation.
As we walked out of the building, the architect was practically giddy. He told me he’d presented to that team many times and had never seen them so engaged. One individual in particular was usually cold and contentious, and that day he had been warm, open, and conversational.
We didn’t win the project.
But that day was still a win for me.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that moment was my first real experience of driving connection through curiosity. One thoughtful question focused on understanding something important to someone else shifted the entire dynamic. It invited people into conversation and helped them to feel seen and heard.
And in hindsight, it’s how we should have led the presentation all along.
BRILLIANCE IS NOT ENOUGH
By Valerie Renee, MCPC
On paper, the startup had everything going for it.
Its founders were brilliant - veterans of a previous venture that had grown into a Fortune 500 company. The product was cutting-edge, backed by a mission rooted in sustainability and long-term impact. Investors were paying attention. Talent was eager to join.
And at the center of it all was a CEO almost impossible not to like: modest, deeply passionate, and widely respected in the tech world. An engineer by training, his mind was wired to identify and solve problems through technology and in ways no one else had ever thought of before.
Yet despite all of this, the company struggled to gain meaningful traction.
The CEO’s passion was intense and he was hyperfocused on bringing his latest venture to market. But instead of aligning the team around a clear direction, that energy left them scattered and confused. Ideas flowed but went nowhere. Whiteboards filled with concepts, but prioritization and progress were minimal. Meetings were frequent, but it didn’t feel like much was accomplished.
Conversations became transactional rather than creative. Collaboration lost its spark. And while the mission was compelling, it didn’t feel shared. Team members found themselves guessing which direction was right, unsure how their work connected to the bigger picture.
Over time, a pattern became clear. In conversations meant to address obstacles, the CEO spoke at people rather than with them. He believed he was solving the problem in real time, but by not creating space for dialogue, context, or reflection, those around him left feeling unheard, unvalued, and more confused than before. By not listening enough, he was missing the mark and solving nothing.
This experience was not unique.
Others emerging from the startup world describe strikingly similar stories: visionary, well-intentioned founders who build exceptional teams, yet never fully connect them. That’s a huge void in effective leadership. And this lack of connection is cited as one of the most common reasons startups fail.
The irony is hard to miss.
Leaders don’t fail because they lack intelligence, drive, or technical skill. They fail because their teams are not aligned or connected with the mission. Not because they’re disinterested, but because they are unclear what the mission really is. When people don’t feel seen, valued, or connected to purpose, performance suffers. Creativity stalls. Risk-taking fades. People stop
speaking up and sharing ideas because it feels senseless. And the very energy that fuels innovation - belief, trust, and belonging - begins to disappear.
This is the paradox of modern leadership, especially in high-growth environments: passion and brilliance alone are not enough.
No matter how advanced the technology, how strong the product-market fit, or how promising the next funding round looks, an organization will only grow as far as its leader’s ability to connect.
Human connection is not a “soft” leadership skill. It is a strategic one. And it’s one that can be learned and developed. There is a misconception that someone is either a “people person” or they are not, but it’s not necessary to be a “people person” to instill genuine connection. It just takes a mix of curiosity, vulnerability, and empathy - and a lot of active listening.
When leaders learn to build genuine connection - through listening, curiosity, emotional awareness, and shared meaning - things change for the better. Teams innovate faster. Retention improves. Alignment strengthens. And the passion that launched the company in the first place finally becomes something the entire team can buy into.
THE MUTUAL REWARD OF CURIOSITY
By Valerie Renee, MCPC
During my corporate sales career, I had a meeting with a client and one of his associates, Kari. The client was running late, so Kari and I spent a few minutes getting to know each other while we waited. We talked about what was happening in our industry and shared stories about our current work environments.
At one point, I asked her how she had landed in the foodservice industry - an industry that few people enter on purpose.
She paused and said, “I’m going to tell you a story I’ve never told anyone else, because no one has ever asked.”
She went on to share her original aspirations, how her father shut them down because she was a woman, and how she ultimately found her way into foodservice and hospitality.
It was such an interesting and emotional story, and I felt honored to be the first one to hear it - and I really hope I’m not the last one. She was so excited to get to share it. That moment drove home the power of curiosity - of asking a simple question and then just listening to their response. Letting them talk. Letting them flow.
And to this day, I’m not sure who benefited more from that exchange.
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