I’m a speaker, author, and a believer in people. I’m on a mission to build a more human world.
Welcome
Why do I do this work?
Because I truly believe that authentic, human leadership can change the world.
Over the last decade, I’ve worked with leaders in just about every industry, in almost every U.S. state and several other countries, and in hundreds of virtual meeting rooms, delivering everything from short talks to multi-day workshops.
My goal is always the same: to ignite the kind of human leadership that builds trust, belonging, and wildly engaged cultures.
My work has been featured in news outlets including PBS, FOX, Inc., NBC, TIME, and Forbes. My book, Permission To Screw Up, has sold more than 50,000 copies worldwide. And my first TED Talk has more than three million views on YouTube.
But the biggest thing you should know about me?
I learned everything I know by screwing up.
As a leader, I’ve made more mistakes than I can count. But each mistake taught me valuable lessons about what it means to own my humanity and make space for the humanity of others.
I believe that being open to growth and failure is what makes us human leaders. Leadership is about the messy middle.
It’s about leaning into the things that aren’t always comfortable to talk about. It’s about shining a light on the authentic parts of ourselves we often think we should hide. It’s about releasing ourselves from shame and giving ourselves permission to learn out loud, together—over and over again.
That philosophy shapes everything I do and every way I show up.
Who am I outside of work?
I live in Houston, Texas, but am originally from a small beach town in Florida.
I’m married to Spiros, the love of my life, and we met on a blind date—which is the same way my parents met 45+ years ago. I'm also a bonus mom to the most special little girl named Evie!
I’m completely obsessed with reading and going for long walks outside.
Two items on my bucket list are performing in an improv show and producing a documentary (even though improv terrifies me, and I don’t know the first thing about film).
I can’t wait to get to know YOU!
WHY I DO WHAT I DO
The first time I ever gave a speech was in college. My entrepreneurship professor asked me to speak to his class about what it was like to start a company as a student. I wrote my whole speech on a piece of paper and stood in front of the room, reading it word-for-word. I didn’t look up once. I thought I nailed it because my professor asked me to do it again the following semester, but when I walked in with my paper, he ripped it out of my hand and said, “Please don’t do that. Just speak from your heart."
I've never forgotten that, and I've never looked back since.
The Team
I couldn’t do what I do without my amazing team!
If you’ve ever had the chance to interact with them, you know just how amazing they are.
Fun fact: Every person on the team started out cleaning houses in my first company, Student Maid. Rachel has worked with me since 2011, Monique since 2012, and Cheyenne since 2017. They’ve been with me through it all!
CHIEF OF GROWTH
Monique
Monique is my right-hand and thought partner in the business. She helps me execute my vision for our company and the impact we want to make. Whether that’s creating a new benefits plan for our team or a marketing plan for our business, she thrives in bringing things to life. She’s also a talented interior designer and in many ways uses her design talents to help design the future of our company!
Monique lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband, Tim, and two children, Atlas and Sage.
CHIEF OF OPERATIONS
CHEYENNE
Cheyenne is responsible for all things logistics, including onboarding clients, executing contracts for all the work that I do, booking travel, and taking care of all things tech-related—there’s a reason we call her the Zoom Queen!
Cheyenne keeps us organized, but her true gift is the way she interacts with and builds relationships with our amazing clients.
She lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her cats, Minerva and Icarus.
CHIEF OF CONTENT
rachel
Rachel uses her writing and editing skills to bring clarity to the millions of ideas that are constantly buzzing around in my head. She helps me produce the blog each week and create meaningful content to bring to our clients, and she also collaborates closely with me on book writing. (Fun fact: Rachel wrote a LOT of Permission To Screw Up with me!)
Rachel loves that she gets to lean into her strengths and work in her sweet spot every single day. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her wife, Mattlynn.
“A brave and generous book, the ideal antidote to the perfection and invulnerability we pretend are essential to succeed.”
SETH GODIN
author of Linchpin and Tribes
THE BOOK
This is the story of how Kristen Hadeed built Student Maid, a cleaning company where people are happy, loyal, productive, and empowered, even while they’re mopping floors and scrubbing toilets. It’s the story of how she went from being an almost comically inept leader to a sought-after CEO who teaches others how to lead.
Permission To Screw Up dismisses the idea that leaders and organizations should try to be perfect. It encourages people of all ages to go for it and learn to lead by acting, rather than waiting or thinking. Through a brutally honest and often hilarious account of her own struggles, Kristen encourages us to embrace our failures and proves that we’ll be better leaders when we do.
Take What You Need
RESOURCES
THE HUMAN
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Learn to lead as your most human self with our signature leadership development program.
FREE
FEEDBACK GUIDE
Understand how to deliver feedback that builds trust and inspires people to give their best with our free resource.
FREE
RESOURCES FOR YOU
Discover Kristen’s curated list of her favorite leadership books, self-assessments, and more!
WATCH Kristen
in action
BLOG POSTS
LATEST
Let’s Connect
Discover what it means to ignite human leadership at work!
Receive Kristen’s weekly blog posts in your inbox and be the first to learn about new programs and more.
To honor this week’s milestone, I thought about all of the times I said “yes” before I really knew what I was doing—and how those moments got me to where I am now.