Meet Lisa Foster of Parillume in Boulder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Foster.

Lisa, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Without knowing it, I had been on the hunt for – and simultaneously covering up – the “real me” for years.

I grew up in a middle-class, Christian home that was also abusive in ways no one could see from the outside: sexual, emotional and spiritual.

Personality assessments, whether from a Seventeen or Glamour magazine quiz or the “Personality Plus” book I read in college, were a shortcut to insight and awareness – of myself and others. They helped me feel safe – and seen – in the world, if only for a moment.

By the time I was 22, I was married, had confronted my abusive father, and left – or, more accurately, lost – my family, to begin what would become years of therapy. With my degree in Speech Communication from the University of Washington, I began work in non-profit marketing and development.

Years passed. In 2007, I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal about Marcus Buckingham and his books on “strengths-based leadership” – a term I had never heard before but immediately, intuitively grasped. I read everything I could get my hands on and then moved on to StrengthsFinder 2.0, which had just been published.

The timing couldn’t have been better, personally and professionally.

My only child was in middle school, struggling to figure out who he was. Discovering his Myers Briggs type – and the fact that he was a uniquely-gifted “Introvert” in an “Extrovert” family and society – helped contextualize his pain and provide him with a path to self-acceptance and authentic self-expression.

And I was just starting a non-profit in Zimbabwe and gathering a director, board and volunteers, so I had the opportunity to practice building a “strengths-based organization” immediately. 

So, from the beginning, I saw the power of strengths and personality assessments – when their insights are accepted, articulated and applied – to improve engagement, communication, bottom-line results and relationships.

Three assessments in particular rose to the surface again and again. These three provided the most efficient, effective insight and application: StrengthsFinder (now called CliftonStrengths), Myers Briggs and the Enneagram.

By 2015, I had divorced, had co-founded another business venture, and saw my son graduate from high school. It was time to start my life’s work, designed entirely around my strengths and personality: Parillume, which means “to come alongside people and help them shine.”

It began with the vision to transform the conversation about sexual violation and help women move from surviving to thriving. I created the Free to Shine!℠ Facilitation Program for life post-therapy. The centerpiece of that deep coaching work – a session called Your Original Design – combined results from my three favorite assessments. Clients gained a 360-degree perspective and tools to Accept, Articulate and Apply™ their strengths and personality to fulfill the intentions and goals most important to them.

Teams, couples, and individuals began to request the Your Original Design session as an independent offering, separate from the conversation about sexual violation. So I developed the Shine From Your Original Design℠ program and began to give keynotes, workshops and training to business and non-profit groups, working with dynamic leaders and their teams and partners. I discovered I could reach more people – no matter their past – with powerful, practical tools to thrive in their work and life. And I could do it in a way that allowed for authentic expression of my Original Design – including the theatrical, the funny, the light-hearted parts.

By early 2019, I had pivoted Parillume to focus solely on this work.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Two of my favorite mantras – “To live is to grow” and “Hurts so good” – reflect my perspective that life is a heroic journey, and that resistance and darkness are needed to move us forward, internally and externally.

Internally, I have had to face my own fears every step of the way. Coming from a traumatic childhood, I find that every new level of success and opportunity brings the fear of being exposed, of shining too brightly, or of failing – and losing love. As an Enneagram 3 Achiever, my challenge has been to accept that I am not my work or my image in the world. But this is easier said than done. My journey to love myself, be authentic and not work so hard to prove my worth is a moment-by-moment practice and continues to this day.

Externally, going through a difficult divorce and its aftermath, getting my son through college, and building a business have been challenging – and motivating: I didn’t have any choice but to make Parillume work.

Please tell us about Parillume.
There are over 2,000 personality assessments in the world; over 2 million people a year take the Myers Briggs assessment alone. But this flood of information about ourselves is often not enough to transform our lives or our teams. I am committed to enabling real transformation, through practical content delivered in a way that is memorable, encouraging and tactical so clients can create great results – and relationships!

Parillume’s vision is to create cultures of honor, compassion and impact where everyone shines from their original design.

As a leadership and team development speaker, consultant and coach, my mission is to help dynamic leaders in business and social enterprise leverage the power of personality to improve engagement, communication and their bottom line.

There are two main components to this work: my Shine From Your Original Design program and my Keynote Speeches and Workshops.

Shine From Your Original Design for Teams and Couples gives clients data points and “play-full practices” that help them mitigate their kryptonite and leverage their superpowers in order to create solutions. I do this through individual, 90-minute sessions in which I combine CliftonStrengths, Myers Briggs and the Enneagram results to reveal a 360-degree perspective that, when applied, can be game-changing. Clients leave not just with information, but with practical steps to create transformation in their lives, no matter their intentions or goals.

I then introduce a simple 3-step methodology I call Accept, Articulate and Apply™: a path from reaction to empowered response, based on the strengths and personalities involved in any relationship. Clients learn to shift from the unconscious lens of their personal perspective to the conscious lens of strengths and personality, seeing themselves and others with clarity and compassion. They discover how to willingly claim their kryptonite and then leverage their superpowers to create win-win solutions.

In addition, I present entertaining, interactive keynotes and workshops: leadership training disguised as a one-woman show. I customize “Enneagram Tours” for associations, organizations and client events in which I act out the 9 types based on how they might show up in that particular environment. This has been a fun, engaging tool to elicit empathy and understanding for audiences and the people they interact with.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
School was my safe place growing up. It was where I could shine, so my favorite childhood memories are reading out loud in class, reciting poems in front of the school and acting in school plays, beginning with my role as Ichabod Crane in “The Headless Horseman” in Mr. Stendara’s 2nd-grade class. I rocked it. So if you ever need someone to play Ichabod Crane…

1 Comment

1. 

   Lisa

   October 13, 2019 at 5:10 pm

   Lisa is the real deal. Any business, large or small, should seriously consider hiring Lisa. She has a way of helping teams understand the power of personality and quickly impact the bottom line of any business.

   Reply