Trendsetter Tuesday: Kristine Iverson's Take on Leadership and Setting Trends as a Team
To celebrate our 2024 Meetings Trendsetters, Meetings Today is introducing "Trendsetter Tuesday," a podcast series of interviews with the 20 Trendsetters recognized in our July/August issue.
In this episode, Meetings Today's Taylor Smith sat down for a conversation with Kristine Iverson, founder and president of CROW Practice, to learn about how she started her own live events wellness company, discovered the leadership techniques that work for her and what it means to her to be a 2024 Meetings Trendsetter.
[Related: The 2024 Meetings Trendsetters Paving New Paths in the Events Industry]
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Transcript:
Editors note: The following transcription was facilitated by AI program Otter.ai and proofed by our editors. Although it is very accurate, there inevitably will be some mistakes, so please consider that when reading. Thank you.
Taylor Smith
Hello, and welcome to this Meetings Today Podcast. I'm Taylor Smith, destinations and features content developer for Meetings Today, and I'm back with another exciting podcast celebrating our Meetings Trendsetters class of 2024.
Every year, Meetings Today selects 20 trendsetters whose unique contributions to the meetings and events industry make them stand out. We receive dozens of nominations from across the industry, the editorial team compiles our own list of standout professionals we connect with over the course of the year, and the process of narrowing down over 100 names to 20 is one we don't take lightly.
But those 20 names were recently revealed in our July/August issue and online at MeetingsToday.com on August 1, and I was so happy to see so many familiar names on this year's list, including the wonderful Kristine Iverson, founder and president of CROW Practice, who spreads joy through wellness every single day.
Kristine is one person whose company I simply can never get enough of. Her positivity is infectious. She always has a smile on her face, and she lives with a glass-half-full attitude. Her visionary leadership has positioned CROW Practice as a leader in the events industry’s wellness space. She supports wellness providers in their businesses, anticipates industry needs and responds with innovative solutions. Kristine's creation of wellness consulting showcases her ability to enhance employee well-being, productivity and engagement, making her an invaluable asset to the live events industry with an unwavering dedication to holistic well-being. Which also made her the ideal candidate for our 2024 Meetings Trendsetters.
And Kristine is here with us today to tell us all about how she got there. Thank you for joining me, Kristine.
Kristine Iverson
Thank you so much, Taylor.
Taylor Smith
Of course! Like I said, you just make introductions easy. So, I love being able to celebrate you. I'm so happy that you are a 2024 Meetings Trendsetter. And congratulations on such an exciting accomplishment.
Kristine Iverson
Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you. I appreciate Meetings Today. I'm so incredibly honored. Truly.
Taylor Smith
Of course. We love to do what we do here. But I want to give the audience that's listening today a chance to get to know you even more, and let you introduce yourself. Tell us about your history in the meetings industry and your story and give us a little insight into your wellness journey as well.
Kristine Iverson
Absolutely. I have had a personal interest in wellness for as long as I can remember. I'm like a self-development junkie. And when I left cruise ships, I'd been working on cruise ships for many years, and I was in a transitionary place in life, figuring out, you know, asking yourself the question, “What do I do with myself now?” And I remained in an inquiry for about a year just asking if money didn't matter, what would I want to do. And I personally love wellness. If I could go on wellness retreats all the time, if I had all the money in the world, that's what I'd be doing. And now I've made a business out of it.
Taylor Smith
Look at how perfect that is. I mean, I also love wellness retreats. I know that you and I got to experience one together with Caesars Entertainment at their Global Wellness Summit in Vegas. And you know, just being so tuned in and those experiences, you’re really unplugging yourself from the digital world and plugging into your mind and being surrounded by people who are doing the same. You could go on retreats all day, but when you go on a wellness focused retreat, those are really special and unique. So, you're the kind of person to be leading them as well.
Kristine Iverson
Ah, thank you. Thank you. I feel like we all need it.
Taylor Smith
Especially in this very stressed-out industry. It's just something we need to prioritize more. So, when did you decide to start CROW Practice and what inspired you to start your own wellness business?
Kristine Iverson
I started CROW—it's been almost a decade now, which I've never done anything for a decade. I've never had a job consistently for a decade. I’m just like, “Wow, I stuck with something for a decade.” Just checked that as an accomplishment for me.
I really felt like, you know, kind of…It's figuring out pieces of a puzzle because there's no roadmap to starting a live event wellness company. There's a roadmap to start a restaurant, there's a roadmap to be a coach, but there's not a roadmap for a live event wellness company. So, a lot of it I felt like was certain steps, just taking it one step at a time. And I think this is the next right thing. I think this is the direction we should go in now.
Taylor Smith
And can you tell me about some of the successes of CROW Practice in this past almost decade that you've been running your business, some accomplishments you're proud of, or events that you've been a part of that are particularly special to you?
Kristine Iverson
Absolutely. Well, I think one of the 20 Trendsetters, that’s an exciting accomplishment. We have had a lot of press lately, we've been in about seven or eight different articles and blogs, a lot of them stemming from the Caesars Global Wellness [Summit].
I'd say, honestly, an accomplishment that I'm proud of is our internal team. I feel like now, I get to be the face of CROW and have fun and do a lot of fun things. And it's my internal team. We operate very much on a model called “unique brilliance.” Which means if you're in your area of unique brilliance, then you don't feel like you're working. And we're a small enough company to where we're having discussions. I just hired a new inventory manager, “OK, what is your realm of unique brilliance, something that you get lost in doing and that doesn't feel like a job?” So really trying to place people in the right role and the right fit and giving them job responsibilities that are in line with that.
Taylor Smith
And that's one thing too that, in your offerings, you know, I think working in your unique brilliance is something that is so Kristine to say, I think. I absolutely love it. And it reflects, you know, the kinds of offerings that you have at CROW Practice when it comes to consulting and building healthy company cultures. And you know, you offer things that can help companies and events go…I mean, your wellness practices go beyond the event space in that you bring them back home with you and you help people learn how to continue practicing both in the workplace and on their own. Going off the unique brilliance part, what are some offerings that planners can get out of CROW Practice and from working with you?
Kristine Iverson
Our list of services now ranges over 100 different services. We are in the process of, probably by next week, offering three new services: IV therapy, red light therapy and cryo therapy. So, like, all of these are super exciting, like cutting edge services.
Taylor Smith
You are on top of the wellness trends, that's for sure.
Kristine Iverson
Yes, absolutely. And I'd say our wellness consultants, as well, would be something that I'm proud of that we're tying in with wellness trends, pairing a meeting planner with one of our wellness consultants, because a meeting player is going to view a program from the meeting planner perspective. And a wellness consultant can view the program from a wellness perspective.
[Related: Webinar - The World of Wellness in Meetings and Events]
Taylor Smith
Wellness, like I mentioned earlier, is something that I don't think we prioritize as much as we should in this industry, because we're so worried about our clients and making sure we get our work done in time and answering emails. And, you know, this is an industry where you don't necessarily clock out, you're always on the clock, you're always working. There's always something going on in the back of your mind, even when you're winding down for the day watching TV, wondering, “Oh my gosh, did I remember to send that email? Or did I remember to call that person today?”
But when you have someone on your side as a planner, who's almost forcing you to think about wellness, that's when the magic really happens. And you start incorporating it in ways that go beyond a morning hike or something like that, something that actually sticks with your attendees and leaves them with knowledge that they can take home with them to keep practicing outside of your event space. So, yay for CROW Practice! Yay for those wellness techniques!
One question I do have, I'm curious, what's the craziest wellness trend that you're seeing right now that planners are like, “Oh my gosh, I haven't heard of this and I want to try it.”
Kristine Iverson
Well, the one that we're getting some traction on because it is a wellness trend that's I'm going to say is kind of just getting to the mainstream. Sometimes with wellness trends, they can be on the fringe like sound healing a few years ago was almost on the fringe, now it's more mainstream and even into live events. I would say forest bathing is kind of out there on the fringe, it's becoming more mainstream. And we are… I'm actually sending several providers on a cruise and one of them is going to do sea bathing.
We get innovative and creative. We take forest bathing, which is essentially, you know, going out in nature and practicing mindfulness. And we modify that in the hotel spaces that we're working in. Because oftentimes, there may not be a full natural space even to work in. But we're, again, modifying forest bathing to sea bathing, “OK, it's a sea day. We're gonna practice, you know, just getting the connection of the ocean. I mean, that can be incredibly healing.
Taylor Smith
Yes, I think we could all use some sea bathing. That is another wellness trend that I hope I see. You know, you're setting the trend and then in a few years, it will also be mainstream because everyone's gonna want to go sea bathing, and they're all gonna think, “Oh, like a dip in the ocean?” It's like, no, you need to be totally like in the zone, surrounded by the water, the water’s all you hear and you're just relaxing, literally floating through life. I think that sounds like a dream. Let's make it happen.
Kristine Iverson
Great. Let's do it.
Taylor Smith
But speaking about setting trends as a trendsetter, you know, we hear this term often that someone's a trendsetter or someone's setting trends. It's a common term that's used in our industry. We use it here at Meetings Today. But in your own words, how would you define a meetings industry trendsetter?
Kristine Iverson
I think there'd be a couple components, innovation, being able to think outside of the box. Adaptability, vision and collaboration.
I'd say like, when I think about CROW, were an innovative team, you know, working with going off of our internal CROW core of the unique brilliance. We have growth collaborative, which is a collaboration that Sarah Gabel, one of our vendor partners created, where essentially live event vendors can meet on a monthly basis and discuss how can we work together? How can we grow?
Then we have our CROW Collaboration, which is a collaboration of our own providers that we are meeting with and being creative and innovative with. So, adaptability. I feel like you have to be flexible in this industry. And sometimes even flexible in the unforeseen challenges, and flexible when a client brings us something and it may not seem like a good opportunity, but can we get innovative? Can we make this work for everyone?
Taylor Smith
I think another quality of trendsetters that you were exemplifying just now is a we-versus-me mindset, and you are very much in a we mindset. Even when I said like, “How do you define a trendsetter?” and you said innovative. You said, “We at CROW Practice, not “I see myself as an innovative individual,” but you see yourself as the leader and part of a team. And when you're setting trends and hoping to guide the industry in a positive direction, you're not doing it to lift yourself up, you're doing it to lift everyone around you up as well. And that's a quality of yours that I do admire.
[Related: Lessons on Well-Being From the Inaugural Caesars Entertainment Global Wellness Summit]
Kristine Iverson
Thank you. Thanks, Taylor. I feel like if you're doing something and the sole reason is for external validation, then it's probably going to be pretty unfulfilling. I feel like I'm living my purpose and my passion. So, any external validation is awesome, but I don't need it. You know, I would never want that to be a reason that I do something.
Taylor Smith
It almost makes it even more rewarding when it does happen because you're not doing it and expecting it to happen. You're doing it and it's just the cherry on top of an already delicious cake that you are already enjoying so much. And those little surprises are what make it, you know, even more exciting and special when you are on that journey.
Kristine Iverson
Absolutely. Yeah.
Taylor Smith
What was your initial reaction to finding out you are a 2024 Meetings Trendsetter?
Kristine Iverson
I was grateful and appreciative because Sarah Gabel, who is one of our vendor partners, she owns Silent Party USA, nominated me. And I felt incredibly touched by that and appreciative of her.
Taylor Smith
When I saw you on the list of nominations too, I was like, “this is so funny,” because I had already told the editorial team, I was like, “We need to consider Kristine because she is wonderful.” So, you have so many people that have your back. And we're like, “Yes, she is setting trends in this industry, she deserves to be recognized for it.” And you know, when someone's excited to nominate you, it's almost like they can't keep it a secret. They're like, “I have to tell them because I'm just so excited about it,” and that makes it even more exciting. And just shows you, I think, how connected and special this industry is because people really…This is a people-people industry, and we are in it to help each other. So, I love that little story. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Kristine Iverson
Thank you.
Taylor Smith
Well, how do you hope to continue motivating and inspiring the industry through your work? What is, you know, the future of Kristine and CROW Practice in the coming years?
Kristine Iverson
Well, one of the things we're doing, and I wanted to talk to you about this…We would like to collect data for wellness in the live event industry, because there's not a lot of it. So, we've got about a dozen questions, and we're figuring out, “OK, should it be a Survey Monkey? Should it be a Google link? You know, what's the platform?” And then do we, you know, ask our clients? Do we do something at IMEX? How do we get the word out? How do we collect this data? But I would like to begin collecting the data.
Taylor Smith
I absolutely love that. And as someone who writes about wellness all the time in the industry, I'm always looking for data. And I often find myself taking, you know, data that looks at the general population and seeing how this can relate or manifest in the industry, but to have data from the industry and from the people who are actually working in it? That would be invaluable.
Kristine Iverson
Yeah, absolutely. Because I'm speaking more on wellness trends, and a lot of it is either sometimes general data or data from us internally, like I can speak to my own little world and sphere of CROW and wellness. But what is the larger picture overall?
Taylor Smith
CROW Practice is here to tell us.
What inspires you to stay motivated? You're always motivating and inspiring others, but how do you stay motivated yourself?
Kristine Iverson
Well, there's a quote. Do you remember the upward spiral? If you remember the upward spiral, one of the top energy fields of it was freedom. And real freedom is the capacity to commit to our highest good. If real freedom is the capacity to commit to our highest good, for me, I'm clear CROW is my highest good. We’re bringing well-being services to the masses, and I get to commit to it. Like, I get to work this job full time. Because I remember, the first couple of years, I worked many gigs, and I remember like, having the thought and the prayer, like, “If I could just work one job, that would be great. That's all I want.” You know? But when I when I frame freedom like that, I realize I have the freedom to do this.
[Related: 8 Hospitality Industry Professionals Share Tips for Managing Stress]
Taylor Smith
Yeah, I love how you framed it. I don't have to do this; I get to do this. And that's, you know, a total mindset shift when you think about life and work and the possibilities that you have in that regard.
Kristine Iverson
Definitely. I think being aware of the “have to” energy and “get to” energy, because the reality, some days, you feel like you have to do something, and when I remind myself, “No, I get to do this,” it's really an honor and a privilege, because so many people don't do something they love every day and something they believe in every day.
Taylor Smith
What is one piece of advice you'd give to others in the industry looking to become trendsetters themselves, or maybe just, since you do focus on wellness, a piece of advice you have just for people to take a step toward their highest good?
Kristine Iverson
Success was recently framed to me as when you're no longer interested in profit, adoration or publicity. Because you can frame your success based on numbers, based on plot, however you want to frame what success looks like for you. And if success, you know, if I want to be successful, meaning it's no longer about profit or adoration or distinction, it's a different way for me to look at success. I would think that if someone's trying to be a trendsetter, first and foremost, think of yourself that way.
Taylor Smith
I was just writing about mentorship for my column, and one thing that I wrote was that you're your own worst critic and your own worst enemy. And so, you have to think of yourself as capable of being successful and be your own cheerleader to, you know, reach and see yourself as a trendsetter. So, you know, you just give great advice all around.
Kristine Iverson
Thanks, Taylor. Thank you.
Taylor Smith
If our readers want more advice from you, how can they stay connected with you and find you?
Kristine Iverson
Sure! They can find me on our website, social media, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, emailing, you know, different platforms. They’re always welcome to reach out.
Taylor Smith
Yep. And I will be sure that, when I upload this podcast, I’ll leave some links down there too, so that our listeners can stay connected and find you online.
Kristine, those were all my questions for you today, but do you have anything else that that you want to talk about or say before we sign off this afternoon?
Kristine Iverson
Well, you had asked a question about accomplishments were proud of, and we did get a $10,000 donation. We’ll work with rescues, and we got one of the rescues a $10,000 donation. So, I feel like that was cool. Like that's adding some goodness. It was a German Shepherd rescue. And then we'll also, since we work with a number of rescues, sometimes when the end client approves, the rescue can bring a QR code. So, I feel like we're doing good for the puppies.
Taylor Smith
As a puppy lover, that is just the happiest note I think we could end today on. Thank you so much for joining me, Kristine. I really appreciate it. You're always such a joy to talk to.
Kristine Iverson
Thank you, Taylor. Likewise.
Taylor Smith
That was Kristine Iverson, founder and president of CROW Practice and one of our 2024 Meetings Trendsetters. Once again, I'm Taylor Smith, destinations and features content developer for Meetings Today. And I want to thank you all for joining us for this special Meetings Today podcast. If you're interested in listening to more Meetings Today podcasts, visit us at www.MeetingsToday.com. And thank you again for listening!
