WaveMaker: Meet Cynthia Adams

WaveMakers Barb Betts and Kendyl Young interviewed Cynthia Adams to get to know the people who are making the biggest impact on the industry.

Welcome! Let’s start at the beginning… YOU! Please introduce yourself! Share who you are, where you are, and WHY you love doing what you do!

Cynthia: "I’m Cynthia Adams, CEO and Co-Founder of Pearl Certification. I live in Durango, Colorado, which is in the Four Corners area. The reason I live here is because I love the big peaks of the San Juan mountains, butterscotch smell of Ponderosa pines, and clear, fast flowing streams. I’m a nature girl at heart, and this is also why I love my job. Pearl Certification is a mission driven business helping homeowners make upgrades that lead to a more sustainable lifestyle and an increase in their homes’ value."

What was your first leadership role?

Cynthia: "Up until I graduated from college, almost every summer my mother’s family would gather in Wisconsin to vacation together. Most of our time was spent at my aunt and uncle’s cottage on a lake or at my grandparents’ house. I’m the oldest of my family’s nine cousin set, so I wouldn’t say I asked for the leadership role nor was I recruited for it. I was literally born into it. My family relied on me to help corral the rest of the kids for chores and activities. I led certain events we cousins would do together, like biking, swimming, and canoeing. If something went wrong or someone got in trouble, often it came back to me for not stepping in or being aware of how others were behaving. So I feel like from a young age I felt a sense of responsibility and caretaking for others. It was my servant-leadership 101 training."

What is the life or leadership advice you give most often?

Cynthia: "Don’t ask for permission or wait for someone to give you the OK to lead. If you feel driven to lead on something, do it. Lead, and you will become a leader."

Tell us about a woman in your life who helped you reach a goal or encouraged you to step into your personal power!

Cynthia: "I had a business partner once who saw me hesitating to take on new work which was outside of my explicit training and comfort zone. She thought I had a natural talent for it and really encouraged me not to doubt myself or ability to deliver. I respected and trusted her, so this advice meant a lot to me, and I followed it…ever since."

It’s time to share your final words of wisdom.

Cynthia: "Recognize what delights you or makes you curious and wonder-full. Then invite and intentionally bring more of that into your world."