Jess Hartmann: Finding fulfillment as a Master Chair

When I’m done at the end of the day, I generally don’t hold this feeling of what’s coming at me next. Now, I look at the day and say, ‘Hopefully, I had an impact on someone today.’

Editor’s Note: This profile is part of a series highlighting Vistage Chairs — executive coaches who help guide CEOs and leaders of small and midsize businesses to make better decisions for their companies, families and communities.

When Jess Hartmann’s Vistage Chair suggested he become an executive coach, he knew facilitation and coaching would be rewarding. However, he wondered how he could convince others to join a group.

“That was probably my fear,” he says. “I’m not a salesperson, and I’m not good at selling.”

Fear didn’t hold Hartmann back from enrolling in the Vistage Chair Academy in late 2017 when the event was exclusively in-person. Attending the Academy sparked excitement about the new adventure and provided training around coaching, one-to-one meetings and, of course, selling.

“I went into it with seriousness — that I was going to make this happen,” he says. “It was scary at first, but as with everything that’s uncomfortable, you get better at it, and you get good at it.”

His first meeting was a “mock” meeting with 20 attendees. When his group officially launched in March 2018, he had 12 members.

“It was an uplifting experience,” he says.

Figuring out ‘what’s next’

Seizing the opportunity to develop a Chair group provided Harmann with the answer of “what’s next.” He first joined a Vistage group in 2004 after landing his first CEO job at a technology company.

The hiring manager told Hartmann, who had built a career as a technology engineer, “I know you think you might be able to do the job, but you don’t know anything about being a CEO, so it’s time for you to start that journey.”

Hartmann joined a Vistage group and embraced every opportunity to hear from expert speakers and learn from fellow CEOs. He continued to leverage his Vistage experiences in later roles and then while growing his company, ProMAX Systems, which he bought in 2008.

After 13 years of leading the company, he got to the place where he could no longer further reinvest in the company because of technological changes in the market. He felt too young to retire but didn’t have the energy to start over and build another company.

“I reflected, ‘Do I stay in business, stay in the hunt as CEO or start another business?’” he says. “I didn’t want to sign up for another one. I still own that company and another one just for fun. Beyond the stress piece, was the impact question of how I could have more impact.”

Becoming a Chair allowed Hartmann to answer that question. He recognizes executive coaching as a powerful opportunity to support others in achieving their goals. As a self-described lifelong learner, it was an opportunity to give others necessary learning experiences from fellow group members and Vistage speakers.

Seeing the impact every day

Today, Hartmann runs five groups serving 99 members. He says he has more to do than when working as a CEO, but that has forced him to improve his time management skills while feeling fulfilled by his work.

“I enjoy life and see the impact of what I do every day. When I’m done at the end of the day, I generally don’t hold this feeling of what’s coming at me next,” he says. “Now, I look at the day and say, ‘Hopefully, I had an impact on someone today.’”

Jess (second row, right) with his Key Executive group in Southern California

Hartmann says that fundamental to success as a Chair is providing executives with a safe space and supportive relationships to challenge them. He says challenging others can be uncomfortable for coaches, but a little bit of tough love is necessary.

Like other Chairs, his groups include roles like a break manager and celebration leader. He has added a “challenger” role where the person stops the conversation and says, ‘I’m seeing something here. I’m hearing something here’ or ‘There’s something I’m not hearing.’

Not only does Chairing allow Hartmann to share his 4-plus decades of expertise and support others on their journey, but he also finds camaraderie with other Vistage Chair Groups. In Orange County, a group of Vistage Chairs meet monthly to support one another.

“When you help other Chairs in the market, they help you, and you realize you’re not alone,” he says. “We take a synergistic approach to helping each other fill groups and if you look at it from that perspective, rather than a competitive one, we can fill groups much more effectively than if we did it individually.”

While Hartmann continues to work full weeks supporting his Vistage group members, he has the freedom to take between four and five weeks off a year to recharge. Most importantly, watching those in his group achieve a breakthrough is the most rewarding work he’s done in his career.

“When I was running a business, I was only focused on building that one business, and it felt a bit repetitious and sometimes a bit hollow,” he says. “Now, at the end of the week, after great interactions and a couple of great ‘aha’ moments from my members, I get that tingle inside, that great feeling that something huge was accomplished.”

Explore more coaching journeys

If this coaching story interests you and you’d like to see more, learn more about Chairing and how it could lead to the next chapter of your life.

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