At the Exceptional Women Alliance, we enable high-level women to mentor each other to achieve personal and professional happiness through sisterhood. As the nonprofit organization’s founder, chair, and CEO, I am honored to interview and share insights from thought leaders who are part of our peer-to-peer mentoring.
This month, I introduce to you Courtney Wright, CEO of Gemini Builds It, and author of Lady Boss Blueprint: How to Reframe Your Business to Create the Life of Your Dreams. Known for her candid, pragmatic style, she has scaled her company in one of the most complex and high-stakes industries: manufacturing. Courtney does not sugarcoat the leadership challenges. Instead, she embraces them, making the impossible look possible while building a culture of resilience.
Q: People say you make it look easy. What is the truth behind that perception?
Courtney Wright: Let’s be real—it’s not easy. Scaling a manufacturing company is messy, unpredictable, and often brutal. My job as CEO is not to hide the chaos, it’s to cut through it and get to the finish line. We’ve built systems, habits, and a culture that make the hard things manageable. From the outside that might look like ease. But every single day there is grit. What people call “easy” is usually the result of preparation and years of small, intentional decisions stacked on top of each other.
Q: How do you personally handle those “grind” moments?
Wright: I roll up my sleeves. If a supply chain issue threatens a delivery or a client moves the goalposts, I am there with my team figuring it out. I don’t believe in ivory tower leadership. I believe in visible leadership. When your team sees you shoulder to shoulder with them in the hardest moments, they are not just following instructions. They are bought into the mission.
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On a personal level, I remind myself that pressure is a privilege. If people are coming to you with complex problems, it means they trust you to solve them. That mindset helps me stay grounded even in the grind.
Q: What is the biggest leadership lesson you have learned while scaling Gemini Builds It?
Wright: Perfection is overrated. Consistency is what wins. It’s tempting to chase flawless execution, but leadership is not about being flawless. It’s about getting it done again and again, even under pressure. Resilience and repeatability matter more than polish. That is how you scale a business and how you build trust. People don’t want perfect leaders. They want leaders who deliver.
And you cannot do it alone. Early in my career, I thought I had to carry everything myself. Over time, I learned that empowering others is the only way you scale. Today, my team is filled with people who know how to own their lane, make decisions, and drive forward. It’s about creating an environment where trust and accountability thrive.
Q: How do you create resilience in your team?
Wright: By modeling it. When things get tough, my job is not to pretend everything is fine. It’s to show that we can face it and solve it together. We do not avoid the hard stuff, we tackle it. And when you practice that enough, resilience becomes part of your DNA. You stop fearing challenges and start expecting them. That’s when you know you have a strong team.
We also talk openly about failure. Mistakes happen, but real failure is when you don’t learn or get back up. That gives people permission to take smart risks. In manufacturing, there are always moving parts and tight deadlines. Resilient teams are decisive, adaptable, and unafraid of the bumps along the way.
Q: What’s the secret to making hard things look easy in business?
Wright: The secret is that it’s never easy. The real trick is to build the right culture, the right systems, and the right people. If you have those three things, the impossible becomes achievable. I have built my career on cutting through the noise and creating clarity. That is how we deliver. We tackle challenges until the solution feels obvious.
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When people know what is expected, where the finish line is, and why it matters, the path feels manageable. That’s what transforms chaos into momentum. And when clients see the finished product, they say, “You made it look easy.” The truth is, it was anything but easy. It was just intentional, disciplined work.
Q: Beyond scaling Gemini Builds It, how do you see your role as a leader evolving?
Wright: For me, leadership goes beyond these walls. It’s about showing up in industries and rooms where women have traditionally been absent and proving that results speak louder than stereotypes. I make it a point to be visible because visibility matters. When people see someone who looks like them in a role they aspire to, it changes what they believe is possible.
My focus now is not just on running Gemini at a high level but also on creating ripple effects for the next generation of leaders. If I can help even one person believe they belong at the head of the table, then the work is worth it. That is the legacy I want to leave behind.
Larraine Segil is founder, chair, and CEO of the Exceptional Women Alliance.