WALKING THE TALK

When Kathryn Janicek was a young news reporter fresh out of Marquette’s journalism program, she recalls the stage fright that would take hold of her when she was standing before a camera.

“I remember getting back to the station, watching the tape, and seeing red splotches all over my neck,” Janicek says. “It was terrible to see that, but it made me appreciate how real that fear of talking on camera is.”

It wasn’t long before Janicek’s superiors saw that she had a knack for coaching people on effectively delivering a message in front of an audience.

“I learned quickly how to help people make a bigger impact with their communications,” she says. “I would end up coaching CEOs who would sit at our news desk on how to effectively deliver a message to an audience.”

While Janicek once had entertained dreams of following in the footsteps of Katie Couric—a journalist who she admired for being able to move between serious topics and lighter subject matters— she found her sweet spot in coaching. After two decades of moving all over the country, working for CBS, ABC, and FOX, and winning three Emmy Awards for her work—she was ready to take control of where her career was going next. Janicek launched JPG—the Janicek Performance Group.

“At first, I was only doing media coaching,” she says. “Then several CEOs reached out to me after their media training and asked if I would coach their executives and sales teams on public speaking. This has become a significant part of my company. It can be difficult to tell your boss that they scrunch their face when they talk, or that they shrug their shoulders when they’re delivering sensitive information. As a coach, I can say these things. We want to make our executives more magnetic. And that’s what we do with our training.”

In the beginning, Janicek was very much a “solopreneur.”

“I was doing all of the coaching,” she says. “I wish I knew then about how much having a team of specialists would benefit my clients. Today, I have different coaches who bring different points of view to our clients—for example mine is in news, another one has a sports background. We also have a stylist and a makeup artist—all client needs that we’re meeting that don’t involve me. I’m very excited to say that we’ll be a $5 million company soon.”

When asked if she is ever intimidated offering advice to some of the country’s most accomplished executives, Janicek finds herself practicing what she preaches.

“We talk to our clients a lot about getting rid of the negative self-talk that doesn’t serve them,” she says. “I do the same when I’m going into a new situation. I know that I’ve been hired to serve my clients and provide them with what my years in the industry have taught me. That gives me all of the confidence I need to do my job well.”

The security Janicek now enjoys as a successful consultant and keynote speaker also carries over into her new life as a working mom in the suburbs. When she and her husband decided to move out of the city, it was Janicek’s childhood memories that drew her to Barrington.

“I remember my grandmother taking me to the Catlow,” she says. “I also get these sweeping feelings of nostalgia when I walk into the Jewel. She and I would go there to buy a newspaper. These are such core memories for me.”

Today, Janicek works from a home office—in a house she and her husband recently finished renovating. Her desk faces a stunning picture window that is framed by the season’s foliage.

“I don’t think we knew how badly we needed Barrington until we got here,” she says with a laugh. “My husband and I loved living in Chicago, but to have this home, on a quiet street filled with families and mature trees, near a school that we can walk with our daughter to, is really everything. My husband and I look at each other sometimes and ask ourselves if this is a dream? It’s so beautiful here. We’re so grateful for this peace and the support that comes from living in a community where parents look out for each other. We didn’t know we could have such an easier life.”

To learn more about Kathryn Janicek and her company JPG, visit janicekperformancegroup.com.