20 Questions With Christina Russell, CEO, Radiance Holdings

Christina Russell is the CEO of Radiance Holdings, the parent company of Sola Salon Studios, Woodhouse Day Spa, and BeautyHive. She’s also a Women in Retail Leadership Circle member! We asked Christina a series of questions about her career and other subjects so you can get to know her better.

1. What’s the best book you’ve read recently? 
   “Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book.” My husband bought this for me right after I had my daughter in 2015, and she recently found it and asked me to read it to her again. The lessons are priceless, both for me and my almost seven-year-old.
2. What’s a tip you have for productively leading a remote or hybrid team? 
   Set a specific meeting pulse, clear goals, and clear key performance indicators. I managed a field team of 35 people early in my career and learned quickly that when everyone understands what success looks like and gets the support they need, magic happens. It’s the same whether they’re in-office or offsite.
3. What’s a mistake you made early on in your career?
   Being afraid of making a change. I landed a career I loved early on as the lead physics editor at Los Alamos National Laboratory. I was there for seven years, and I thought I would never leave until my husband pitched this wild idea that we open two franchise gyms. He helped me find the courage to take that first step, and it was life-changing for me. It started me on a 22-year career in franchising, leading five different brands. Each career leap has been scary in its own way, but it’s empowering to be in the driver’s seat.
4. What’s the toughest part of being in charge?
   Decision fatigue. Our job as leaders is to make decisions all day, and it can be exhausting. The most exhausting decision of the day is often what to make for dinner because you’re so spent. My husband is a stay-at-home dad, and he takes the lead on that most of the time. He knows my favorite dinner is the one I don’t have to choose.
5. What’s the best way you motivate team members?
   Include them. When everyone on the team understands the vision and how their role contributes to that deeper purpose, it becomes their company.
6. What woman inspires you right now and why?
   My sister. Four years ago, she turned a paddle-boarding hobby into a real business. Epic Paddle Adventures now has a fleet of over 70 boards and kayaks, running over 30 tours a week around the lakes and springs in central Florida. She’s so humble that she doesn’t realize how inspiring she is.
7. What are you looking forward to the most for the industry in 2022? 
   Resilience. After two long years of uncertainty, the one thing that’s certain is the desire to reconnect and invest in ourselves. I’m blessed to be in the beauty industry, and we’re seeing record growth across our brands. It’s a testimony to the human spirit. People are finding themselves again through genuine retail therapy.
8. What’s one thing you look for when interviewing a job candidate? 
   Curiosity. My chief development officer is the one who pointed this out as one of the most important indicators of success. Curious people want to learn. They want to engage with others. They want to innovate. They ask questions that challenge our thinking as leaders and help us to improve our processes. That holds true for the C-suite and all the way to the interns just starting their careers. It’s something we prioritize for hiring as well as promotions.
9. What’s something that you learned about yourself in the past year? 
   Age doesn’t matter. Take care of the basics — a healthy diet, good sleep, regular exercise, lots of water — and you’ll feel as great in your 50s as you did in your 20s.
10. What’s your favorite podcast? 
    What’s a podcast? Seriously, I’m old school and I prefer books.
11. What values are most important to you as a leader? 
    Joy. We include this as one of our core values, and I think it’s the lynchpin in our culture. We hire for a joyful spirit and that optimism is there even in the toughest of times.
12. What’s the most important thing people should know about you? 
    I believe the purpose of life is happiness, and that happiness stems from gratitude. If you focus on your blessings, you’ll be blessed with more. That may come across as naïve, but I think gratitude is my superpower.
13. What’s one habit you adopted while working from home that you kept/would like to keep with you as you return to the office?
    Having a sit-down dinner with my family every night with no technology, just good conversation. My commitment as I’ve moved back to the office is to leave in time to be home to help with dinner. It’s challenging, but I look forward to that connection.
14. How would you describe yourself in a single sentence? 
    I’m an extroverted introvert.
15. What’s your favorite app?
    I love the Zappos app. It’s my favorite way to shop. I can filter down to exactly what I want at the price point I want to spend, have 10 options shipped to my house in two days, pick the ones I want and send the rest back with free shipping both ways. What’s not to love?
16. What do you do to recharge?
    I find a way to spend a couple of hours — or days — completely alone in my house. It’s not always easy to negotiate, but that quiet time in my own space is priceless. It gives me the mental and emotional break I need to refuel.
17. What’s your biggest accomplishment?
    Figuring out work-life integration, for myself and my team. Even before 2020, we were a flexible culture. We use a nine-80 work schedule that gives everyone on the team the option to take every other Friday off, and we’re very flexible with work schedules, hybrid work, and time away. It’s great for productivity because people are focused on results instead of hours, and they know they’re valued as a whole person, not just an employee.
18. What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders? 
    Surround yourself with people who inspire you and lift you up, and who are willing to call BS when you start believing your own stuff.
19. What gets you up in the morning?
    Exercise. The only way to get it done is to get it done before the rest of the day begins. I don’t always look forward to getting up early, but I’ve never once regretted a workout.
20. What do you like most about being a member of Women in Retail Leadership Circle? 
    I’m brand new, but what I look forward to is hearing the stories from women who are living their dreams. That inspires me!