463: Leadership Through Massive Change, with Elizabeth Lilla

Elizabeth Lilla: Metro Stars Gymnastics

Elizabeth Lilla is the owner of Metro Stars Gymnastics. With her husband Erik, she has owned and operated gymnastics facilities for 13 years. She was named the Nebraska Occupational Therapy Association’s Practitioner of the Year for developing the Special Stars Program at her facilities.

Liz has previously served as the USA Gymnastics Nebraska State Chair, and loves sharing the sport of gymnastics with boys and girls of all ages. She is also a member of the Coaching for Leaders Academy.

In this conversation, Liz shares the struggle of owning a small business that had to close its physical doors due to COVID-19. She tells the story of her business, the struggle in leading change in recent weeks, and their early success in pivoting to Metro Stars Online.

Key Points

• Metro Stars Gymnastics has a long success story of serving kids and families for 13 years, until COVID-19 shut their doors.
• Liz and Erik made the difficult decision to retain their full-time staff and pay salaries, despite having almost no revenue incoming.
• Working to innovate quickly, Liz and their leadership team tested a new, online instruction format to help kids and families stay engaged during this difficult time.
• Metro Stars Online has already connected with hundreds of customers and, more importantly, allowed kids to stay connected to the important work of physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Resources Mentioned

• Metro Stars Online

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