Women Leaders in Meetings: Janet Traphagen
Janet Traphagen has spent her career helping define what leadership looks like in the business events space, not just through her rise at Creative Group, but through the values she champions: emotional intelligence, authenticity, and culture as a performance driver.
Janet Traphagen joined Creative Group in 1996 and has risen from account manager to president, a role she's held since 2014. Under her leadership, the company, which specializes in meetings, events, and incentive programs, has navigated major industry shifts.
A past chair of the Incentive Research Foundation, Traphagen also serves as an advisor to global hospitality brands and mentors small business owners through programs in the Chicago area. Her approach to leadership emphasizes operational discipline alongside emotional intelligence, a philosophy grounded in self-awareness, curiosity, and long-term people development.
We spoke with Traphagen about her path into the industry, how her leadership style has evolved, and the values she believes will define the next generation of leaders.
How did Traphagen land in the world of meeting planning?
I didn't find the world of meetings and events, it found me. When my career started, the profession itself was less formal and underrecognized. My first role was at GE in the marketing department, and I supported the people whose roles included organizing their meetings and top-performer incentives. It immediately clicked with my skillset and how I was wired, and the rest is history. My managers took notice, and event planning became my responsibility.
From there, I went to Cardinal Health and started their first meeting planning team. It was the first time that was a designated responsibility within the organization.
Eventually I moved to the agency side and continued to grow not only with Creative Group, but also with the industry as it matured and really became respected and valued as a profession.
What are the qualities that make a good leader?
There are so many that I could list, but the one that is the most foundational is a deep awareness of yourself. If you don't lead yourself well, you can't lead others well.
The second that comes to mind is humility, which goes hand-in-hand with self-awareness. As a leader you have to do the inner work and stay grounded. Closely tied to those is having a growth mindset and staying curious.
There are a host of other attributes — brave, decisive, courageous, risk taker — but to me good leaders must be committed to remaining self-aware and humble.
How would you define your leadership style?
My leadership style is a balance of holding the head and the hearts of those I lead and instilling that value throughout the organization. One of our core philosophies at Creative Group is called 49/51. The 49 is reference to the percent of any given role that is focused on the skills it takes to be technically excellent at your job and serving our clients. The 51, the larger of the percentages, is focused on building trust and relationships with each other and our customers.
Culture is an amplifier of performance. This balanced approach of human-centric values alongside operational excellence helps people see the impact they're making, and that's what drives results. My focus is creating an all-around culture that inspires people.
What skills have you developed that have helped you grow into the leader you are today?
We all lead from who we authentically are on the inside. Therefore, you have to invest in yourself and make sure you have outside influences to provide guardrails in who you are as a leader. Two things I've done are invest in therapy to stay grounded and do the inner work that keeps me self-aware. I also have an executive coach who I trust to be fully transparent and brutally honest with me.
It's also important to remain a student of leadership. Retaining that deep curiosity has allowed me to develop over my career and continues today.
As a leader, what are the challenges that keep you up at night?
At a macro level, it's the consistent effort to balance culture with performance targets. I've done my best to be intentional and balance the tradeoffs that have to be made. Being financially successful allows us to invest further in the culture that has made us successful. Keeping that balance is the biggest challenge that I face on a daily basis.
Which female leaders have inspired Traphagen the most?
Within the event planning industry, Christie Hicks, when she was at Starwood, was fearless and iconic. She was one of the few female senior leaders in the industry earlier in my career and was someone who inspired me.
Outside the industry, I recently had the chance to hear Jane Fonda speak at a women's conference, and she was incredible. At 87, she's still an activist and showing up to share her perspective with others. She was incredibly inspiring. The whole crowd was blown away. At the end, the standing ovation just would not stop. And we were all looking around each ther, thinking, 'life goals.'
How has mentoring helped you become the leader you are today?
One of the more unconventional forms of mentorship came from a customer. She was more senior than me and had a knack for giving me feedback right between the eyes. She reminded me to take care of myself and gave very honest feedback on the events we provided to her. It was a relationship I really valued and helped me grow as a leader.
How has your leadership style changed throughout your career?
My leadership style has evolved a lot over the years. Early on, I naturally leaned toward helping and supporting others, seeing leadership as collaboration and service. Over time, I realized I needed to define leadership on my own terms, not just accept the traditionally masculine, hierarchical model that's been the standard for so long. I've really come to embrace what I call finding the 'third way '— leading from a place that honors both masculine and feminine energies.
I can be decisive and analytical, but also deeply empathic and nurturing. I've learned to integrate both, rather than pick sides or accept a limited definition. Ultimately, my leadership journey has been about finding the confidence to lead authentically, blending these energies, and focusing on what's truly effective and human, rather than conforming to old models.
Can you share advice for aspiring women leaders in meetings?
Find your people, whether that's a therapist, a coach, authentic friends, or healthy relationships, where honesty is prioritized. These connections help you keep perspective on how you're showing up in the world and keep you grounded.
Stay aware of how others experience you. I often ask new managers, 'How do you think others are experiencing you?' It's a powerful way to build self-awareness and empathy. As a leader, your voice carries weight. So being conscious of that influence is essential.
Invest in your growth and lead with awareness of the responsibility that comes with leadership.
What does leadership mean to Traphagen?
The first word that comes to mind is privilege. It is a privilege to lead and have the opportunity to influence a team of people. It also comes with a deep responsibility. Words matter, energy matters and decisions matter. It's not something to take lightly. As leaders, we hold the head and heart of our teams and get the opportunity to grow, inspire and celebrate with them.
At Creative Group, we heavily invest in leadership training at all levels because it is so important to our success as a business. The alignment created throughout our organization builds the positive culture that makes a difference for our employees and our customers.
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