[The vYve Thrive Series] The Ski Mountain Run by Women and Driven by Heart: Katie Boedecker on Leadership and Self-Love

If you have ever wondered whether self-love has a place in leadership, Katie Boedecker is your proof that it does more than matter. It transforms companies. Recorded live inside the iHeart Studios in New York, Katie shares how she and her daughter run Showdown Montana, one of the oldest ski mountains in the country and one of the very few owned and operated by women. But the real story is the Montana Mindset, a people-first leadership model that teaches employees as young as fourteen how to love themselves, support each other, and show up authentically in the workplace. This conversation shows how self-love creates stronger teams, happier employees, and a thriving business culture from the inside out. What You’ll Learn in This Episode • Why Showdown Montana prioritizes employees above guests and how it changed the business • How self-love training for teenagers and adults improves performance, retention, and morale • Why the traditional customer-first model no longer works in modern workplaces • How the Montana Mindset was born from a desire to keep good people employed year-round • The four pillars that guide Katie’s leadership approach • Why the post-COVID workforce came back changed and what leaders must address • How unlimited counseling and genuine support build loyalty and resilience • What it looks like to help employees uncover self-sabotaging patterns • The personal journey Katie took to develop self-love and why it fuels her leadership About Today’s Guest Katie Boedecker is the owner and operator of Showdown Montana, one of the oldest ski mountains in the United States and one of the only ski areas in the world run by women. She is also the creator of the Montana Mindset, a leadership method that prioritizes self-love, personal growth, and community. Through her work, Katie is helping reshape how companies support their employees and how individuals show up in their own lives. ... The vYve Thrive Series Stories about the unlocking of dreams that lead to business and personal growth… ignite YOUR thrive. The vYve Thrive podcast series was born from a simple vYve NYC meetup—an intimate gathering centered around charting our dreams and finding our true voice. What began as a small circle of leaders quickly evolved into something much bigger: founders, creators, and executives opening up, shedding old limits, and discovering what becomes possible when you allow yourself to be seen and heard. At vYve, we are more than a business-growth mastermind. We are a community grounded in honesty, courage, and the belief that our dreams—big or small—are meant to be pursued together and made real. Through our work at the New York Summit in October with The Podcast Playground, these stories now have an even broader platform to resonate, inspire, and remind others that their next chapter is entirely within reach. If you’re feeling the pull to explore your next chapter, we would love to hear from you. Reach out to us on social @thrivewithvyve on IG or just @vYve on Linkedin! This is vYve Thrive—where leaders chase their dreams, claim their voice, and ignite the spark for others to do the same.