By May 2023, I'll be finished with my Thrive coach training! It's been an incredible experience.  I decided to participate in this training because I'm on a quest to lead by example, learn more, gain greater insights, evolve corporate culture in an impactful positive way, and improve my leadership skills so I can help others.

 At work, I lead a high performing team that is part of a larger high performing team. Throughout my career I've learned to amplify my own strengths and work diligently with my team to ensure that they're empowered to discover and leverage theirs. I listen attentively to their input, share feedback in 1:1s, and ask questions to help team members work toward alignment within themselves to accomplish life work integration. Most importantly, I try to hold space for team members. Sometimes all you need is a compassionate ear or a little guidance to work through what you are currently facing. 

 That’s why committing to the Thrive coaching training seemed like the natural next step for me as we continue to grow Thrive integration amongst the Site Merchandising team at Walmart. I figured, “Why not see if I could get trained by Thrive to be an executive coach? Then I'll really be able to help team members and make sure they're taking care of and prioritizing themselves.” And thanks to my leadership’s support, specifically from Stacey Levitt and Sean Long, I was able to commit to it. I felt pretty intimated after my first day of training, since I was the only person in our cohort who wasn't already classified as an executive coach. — but at the same time, it was exciting to be in a training program with all executive coaches. The time spent with Joey, Thrive's executive trainer, was full of tips, tricks, and important guidance around integrating Microsteps and coaching skills into your daily life. 

 It's funny when I think about my experience with coaching. It actually goes back to when I was 15 years old and I was the captain of the blue team at summer camp. As captain, I spent the entire summer coaching my team through weekly wins and losses in sporting competitions, cheering as loud as I could from the sidelines until I lost my voice, and then cheering even louder when we won.  I held the team together when we lost and reminded everyone that it's how you play that counts. At that young age, I didn't quite have the words for it, but looking back now, what I was doing was leading: listening, supporting, learning to put people in position to play to their strengths, helping boost their self-confidence, and encouraging them to have fun. That experience helped shape what I do today. People come to me with all types of questions about their lives — whether personal, career, or something else entirely. I find myself coaching them to find the answers within. In fact, during the height of the pandemic, I ran a digital course and coached people on how to get unstuck by prioritizing themselves and bring creativity and moments of joy back into their life. That’s why what I do today – including partaking in the Thrive coach training – has been such a powerful experience for me.