An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Self-awareness: Through coaching, I have had the opportunity to take the time to get to know myself. I’ve been able to identify my values, what is most important to me, and how my values show up in both my professional and personal life. Self-awareness is one of the cornerstone principles of emotional intelligence, and It allows me to understand how and why I react to certain situations.
The competitive edge in business often comes down to a combination of strategy, foresight, and professional development. For executives looking to level up their skills, an executive coach can be their biggest asset. In this feature, we talk to business leaders who heavily invest in personal and professional development opportunities, coaching, and leadership programs. They’ll share why they invest so much and the impact it has on their life. Today, I had the privilege of speaking with Jennifer Maxson.
Jennifer Maxson is a passionate thought leader in the areas of networking, communication, leadership development, and public speaking. She is a Certified Professional Coach and provides consulting services to clients throughout the United States and abroad, delivering customized individual coaching, executive coaching, and group training for clients. Jennifer was named the 2018 ATHENA Award Recipient and, in the past, has been honored as one of Grand Rapids Business Journal’s 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan. Jennifer is a proud Grand Valley Laker, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations. When she’s not coaching, Jennifer enjoys the outdoors and fishing with her family.
Thanks for being part of this series. Let’s jump in and focus on your early years. First off, can you give us a snapshot of your life before you started your career?
Communication, leadership and coaching have always been a part of my life. I am the oldest of four children and have always been involved in sports, clubs and band. Early on in my life I found myself volunteering for leadership roles. In college, I served as President of my sorority, Delta Zeta, was active in student groups, and enjoyed volunteering in my community.
Making connections and building relationships is core to who I am. Looking back, I am not surprised to find myself working in the field of Leadership Development and owning my own organization. I enjoy being part of teams and making a positive impact in the community.
What was it about personal and professional development that attracted you to start investing in yourself? Also, can you share when you started and what your first investment was?
It is important to remember that investing in yourself can happen in many different ways. I have always been curious about other people and their career paths.
One of my first development opportunities happened in college, in the form of informational interviews for a class project. I had the opportunity to meet with individuals and hear their stories and about the projects they were leading in their organizations. This led me to read The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M Goldratt and Jeff Cox. It inspired me to want to learn more about Change Management and Manufacturing.
Early in my professional career, I found professional development opportunities by attending Grand Rapids Economic Club meetings. It was a wonderful way to hear world-class leaders and continue to make connections. I was also lucky enough to have employers who were willing to pay for professional development that aligned with my role in the organization.
Can you think back and share one of the biggest blind spots you had that someone helped you see and something specific about what you learned and how it showed up in your life?
A major blind spot of mine was perfectionism. Early in my career, my first manager shared with me that my desire to be perfect was preventing me from exceeding expectations in my performance review. Throughout my education, I put pressure on myself to write the perfect paper or achieve 100% on an exam or project, and brought this behavior into my professional career. I thought it was a positive attribute, but what I didn’t know was that my desire to be perfect limited my decision-making, risk-taking and reduced my confidence.
I am thankful for the manager who opened my eyes to this because she provided feedback and helped me create a plan that allowed me to see the benefits of thinking out of the box.
How long have you had an executive coach and how would you describe your relationship?
I have been working with my current Executive Coach for 1 year. Our relationship is one built on trust and confidentiality. She holds the space where I can bring what is on my mind, process, and create a solution forward. She will ask me questions that prompt me to dig deeper and she helps me prioritize all of the possibilities into an actionable plan. We celebrate all wins, both big and small.
Working with my Executive Coach helps me be the Coach that my clients need. I can be present to hold the space for them to bring their coaching topics, and struggles, and to help celebrate their successes.
If I was sitting down with your coach, and asked “what’s the one thing your client needs to work on more than anything else in the world” what would I hear them say about you?
My Coach would tell you I need to carve out the time to re-energize and recharge. Owning my own business and having a busy family means that my calendar is full from early morning into the evening. Because I love my career, it is easy for me to focus on the business all of the time. I also enjoy cheering on my kids at their sporting events. Most of my energy is focused on supporting others.
This is a theme that I also see with my coaching clients. When our lives and calendars are full of meetings, appointments and caring for others, it’s hard to find the time to take care of yourself.
If you were questioned about your “ROI” (return on investment), is there anything you can point to that justifies how much you spend on being coached? If not, how do you justify it?
Every coaching engagement starts with setting goals and ends with evaluating the progress made toward these goals. This is where I can measure and determine the ROI. To calculate hard numbers on my coaching ROI, I look at the strategic initiatives and decisions that were made and the revenue generated by these activities. My coaching is an investment in me and my business. It unlocks self-awareness, builds confidence, and creates opportunities.
Let’s dive into specifics. What are the top 5 things you’ve either gained or learned about yourself, where you specifically made changes, and have seen positive results. Be specific and feel free to give us either the background or story about each.
- Self-awareness: Through coaching, I have had the opportunity to take the time to get to know myself. I’ve been able to identify my values, what is most important to me, and how my values show up in both my professional and personal life. Self-awareness is one of the cornerstone principles of emotional intelligence, and It allows me to understand how and why I react to certain situations.
- Decision Making: I tend to make decisions based on emotion and intuition. My coach has helped me make decisions by asking what is behind the emotions and what are the facts. For example, I wanted to change a key vendor that we have worked with for many years. My gut was telling me that the relationship needed to change, but my heart felt uneasy about making the change. Through coaching, I was able to pull all of the facts together to see the full picture. By managing my emotions, using my intuition, and supporting it with data, the decision was clear and I felt comfortable in making it.
- Managing self-talk: Coaching has helped me identify when I am allowing limiting beliefs and negative self-talk to consume my thoughts. I have been able to identify when this self-talk holds me back and when it can push me forward. When the self-judgements start, I now have strategies to quiet the negative thoughts. Sometimes I get these thoughts because it can be lonely as a leader or business owner. However, self-talk can also push me forward to take big actions. Leaning into my expertise and creating solutions allows me to focus on new possibilities. One of my favorite activities is to create my mantra for the year, it helps me keep positive self-talk active and quiets the negative statements. We believe what we tell ourselves, so let’s keep it positive.
- Perspectives: As an entrepreneur focused on leading and growing my business, many times I find myself wondering why others are or aren’t as excited as I am about opportunities. Coaching allows me the space to think about the perspective of others. As both a Coachee and Coach, one of the most valuable questions has been, “what would X’s perspective be on X”. Leaders need to be mindful of the tasks at hand and their impact on others. Thinking about the perspective of others opens my mind to discovery of approach, opportunity and implementation of strategic initiatives.
- Confidence: As a leader, there are times when your confidence is shaken. Coaching has allowed me to pause, reflect and move forward. One of the best coaching questions that I have been asked is, “What is it that only you can do?” Followed up by, “What is getting in your way?” Many times, I know what decision needs to be made and why it is important to my organization, my team, my clients, and myself. Through coaching, I continue to build resilience and enhance my confidence to make those decisions.
What advice would you give other entrepreneurs who don’t think it’s worth investing in a coach or spending money to join a leadership program?
I would encourage entrepreneurs to think about why they started their business. Coaching and Leadership Programs are an investment not only in ourselves, but also in our business and everyone who’s part of it. They can help you find, redefine or even reimagine your business goals.
As our business evolves, we need to evolve in our thinking and knowledge to lead others. Coaching is customized to your specific needs and is a great way to personalize this development journey. Leadership programs tend to have a set curriculum and outcomes. Both are great options depending on what you need to grow as a leader.
I acknowledge that it is hard to spend money on personal development and take time away from the day-to-day of our businesses. However, as a leader, it’s important that you continue to work on yourself in order to help your business grow.
Do you have any examples of how being coached had an impact on others who work around you? How has it spilled over to your team or your family?
I knew that I was embarking on a year of transition and growth. This would require me to think bigger, build new relationships, and take care of myself. In my coaching sessions, we spent time focusing on letting go of the limiting beliefs that held me back from making decisions and thinking bigger. This journey helped lead my team through a strategic planning session to set the vision for our shared future. No longer did everything feel like it was on my shoulders. The team was capable and excited to help create a path forward. I used a coaching approach, asking them questions and helping them also release the limiting beliefs of what they could achieve on our team.
One of my self-care goals during this time was to get away from my computer and enjoy the outdoors. My family scheduled our yearly trip to Yellowstone National Park and this time we added a hiking trail to our activities. What I have learned is that being out in nature has a positive impact on how I feel, allowing me to show up relaxed, re-energized and excited to be with others.
There are so many executive coaches out there. How did you go about selecting the right one for you?
When looking for my executive coach, my first step was to identify my personal goals and objectives. I wanted a coach that could help me focus on leadership and well-being.
Second, I looked at my network to determine who else was using a coach, and who they would recommend. Another option is to go to the International Coaching Federation website and use the Find A Coach function. I strongly recommend that you use an ICF-certified coach. This certification requires stringent education and experience requirements.
Third, I scheduled a call to determine if my coach would be the right fit. Coaches will offer a meeting to understand your goals and objectives. I learned about her process, discussed my desire for coaching, and determined if we would be a good fit to move into a coaching relationship.
Finally, we created a coaching agreement that aligned with my goals and objectives.
Lastly, where can our audience go to follow your journey and perhaps get inspired to make their own investment in coaching?
I welcome readers to follow and connect with me on LinkedIn where I regularly post about my work. Readers can also visit www.JenniferMaxsonAssociates.com to learn more about me, my team, and how we enhance the credibility of leaders.
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
Oh, you’re welcome. It was my pleasure!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a successful entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience as a successful founder and CEO. He started his first company, Choice Recovery, Inc. a third-party collection agency, out of his apartment while going to The Ohio State University. He grew the business nationwide and represented more than 10,000 clients before selling the company on his 25th anniversary. His second venture, [re]start, is a career development platform that helps people find new jobs, launched in 2013 as a division inside his agency. [re]start was a catalyst to Chad’s team becoming an industry outlier after connecting thousands of people to meaningful employment opportunities. His company was nationally recognized for its social impact, twice being ranked the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. Chad sold [re]start in 2023 and is now a writer and thought leader for Authority Magazine’s Entrepreneur and Sports Editorials. He also offers an exclusive executive leadership program inside his online community at Authentic Authority.
Jennifer Maxson On An Inside Look at the Benefits and Impact Of Working With an Executive Coach was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.