Kelly Meerbott represents the new age in leadership, one that is no longer dominated by theories, models, and the aging white men who developed them. Kelly stands for a style of leadership that is authentic and governed by the heart and soul, one that is reliant on traits such as empathy, compassion, and love for humanity.
Now, you may be reading this and rolling your eyes, picturing people running barefoot through fields of flowers and embracing – and 13 years ago Kelly would have done the exact same thing because to her this was all new-age “woo woo” nonsense. However, here she is today managing a leadership coaching company that has worked alongside Fortune 500s such as Virgin America, the US Military, Walt Disney World, Sony Records and Anytime Fitness to name a few, and it was following the heart and soul that made it happen.
Let’s go back to the beginning. When Kelly’s journey to coaching began, in January 2009, the day she got fired.
Kelly had been working in a senior corporate position, selling media advertising and training new sales reps, and it was not a role without its challenges. When Kelly joined the company it was not in good standing with the clients she would be working with, however despite this, within 12 months she had turned things around and increased her clients’ spending by 300%.
You can imagine then that when the company was bought out and taken over, along with the announcement that 30,000 cuts would be made, Kelly saw no reason to be concerned for her position.
However, on January 20th, 2009, Kelly was called into management’s office and informed that she had 10 days to review and sign her severance agreement. When she questioned why she was being let go, she was told that her numbers had been put through the corporate budget matrix and she hadn’t made the cut – an answer that she had some choice words in response to. But nevertheless, the decision had been made.
Kelly went home and spent the week grieving the loss of her job, questioning her abilities and dwelling on her feelings of anger and resentment towards her situation. Finally, the clouds began to clear and after a week or so Kelly decided to pick herself up, have a shower, and find a career that would truly light her soul up. She was sick of making money for ‘the man’, she wanted to help people and do something life-affirming, she just wasn’t sure what!
To help her figure out her path, Kelly enrolled in a success course called Mind Shift, which included a 90-minute coaching session. She gets on her coaching call and proceeds to spend 45 minutes unloading all of her emotions surrounding her job loss and presenting all of her evidence as to why she was unfairly dismissed. And after 45 minutes, her coach responds by asking Kelly, “Are you open to some coaching around this situation?” Kelly responded in the affirmative and the coach responded with: “I think you’re a victim and you need to take ownership of your life.”
Needless to say, Kelly’s first reaction to this response, was not a positive one and she hung up the phone. However, this was when divine intervention stepped in and told Kelly what she needed to hear, that in fact both of these statements had truth to them. Kelly picked the phone back up, apologized, hired the coach, and decided to make a change in her life.
Kelly worked with her coach for three and a half years, and during this time her coach continuously encouraged her to become a coach herself. However, Kelly was dubious, and she doubted whether coaching would be the right fit for her, wasn’t it all a bit too woo woo? That was until her coach asked her, “but what if you could change the corporate conversation, just based on how you showed up in the world?” and that’s when Kelly’s soul lit up. This was her purpose. And with that, Kelly began her coaching journey. She completed a 175-hour intensive course in human and organizational transformation and didn’t look back.
Since then, Kelly has grown both as a person and as a coach and has developed an approach that is collaborative, rather than commanding. She doesn’t believe in telling her clients what to do, but instead, she holds their hand and walks alongside them on their journey, sharing her own experiences and knowledge, to allow them to make the best and most informed decision they possibly can. In Kelly’s words, “If on our journey, we encounter a blazing fire in front of us, we’re not going around it and we’re not going over it. You’re going to grab my arm and we’re walking through it together. I’m going to show you that you’re fireproof.”
Kelly’s goal is to motivate the corporate world to operate on a higher level of consciousness. She wants those at the top of the ladder to consider the impact of their business decisions on the rest of the world, and she’s not going to sugarcoat it. Kelly’s drive comes from her belief in the potential of people and organizations to do and be better – but sometimes that potential requires a bit of tough love.
When asked what the biggest challenge in her career journey has been, Kelly had a brutally honest answer and one that no doubt the majority of women can relate to: mediocre white men. However, Kelly recognizes that she must apply her own teachings when she comes up against these men and must consider her own emotional regulation and energy management. By asking herself, ‘is this distraction and noise?’, she can keep her focus on what really matters, rather than wasting energy on deaf ears.
Kelly’s parting words of wisdom and advice for other women is, “There’s only so long that people can perform at a level of mediocrity before it gets illuminated. As women, we are going to have to work twice as hard, to get half as far, but keep doing good work. Focus on yourself and focus on allowing your work to speak for itself and the right people will see it.
Guest Blog Post for Women Leaders.
