Near tears, exhausted and overwhelmed, I closed the door to my office and slid down the back holding my head in my hands. After a solid two minutes, I self-talked my way into an upward, standing position, calmly opened my door and headed towards the Keurig. Coffee was clearly the solution. As it would end up, it was part of it.
What is now known as Caffeine and Coaching throughout our company was brewed by me, for the first time in the Spring of 2015. Recently promoted to Sales Manager of our St. Cloud location, still with several accounts of my own and several new hires I was onboarding, I knew I needed a more efficient system for connecting with my team. So many of them were coming to me with variations of the same questions and same challenges, all at separate times. For me, helping people solve problems, especially those I am to lead, is one of the most rewarding parts of life; however, I was spending so much time doing so, that I didn’t have time to work. To do “the things.” If I didn’t do something fast, the result was going to be failure or burnout.
Over my freshly brewed mug of greatness, I envisioned bringing several team members together for a discussion about a topic, each week. Prospecting, professional proposals, marketing trends, digital innovations and more. Then, my mind interjected TRACTION, the system we use foundationally for our company, and I thought about how I could incorporate professional Highs and Lows. This would help me not only know what was motivating and troubling my team members but it would unite and bond them to one another. After all, don’t we all need understanding colleagues in good times and in bad? My final thought, a book club. Industry-focused, of course. Did you know the average professional will read one book or less related to their industry per year? Through Caffeine and Coaching, our teams read a minimum of four.
Eight years later, Caffeine and Coaching is part of the LB culture, a culture that supports continuing education right down to its corporate core values.
Beyond me, there are two core coaches of Caffeine and Coaching: Kelli Frieler our Executive Director of Digital and Abby Black our Digital Marketing Coordinator. I am incredibly grateful for both of these brilliant women for stepping up to aid in the development of others. New to Caffeine and Coaching this year is what we refer to as “Guest Coaches.” This group of coaches are mentors, trainers and our partners in the industry that through Leighton, we have the pleasure of working with. A special thanks to Chris Lytle, Liz Huff and Ellen Trunk of Upland Software, Brooke Williams and Jeff Schmidt of the RAB and Chuck Mefford for your role in educating our highly caffeinated crew, thus far in 2022.
When you partner with Leighton Media, you’re partnering with some of the very best minds in local media. A team of people committed to learning, growing and coffee. Because coffee is always a good idea.
