Meet Makeda Andrews | Leadership Coach & Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Makeda Andrews and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Makeda, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
Couple of years ago my mentor introduced me to the concept of disciplined thinking time, which is uninterrupted concentration.

This habit I have formed where every single Friday I have a scheduled appointment with myself in my calendar for thinking time has allowed me to uncover issues, solve problems that I find hard to solve in the heat of chaos, make wise decisions and to create systems.

What should our readers know about your business?
I am the founder of The Impactful Leader, where I provide coaching and training services to new managers. I believe that what sets me apart from others is that I attack my training and coaching from a very practical lens. I’ve found that a lot of the leadership advice and training out there is incredibly fluffy and inspirational. I remember when I first became a manager reading books and watching trainings and being inspired but not knowing how PRACTICALLY to make it work for my situation which left me feeling like I couldn’t wrap my arms around it. Honestly it made me feel like a failure. I don’t want any new leaders to feel the same. This is why my trainings and programs focus on the practical and flexible methodologies to lead a team.

I am most proud of the ripple effect of my program – it’s not just the manager whose life is changed because one manager impacts the lives of many. I truly believe that when the leader gets better everyone gets better as a result. This truth and impact keeps me going even on the days where it’s tough.

In terms of how I got to where I am in business today – it all came from my own personal experience as a manager

I was tossed into a management role suddenly and unexpectedly.

I remember it like it was yesterday I was 5 months into a frontline position when the president who if you had have asked me at the time, I didn’t even think he knew my name but he did and he walked up to my desk of the company pulled me into his office and twenty minutes later I walked out with two things – a promotion and an office. To say I was confused and underprepared would be a huge understatement.

I said yes, but probably shouldn’t have because I didn’t know where to start and what to do.

My under confidence and incompetence led to me making a host of mistakes which led to an unhealthy team culture and it almost cost me my job.

Eventually I made a decision that I wanted to be a great manager, I wanted my team and those around me to speak highly of my work and I wanted to live up to the responsibility I was given. I mean the president of the company singled me out for a reason – I wanted to rise to that challenge.

So I took things seriously and I sought out the help I knew I needed. I got a mentor and I started going to conferences and iteratively implemented these strategies and started documenting my findings, which created the framework that I teach today!

After making these changes my team dynamic completely turned around.

I was able to scale a 4 person team with no processes no systems into a team of 25 that began servicing over 100 franchises across north america.

And eventually I was even promoted again. But this time not unexpectedly into senior leadership.

My hard work had paid off and my team as a result also benefited from me getting my act together. This experience proved to me how important leadership truly is. So when time came where I wanted to move on and do something differently, it only made sense that I go in some sort of direction of leadership – which my team at the time heavily supported.

I then decided to narrow in on new managers because when looking at my trajectory I felt as though had someone helped me within those first couple months my experience would have been better sooner.

So I decided to teach new managers leadership skills to help make their lives easier.

Now while I understood the leadership itself – I knew NOTHING about owning a business. And boy has it been a difficult journey.

From figuring out how to build a brand, to creating a product that works and getting it out there through content creation – it has not been easy. But I continue to move forward because every week when I interact with my student’s and I hear how their lives are changing as a result of the program, I remember just how important my work is and I keep moving even though sometimes I feel tired of the business component of things!

That being said, the biggest thing I’ve learned in my two years of business is – to focus on the impact that I’m making rather than the issues of business that can easily weigh you down if you let it. Every Monday morning I take the time to think about my student’s and ground myself into their success. Because that’s the reason why I got into this at the end of the day to make other people’s lives better as a result of my own learnings.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ooooh I like this question. I would probably take them to Little Havana in Miami. One of my fav restaurants is there that serves awesome cuban food and there is always a live band. I love it. Then I’d take them to the south beach to walk around at the beach perhaps get some gelato on the boardwalk and then chill at the beach.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Robert Rosedale

Robert was my mentor in corporate who was the first person to see and communicate to me that I was doing something special and that I was good at what I did. He also took the time to teach me so many inspiring and practical methodologies. It is largely because of his mentorship, guidance and example that I am where I am today.

Website: https://makedaandrews.com/

Instagram: makeda.andrews

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makedaandrews/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/makedaandrews