"Don't slow down"
Maria Kelly is an executive coach who strengthens her client’s leadership development and ongoing professional and personal growth. Over the years she has supported emerging and C-Suite leaders, internationally renowned experts, and many others giving them the tools to lead bravely with their heads and hearts.
Her well-earned reputation for building strong relationships at all levels of the business and her effective communication skills enables her to understand the challenges her clients face every day. As an experienced executive leader, Maria offers a wealth of knowledge acquired over two+ decades at Sotheby’s one of the world’s leading auction houses, where she led people, departments and businesses globally generating >$500 million in sales annually.
Today, as a business owner, she gets to do what she loves. Through individual coaching, she empowers her clients who care about their people and their social impact, to become more effective, better communicators and more courageous leaders.
Swiss/Irish & multilingual, Maria has lived in Geneva, New York, London and now Barcelona, loves multicultural environments and working with international businesses. When she is not helping her clients, she volunteers as a mentor or at the local food pantry, attends a Toastmaster reunion, or goes hiking with her husband and their Jack-a-Bee.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Maria Kelly: I’m Irish but born and raised in Geneva, Switzerland speaking French and English. I started my career at Sotheby’s, one of the world’s leading auction houses as a shipping coordinator.
I grew within the business, seizing the opportunities as they came, relocating to New York and London. Twenty years later I was leading global multimillion-dollar divisions. But the higher you get in the hierarchy the less in touch you feel with the people and the day to day running of the business, which were the things I really enjoyed.
It was time for a change. I moved to Barcelona with my husband and our dog, learned Spanish and started my own business. I now do what I love as a leadership development coach, and I’m making it my mission to give leaders who care about their people and their social impact the tools to succeed.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Maria Kelly: There has been a lot written about how the companies that were flexible and ready to pivot, did well as they were quick to adapt. In the same way, leaders have had to develop new skills or pivot to some underused skills to adapt to the needs of their teams.
I believe that the companies that will thrive are not the ones trying to go back to how things were but the ones who will embrace what happened as a growth opportunity.
Those who will use the learnings and acknowledge the new expectations of the workforce and realise the importance of having a strong culture and good communication. I’ve personally learned to be grateful for what I have and to not take anything or anyone for granted.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Maria Kelly: Focus on the future, not on the past. Things have changed and will most likely never be the same. Companies need to be innovative and prepare for this kind of situation to happen again in the future.
It can mean developing new streams of income, diversifying, or changing the business model completely. But above all, the people are the future so as Sir Richard Branson said, “Take care of your people, they’ll take care of your business”.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Maria Kelly: According to a report by PwC, the coaching industry is the second fasted growing industry in the world. Its estimated size in 2019 was $15 billion and it’s expected to reach $20 billion this year.
I started my business in the middle of the pandemic as did a lot of people I know and for most of us, it is about freedom, doing something fulfilling and finding a sense of purpose.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Maria Kelly: Don’t slow down. There is a bunch of things I put on the back burner thinking I needed to wait for the world to open again. Such as reaching out to my network more actively. That was in fact the best time to do it! There is no better time than now…lesson learned.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Maria Kelly: I like to focus on the positive and there is a lot of good that came out of this crisis. As much as I am looking forward to getting back to seeing people face to face, the reality is that the pandemic has given me opportunities to work with people all over the world in a way I would not have had before.
I can’t wait to have sessions in the Metaverse! There are also benefits for the environment and family life when people can cut back their commuting and work from home, if not needed to be physically in the office. It’s all about finding the balance.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Maria Kelly: Too many!
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Maria Kelly: I’m a team of one, but I will tell you how I help my clients with storytelling. Decide on your message then script your story with a structure, (beginning, middle, end).
Think about metaphors or analogies you could use to help bring it to life and make it more tangible for your audience, but not too many the message needs to be clear. If it helps, create a bullet point card that you can use as a cheat sheet, but don’t read off it. Tell your story with your voice, don’t try to play a role, use words that are you, and don’t be afraid to appeal to your audience’s emotions. Find a way of repeating your message throughout the story to drive it home. Keep it short and simple!
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Maria Kelly: As a new business owner, the challenge for me is building a robust pipeline of clients to minimise the roller coaster effect.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Maria Kelly: I learned a lot about online marketing in the past months and will continue.
I’ve signed up for Toastmasters to improve my public speaking skills. Even though I have done it throughout my career, I haven’t for the past two years so I felt that it would be a good way to get back on the saddle. It also allows me to meet people locally, network and make new friends.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Maria Kelly: Yes, I do think a lot of leaders do not recognise themselves and will blame the pandemic or the WFH situation. It’s difficult to be self-aware without help. You must recognise that there is a problem, that you are part of the problem and finally be ready to make amends and change.
It starts with listening.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Maria Kelly: I admire people who can speak with anyone about anything eloquently. Most people think I’m an extrovert when in reality, I’m an introvert who pushes herself constantly.
That superpower would change my life.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Maria Kelly: Success for my business is reaching my financial goals and therefore gaining the freedom of deciding who I work with, when I work and where I work.
Personal success is delivering a certain number of public speeches and getting my Spanish to a spoken fluency level.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Maria Kelly for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Maria Kelly or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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