"However, the main leadership driver is that I’ve selected other geniuses to help carry out my mission."
Too often our personal desire to be understood overpowers that to understand. That’s why Founder and CEO of Focused Training Solutions, Dr. Tonya Robertson is taking charge to ensure that businesses owners understand the impact of poorly trained team members on organizational profitability.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us, please introduce yourself to our readers.
Tonya Robertson: I’m Dr. Tonya Robertson, Founder of Focused Training Solutions, an employee training agency, and I’m in love with creating AH-MAZING training experiences for business owners and leaders with teams. Why…because as a previous educator, I’ve been forced to sit through trainings, facilitated by other education experts, that bored me to death! The most exciting part of the day was lunchtime (shhh…don’t tell anyone).
In those moments, I knew there had to be a better way. So, I challenged the common one size fits all learning approach and vowed to create training experiences that were fun, technologically engaging, practical, and would leave the learners thirsty for more. And then the team transformations began! My clients witnessed better customer service experiences, increased team productivity, and higher levels of operational efficiency.
To get us started, Can you tell our readers what does your company solve differently in the crowded marketplace? Give an example or share a story.
Tonya Robertson: We believe that employees are most productive in the workforce when they feel whole and supported. In using our industry-exclusive Team Transformation Framework™, we make space for every team member’s voice to be amplified and considered when shaping training experiences for teams.
While your company is growing, what are some of the challenges you face? Hiring? Tech development? Raising capital? Branding? Tell us more about the journey.
Tonya Robertson: Because technology is constantly advancing, keeping up with market transformations is not always easy. Our customers aren’t always eager to adopt the latest technological advances in the training space.
Everyone has a different story, what influenced your decision to be an entrepreneur, what would you have done differently?
Tonya Robertson: As I began to realize my talents while navigating the working world, I did not like that my earning potential was capped. I wanted to create opportunities for others like me and show them what was possible. And most importantly, I wanted to model before my children the possibilities afforded when one is a business owner versus an employee.
Now for the main focus of this interview: what qualities or characteristics do women entrepreneurs have that make them great leaders? Please share some examples.
Tonya Robertson: As a leader, managing the workload can be challenging and you can’t assume that your team can read your mind. However, the main leadership driver is that I’ve selected other geniuses to help carry out my mission. I delegate and stay in my lane while they make the magic happen. I create opportunities for two-way communication so we can talk through improvements. And I am always open to feedback as well.
What are some of the biggest challenges you still see women face while conducting business, compared to their male counterparts? What would you like to see change, and how would you make it happen?
Tonya Robertson: Women still shoulder most of the household burden while running a business and managing many roles compared to men. I would like to see more financial and time support offered to assist women to easily access self-care.
With all of your experience as a business leader, what is the most important thing you can tell fellow entrepreneurs that you’d like to share with aspiring women entrepreneurs?
Tonya Robertson: My advice is don’t be afraid to ask for help. We often feel inclined to do it all on our own. Also, stop seeking validation for our visions. Your vision is just that…your vision and no one else’s.
What do you plan on tackling during 2022? Share your goals and battles you expect to face.
Tonya Robertson: Our first point of focus (always) is to continue exploring ways to serve our current customers well. With that in mind, we’ve identified a few service offerings that will help them be more profitable. We plan to deploy these offerings in Q3.
How do you keep learning? Podcast? Books? Audiobooks? Videos? Share some of your greatest sources of inspiration? Share an impactful story.
Tonya Robertson: I am a forever student and love to tune in to a great audiobook on any business development or personal development topic. I love learning strategies to do better business.
I’m sure our readers will be very thankful for the insights you have shared. Where can our readers follow up with you?
Tonya Robertson: Follow up with me at [email protected] or visit the website www.FocusedTrainingSolutions.com to learn more.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Tonya Robertson 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 Tonya Robertson or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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