Executive Coach and Author Andree Aiken

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this morning. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Transitional Coaching Andree Aiken. How are you?

Andree Aiken: I am doing well today, so thank you for having me. I am excited about our time together and just looking forward to talking about coaching and leadership.

Stone Payton: Well, it’s an absolute delight to have you in the studio. And, Andree, if you want to, a little bit of insight to her work ethic, her energy, her enthusiasm. She drove up here this morning to little old Woodstock, Georgia, here in my studio from Columbus, Georgia. We are so glad to have you. I got a thousand questions, Andree. I know we won’t get to them all, but maybe a great place to start would be if you could paint a bit of a picture. Share with me and our listening audience. Mission. Purpose. What are you really out there trying to do for folks?

Andree Aiken: Um, well, I’m mostly focused on leaders because I feel like that is my heart. Um, uh, specifically middle managers or C-suite leaders and just helping them to hone their craft and find work life balance. And, um, I actually I’ve actually been a leader since I was 17 years old. Um, it was a funny story. My, um, my youth pastor at the time left, uh, Jamaica to go for, uh, go to the Cayman Islands on an opportunity that was available for him there. And then I was sort of Sort of like, you know, chucked into the, the road. And, uh, it was fun for me, though. I had so much fun leading or or youth group. Um, so much talent, so much potential. So much purpose. Uh, it was in an inner city community, and I can tell you about, uh, just hundreds of kids who came out of those times with us as leaders who poured into them. And they’re now teachers, doctors. I mean, it’s it’s tremendous. They have their own families. They’re doing very, very, very well. And so leadership has always been my heart. It’s it’s my heartbeat. I, I want to see to to to see leaders serve, serve their communities, serve the people that are around them. Um, for for some, yes, it’s a business and you have to make, um, money. But the most important thing is to care about people, to love people, to care about them. And when you care about people, they will do will do anything for you.

Stone Payton: Amen. All right. Let’s fill in the rest of the backstory. So you’ve got this environment, you’re getting this experience. You’re probably having that behavior modeled for you. You’re emulating that. You’re thoroughly enjoying it. So fill us in between, uh, there. And how in the world you landed here doing this kind of work?

Andree Aiken: So, um, from from, uh, my experience at 17 years old, um, I started working at an airline, um, in leadership there as well. Um, and then I moved here from, uh, Jamaica. You probably heard an accent stone. Uh, yes. I moved there from from Jamaica. It was a transfer with a company that I worked for. A residential company. Um. Teen challenge. Um, and so I moved here in 2008, in the middle of the recession, uh, to to actually work with our training department, raising up emerging leaders. There’s um. Because in Teen Challenge, uh, at least 50% of our graduates from our residential program and, uh, they actually come in, we, we train them to become leaders. So they’re now executive directors and other leaders, uh, in the, in our programs. And we have about 24, um, 24 centers around in six states in the southeast United States. So that’s how I got to, to, um, this area to Georgia, uh, October 1st, 2008, 16 years ago. Um, from from my experience in the training department, I also helped to, uh, or executive, um, um, chairman of the board. We, I also worked with our CEO or president and CEO of both Global Teen Challenge and Teen Challenge Southeast. Um, I was director of a regional office, um, in Columbus, Georgia. And so I’ve had that so many opportunities to work with different leaders, um, to actually, uh, coach other leaders in, in, in the nonprofit industry. And from there, in 2013, I did my, my, um, degree with Regent University. I did a master’s degree in organizational leadership and, uh, focus on coaching and mentoring. And so it was my, my I call her my mentor. Uh, she actually did such a fantastic job training us to to become coaches that, uh, she recommended that I join the International Coaching Federation and start my own business. So I started my business in 2013. I’ve been doing it for for part time for about 11 years. And then, uh, last year, I started to do it full time for the very first time. And it has been an amazing, amazing experience.

Stone Payton: Was that a little bit scary though, jumping off.

Andree Aiken: Full Or even part time. It was a little bit scary jumping off, um, of, you know, you’re leaving. Uh, I had a very good salary. Very good income. You know, um, medical, medical benefits, um, just all of the benefits that come at that level of leadership. Um, but I knew it was time to to actually start doing my business full time. And so I took the leap, and it’s been amazing. It’s a faith walk.

Stone Payton: Yeah. I’ll bet. So what, 11, 12 years in at this point? What are what are you finding the most rewarding? What are you enjoying the most about the work these days?

Andree Aiken: I think what I’m enjoying the most and I’ve always enjoyed this, is just to see people, um, they have a dream, they have a passion. They have maybe an aspiration. It’s just in their head. But when they connect with a coach, We are helping them to bring that to life. We’re helping them to see that what they’re they just have as a thought or a dream can actually be a reality. And so as a coach, I love helping people, just starting with just a business idea and walking them through the process of actually starting the business and seeing them thrive in their businesses. I enjoy seeing C-suite leaders I’m working with. I was working with a company last year. They were going through a bit of a transition. Lots going on. They had been going through the transition for three years. Lots going on. Um, but we we got together. Um, I was consulting with them. We got together, uh, we did a strategic plan. And now to see they have a clear vision, a clear direction of where they want to go. They have a clear Um, outline a template of how they’re going to do their hiring because there was a lot of turnover with the transition. Um, how to do their hiring? Just helping helping leaders succeed. I love to help people to succeed and thrive. That’s what I enjoy most about my my, my, my business. And that’s what I enjoyed most about the nonprofit that I worked for as well.

Stone Payton: So you’re also tied to a nonprofit.

Andree Aiken: Uh, teen challenge was the nonprofit that I worked for? Yes. Oh, neat. Yes. Yes.

Stone Payton: So have you found that over the years, the challenges that leaders face have changed or evolved? Or is it pretty much the same challenges across the board, even from way back then? Or a little bit of both?

Andree Aiken: I think, uh, obviously it has escalated a little bit with Covid, but I think leaders face a lot of change. Uh, in, in, in, in, in the, the, the, um, the era that we’re living in. Change is a must. It’s. It’s automatic. It’s every second that something changes. And so having to to to pivot, having to, um, balance all of the changes, the things that are coming at them on a day to day, but also maintaining, um, what’s working, maintaining the operations and, and being able to maintain the operations, but also to pivot to, to be creative, to do it better, to do it more efficient, um, to do it smarter, to work to work smarter, not harder. Um, they are faced with some of that and all, you know, coming out of Covid as well. Um, you probably know this stone. A lot of leaders resigned their positions, whether it’s for profit or nonprofit leaders. They resigned their positions because it was just too much. Um, leaders face, uh, boundaries. You know, having that boundary between work life balance. Amen. That’s burnout. Yes yes yes. Yeah. That’s that’s I mean, the burnout rate is is is increasing. Um, and that’s because, you know, you, you can’t pour out into an organization or into people what you don’t have inside of you. Yeah. You have to take time and spend time for your own self-care, for your own health, for your own, um, mental health, uh, physical. Physical. Just your wellbeing. Um, there should be a focus on that for you to actually lead. Well.

Stone Payton: Okay, let’s talk about the work a little bit. What is the mechanism or what are the mechanisms for executing the work. Is it one on one interaction. Is it group work. Is it how do you get the work done?

Andree Aiken: Um, so for me as a coach, I do several things. I do individual coaching. So I do have some individual clients as well. Um, I also have group A group coaching. There’s a health and wellness company that I work for. I do some group coaching with them as well. Um, and also consulting training, speaking. I have had training in all of those areas, and usually as a coach will will stick to their passion and the, the, the giftings that they have, their strengths. If you’re thinking of becoming a coach, uh, think about all of your strengths, all of your giftings, the areas that you’ve worked in. And when you think about those areas, you will find that those are the things that you’re passionate about that makes you come alive, that makes you wake up and get out of bed and go do it. Even though it’s it’s six degrees outside and and snowing. Those are the things that that, that pushes you to actually, um, get up and go. And so for me, it’s all the things that I, I, the giftings, my strengths and everything that everything that I. Every area that I worked in for the last 52 years of my life or less.

Stone Payton: So tell me a little bit about your market, your tribe. Have you found that you’ve gravitated to certain types of businesses or certain types of leaders or industry or anything like that?

Andree Aiken: Yes. Um, I’ve gravitated more towards, um, obviously persons who are in the recovery field. Um, and by recovery, I mean, um, mental wellness kind of field. And also I’ve gravitated towards, uh, persons who are business owners. Um, so I’ve helped quite a few business owners, uh, start their businesses, small businesses, obviously, they’re just starting out, uh, small businesses. Um, I can’t say to you it’s It’s female or it’s both genders, male or female. Uh, that’s my niche. I’m a life coach, so I help people with their life. I help people with their leadership. I help people to balance their life and leadership together, because that’s a huge part of a lot of the breakdown in our society today. Taking care of work, yes, but also taking care of your wellness and your wellbeing.

Stone Payton: So I’m from the professional services world currently, and I even grew up kind of in another career. So I resonate with that whole idea. But is that a hard thing to sell? Like, how do you get the new client, the new business?

Andree Aiken: How do I get the new business? Well, you’re going to help me do that, right? Sure. Stone on this program. But I also, um, you know, two of my mentors from a distance are Susan Moore and Amy Porterfield. And what they’ve said, um, through training and one on one coaching is you grow your business through your warm market with coaching. Grow your email list, your email list, and you grow your business through people who you know. It’s people who you know, who know people who you know, referrals. Um, that’s the main way over the last 11, 12 years that I’ve grown my business. And also, um, you know, there is an emphasis on media, um, earned media or paid media. Get your face out there. No, I’m not the kind of girl who likes to be in the the forefront of things, but, um, I know that media helps because if, if, if, if you get your face out there and people see you, I have something to offer that’s of value to someone’s life. You know, years ago I went to a conference in Jamaica, 2000, 2001, and the speaker talked about the graveyard being the richest place on earth, and I wondered about.

Andree Aiken: I was like, why would he say that? And, uh, what he was basically saying is so many people have passed away with their dreams. They had they businesses, bakeries that they wanted to open. They passed away with just ideas that they had for themselves, their, their, their, their goals that they never got a chance to even start. And so I said to myself, then, I would never want to be that kind of a person. And so when I started my business, the same zeal and energy that I do my business, uh, with and the same zeal and energy that I had when I was working for, uh, 40, 49, 50 years, it’s the same energy and zeal I’m going to have Working my own business and earning. And so I haven’t changed anything. I’ve just switched over to doing business full time. Work, work. I work hard for what I want. I don’t expect anyone to give me anything. I work smart and I invest in myself. And I invest in my business.

Stone Payton: Well, say more about that because you touched on that earlier in the conversation. Kind of establishing boundaries, having that work life balance or integration or equilibrium, whatever the right word. Yes. Yeah. What have you learned about that for yourself and what are you bringing to your clients on on that front?

Andree Aiken: For myself it’s it’s know when to stop, know when to as as as you’re doing your business. And I tell my clients this, um, the, the thing that matters most at the end of the day, when all of this is said and done, is your family.

Stone Payton: Yes.

Andree Aiken: What will they say about you at when it’s all said and done? Were you a good dad? Were you a good husband? Were you a good grandpa? It’s your family, right? And so as you. As you’re working and as you’re leading, don’t neglect family. Yeah, I’m big on that.

Speaker4: I can tell.

Andree Aiken: I didn’t grow up with my dad. My my my dad wasn’t there with me when I was growing up. We have a beautiful relationship now. But don’t neglect your family at the expense of your dreams of. Of money that you want to make. Um, the most important seat that you would ever come back to is the chair around the dining table with your family. So know when to stop. Know when? For me, it was knowing that I was reaching to a place of burnout. And I was.

Stone Payton: Oh, you were.

Speaker4: Personally okay?

Andree Aiken: Yes. I was reaching to that place. I wasn’t burnt out, but I was. I knew it was coming because at 17 years old, I was put on stress tablets. 17 years old and working with the airline industry. I was put on stress tablets because of that same reason. So I knew. I knew the pressure points, I knew what what to look out for. And so I knew it was time to slow the pace down a little bit, to spend some time to work at a different pace. The United States is a wonderful, wonderful environment to thrive in. Columbus, Georgia, wonderful environment to thrive in Atlanta, Woodstock, surrounding areas, wonderful environment to thrive in. But you have to know your body. Your body tells you stuff. You have to know yourself. You have to do self-care. So eating properly, exercising, going to the gym, um, making sure that I’m spending time with my family, getting and making sure I’m involved in my community as well because community is a is very big for me to anything that I do is it’s going to involve the community and helping the community while I’m doing it, and also working smarter, not harder. Working smart, not harder. Making it easy, making life easy. We have I, we have so much around us that can help us to make life easy for everybody. And so tapping into those things, um, time management is one of those things that, that, that we have to really, um, focus on. I had to focus on, okay. If I wake up. If I do 14 hours per day and I’m an early riser, you can tell.

Speaker4: Oh, yeah. She is that that much? I can vouch for gang.

Andree Aiken: I’m an early riser. So if I were 14, 14 hours or 12 hours per day, I know I have to cut it off at at at at least 12. I can work ten, 12, but I have to cut it off. And weekends. Uh, my Sunday is my rest day. Um, connect with my faith. Connect with my family. Connect with friends. That’s my rest day. But the weekends. Spend time with your families. Yeah. If you. If you haven’t heard anything else that I’ve said this morning, there has to be balance as a leader. That’s just one aspect of your role. It’s not all of your role.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Stone Payton: So you mentioned, um, ICF you made a conscious choice to To become formally credentialed as a coach. As you look back, was that the right decision?

Speaker4: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Andree Aiken: That was the right decision. And I have to thank Doctor Dann Weiter at um, Regent University for encouraging me to move forward and to step forward in doing that. Absolutely. The International Coaching Federation is an excellent organization to be credentialed. Um, the process there is a process like everything else. But once you are credentialed, you have credibility. Um, people, it’s a global organization. So you not only have credibility in the United States and there is a IKF chapter in Georgia as well, but you have credibility all over the world. Um, right now, one of my clients is from Israel.

Speaker4: Wow.

Andree Aiken: It’s it’s so it’s all over, and I got connected through them. Um, I believe it was through, uh, Upwork that I got connected with them. Mhm. Uh, but they’re, they are a credible organization. The process there’s a, there’s a process that you have to go through to be credentialed with them. But I’ve gotten clients through the International Coaching Federation because I’m one of their mentor coaches. And so I’ve had income coming in from the ICF because people go on, uh, their directory and they find my name. Obviously, my name is probably top of the list because it’s AA.

Speaker4: There you go. I like the old yellow Pages.

Speaker5: It’s it’s AA.

Andree Aiken: But I’ve had income coming through the International Coaching Federation through their mentor coaching, being just being a mentor coach on their platform. And so it’s it’s been I would say yes yes yes yes yes. Get get credentialed uh your credentials through the International Coaching Federation.

Stone Payton: So what’s next for you? What are we going to have? The the Andrey method? Are we coming out with, uh, continuing to work on thought leadership?

Speaker4: And, uh, I do.

Andree Aiken: A bit of, um, uh, training. And so right now I’m working on a digital course and, uh, it’s. Yes, I it’s, it’s, it’s coming for the I’m hoping to launch it in March and it’s, it’s, it’s a course that helps executive leaders think about protecting their time and how their priorities and what’s most important. And the reason why I came up with this course is because in talking to the C-suite leaders that have been, um, uh, coaching, uh, this past year, I’ve realized that, uh, the one thing that both their executive assistants and the they themselves say that they need is, um, how to guard my time from the noise, from everything else that’s happening around me. People that are pulling on me. How do I how do I protect my time? And so, uh, I’ll be doing that digital course. It is called Zero Distraction Leadership How to protect your Time and Prioritize impact. And so I’m working that on that course, that digital course that’s coming. I’m hoping to launch in March. And so I am definitely excited about that. I’m excited about helping more people through our membership platform, uh, through taking this course and just connecting with me one on one for coaching.

Stone Payton: So you clearly will have a thorough answer for this, I suspect, because you’ve touched on it. It’s it’s like been, uh, woven throughout the whole conversation. But I like to ask people, uh, about their passions outside the scope of their work. For example, my listeners know almost all of them know I like to hunt, fish and travel. Right. So when you do take that time for yourself and your family, is there something that you like to nerd out about and particularly enjoy doing?

Speaker5: Yes, I.

Andree Aiken: Am an islander, right? I grew up around the ocean and so I love swimming. I, I will swim for hours. I would be at the beach for, for for a full day in the sun. Um, I love anything that says water, waterfalls, rivers. Um, anything that says water. I’ll be there. Um, I also enjoy reading. And obviously, yeah, I nerd out about reading. I read a lot of leadership books. I also read a lot of self-help books as well. Mhm. Um, and, um, I also enjoy hiking. I like to be in the outdoors. Yeah. Um, I love the outdoors. I love trees. I was when I was driving up this morning, I was looking at the beautiful trees coming into, um, coming out of, uh, Columbus, into Atlanta. Just that it was just so beautiful. The sun was just rising and just coming up through the trees. So I love hiking. Um, that’s those are a few of my passions. And then, uh, if I, if I don’t want to get outside, it’s probably just staying home watching a movie, a nice movie or something like that.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Stone Payton: I’m so glad I asked. So before we wrap, I would love to leave our listeners, if we could, with a couple of of pro tips. Just, uh, something to be chewing on. Maybe it’s a to do a not to do. Maybe it’s something that maybe they should be reading or some insight on how coaching might work for them. Um, whatever you think would be most valuable for them. And look, gang, the number one pro tip is reach out and have a conversation with Andrew, and we’ll make sure that that you have her contact information here in a little bit. But let’s let’s leave them with a little something to noodle on.

Andree Aiken: Yeah. Um, I think I’m going to hit on, you know, the coaching aspects of things. Um, I was talking to Stone earlier on. And coaching is becoming, you know, more, uh, more well known uh, in, in our society today. And, uh, you may be thinking, well, you know, do I really need a coach? I can do this on my own. It’s like we make new New Year’s resolution every year. And by they say, actually, statistics say by the second, the second week in January, these resolutions are out the door, out of sight.

Speaker4: Out of mind. Yeah.

Andree Aiken: That’s why you need a coach. That’s why you need a coach. Because a coach helps you to be accountable, to set those goals, to work on your action steps. They’re there to to help you to think through. Uh, ICF says it’s a thought provoking conversation that brings the awareness so that you can grow in your professional and personal lives. And so a coach will help you to stay on track to accomplish your goals. I can say, um, without a shadow of a doubt that I would not be where I am today if I didn’t have people cheering me on. A coach is your cheerleader. They’re cheering you on. They’re they’re there to to to to celebrate your wins, to encourage you when you’re probably a little bit off track. They’re there to celebrate you. They believe in you. They tell you they’re proud of you. They tell you that you’re going to succeed and you feel like you’re going to succeed. It’s like I was watching the the football game last night. Um, bills and the Buffalo Bills and the Ravens. Right. Watching the game. And I’m seeing everything unfolding, and I’m seeing how the coaches are praising. They they’re like, so excited for, for for when a touchdown is made or or ah or when some, some someone actually, you know, gets, gets the ball back. That’s what a coach does. They celebrate the people on their team. And I would love to partner with you and celebrate you as you pursue your dreams and your goals. Uh, for 2025 and beyond.

Stone Payton: All right. What’s the best way for people to to reach out? Tap into your work. Have a more substantive conversation with you. Website, email, LinkedIn, whatever is appropriate.

Andree Aiken: Uh, website is Andree king.org. So that’s a n d e r e a I k e n dot o r g. And, uh, my email is just my first name before that e n d e r e at Andree dot o r g. And, um, my Instagram is at Andree Akin, very simply at Andree Akin. And I’m looking forward to just hearing more from you guys and seeing how I can best serve you.

Stone Payton: Well, Andrey, it has been an absolute delight having you in the studio this morning. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm. It’s it’s contagious. And the work you’re doing for people really is having tremendous impact. We sure appreciate you.

Andree Aiken: Thank you for having me. I appreciate you, and I’m looking forward to just working with you more. Thank you.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Andrey Aytekin with transitional coaching and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.