Alicia R. Thompson with Signature Leadership LLC

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 Signature Leadership, LLC, Alicia Thompson. How are you?

Alicia Thompson: I’m great. Nice to be here.

Stone Payton: Oh, it’s a delight to have you in studio. I got a ton of questions, Alicia. We may not get to them all, but then again, maybe we will. But let’s start with the mission. Purpose? What? What are you really out there trying to do for folks?

Alicia Thompson: I am trying to help people hold on to their mojo and figure out how to be excellent leaders. We all want to work for great people. Why not be one yourself? So that’s my goal.

Stone Payton: I love that. I feel the mojo. I like that. So how’d you get into this line of work? Because you weren’t always doing this. You’ve got a pretty star studded corporate career before this. Yeah.

Alicia Thompson: Yeah. I spent 30 years in corporate America. And to that statement I just made, I worked for some great leaders, some not so great leaders, and I decided that there was just a tug on my heart to help people be the best leader they could be, and to enjoy their work, because we have too many years to work to not enjoy it. So I, with a layoff, decided this was the perfect time to pivot my career and start helping people be the leaders that they wanted to be.

Stone Payton: So what was that transition like? I mean, it had to be a little bit intimidating to go from the corporate arena to hanging your shingle out and becoming a practitioner. But, I mean, you’re also you’re running a Business, right?

Alicia Thompson: Yeah. It was scary to know that the only paycheck coming in was going to be based on my effort and my hard work, but I just felt a calling to do it. And now that I am doing it, I love it. Even with the stress of running a business and being solely responsible for clients engagement. I love it. It jazzes me. I got my mojo.

Stone Payton: Well, let’s dive into the work a little bit. Tell us a little bit about the mechanism for the work, who you’re working with, that kind of thing. Yeah.

Alicia Thompson: So I am working with both emerging leaders, people who are starting to transition from being an independent contributor to managing people. But I also work with senior leaders who are trying to navigate this changing world of work. The world of work has changed significantly with technology advances, the rise of AI. The pandemic changed people’s mindsets. We have Millennials and Gen Xers in the marketplace now. So you’re working with multigenerational workforces and the contract. I believe the contract between employees and employers has changed coming out of the pandemic, the power shifted to the employee, but now we’re at a place where it’s starting to swing back the other way. So how do you constantly navigate all of these changes? So I really focus on helping established leaders navigate all of the change.

Stone Payton: So when you at least initially are working with these folks, do you find that sometimes they’re feeling a little overwhelmed with all this change?

Alicia Thompson: They are feeling overwhelmed and a lot of them are established leaders, as I said. So they don’t know how to change, right? They don’t may not want to change, but they realize they need to. So they work with a coach who helps them see their hidden Achilles heels, helps them drive some awareness and some self-awareness about how they are showing up in the market, in, in the workforce, and then shifts their mindset so that they start to embrace the growth that is required for long term sustainability in a leadership role.

Stone Payton: So are you finding that these opportunities to to serve are being sponsored by the organization, or is it individuals coming to you to invest in their own future? A little bit of both. It’s a little.

Alicia Thompson: Bit of both. I’d say 50% of my clients are self-pay. Yeah. And 50% of them, their companies have seen them as high performance opportunities and are investing in their growth and their leadership because they see them as valuable assets to the company.

Stone Payton: So the work of a coach, in your experience, and I’m sure it differs from case to case and maybe from coach to coach, do you find that on the continuum? It leans a little more toward drawing answers out or helping people sort of, uh, uh, find their own answers or more to hey, this is what you need to do. Boom boom boom. What’s what’s your experience been?

Alicia Thompson: So the latter is mentoring. This is one of the things I learned in my coaching program okay. The latter is mentoring. You’re giving advice, you’re driving insights. But real core coaching is around asking really great questions that make the client go, oh, that’s what that is. Or you make them challenge the point of view or the perspective that they came into it with their steadfast in their opinion and their point of view. And you ask them questions to help pull back the layers to say, is that really true, or are you is that a perception you have or an assumption you have and you make them start to really question, is that what is that reality? And then they can get to the answer. The answer was already in them. Sometimes they block it, Sometimes they know it, but they’ve chosen to ignore it. It’s a mixed bag.

Stone Payton: So you had role models who were really good leaders, and you’ve had the street cred of of that experience. Did you also choose to go pursue any formally credentialed training kind of stuff to really get get good at asking these questions?

Alicia Thompson: I did I had the the amazing benefit of attending or participating in the Emory University Executive Education Coaching program, and that is where I had my aha moment. I think it’s what they told us on first day was you’re not giving advice. You’re asking questions to help uncover their self-awareness. And I was like, oh, I’ve been I’ve been mentoring for 20 years, and now you’re telling me I got to shift my mindset? Um, so I did. I went through a program because it’s not required, but it is certainly endorsed that you have a international coaching federation, ICF. Oh yeah. Accreditation or credential. And so many of us are going through that process or have been through the process. There are several levels of it, but I think I was in a class of 35 or 40. So there’s a lot of coaches out there. There’s a lot of competition.

Stone Payton: So do you see, I’m sure every case has got to be unique in so many ways. But do you see patterns evolve when especially early in the work and you walk into this think, okay, I’ve seen this before, so I’m going to ask this set of questions. Are there some common patterns? I guess I would ask?

Alicia Thompson: There are definitely some common challenges that people face. So imposter syndrome is one. And a lot of people like liken imposter syndrome to only women. But I can’t tell you how many of my male clients have imposter syndrome as well. And it’s just a it’s a question of do I really did I really earn this seat at the table? And is anyone in the room going to figure out that I don’t know what the heck I’m doing, but I’m faking it till I make it. And so there are certain questions that you ask because you want to understand where that sense of not being entitled to be in the room comes from. And a lot of it we can trace back to childhood and roles in the family and behaviors of the family dynamic and the family unit. And so there’s some key questions you can ask to start to help the person go, oh, like, look at my resume. I, I have accomplished amazing things and I can be in this room. So imposter syndrome is one. I think the second one that I come across a lot is people who question or challenge their capability to lead people. They understand that they probably got promoted because they were a great individual contributor. But companies don’t train people how to be managers. That’s how you end up with bad leaders, because you don’t train them to be lead people. But all of a sudden you give them a promotion and give them a team. They go have at it. They’ve never done a performance review, they don’t know how to give feedback effectively. But that’s what teams need. They need good feedback. They need someone that can have empathy, somebody that is authentic, someone that can coach them. But we don’t train people to do that. So they’re flying by the seat of their pants.

Stone Payton: And I’m sitting here trying to envision the level of trust that you must have to engender with these folks before you can really make any substantive cover, any substantive ground on these topics. So you must do some things right out of the box that really establish that trust and give them the the latitude to be, I don’t know, a little bit vulnerable or at least honest.

Alicia Thompson: Yeah, And I do initiate the engagements with a chemistry check call, because if they don’t send something in you that allows them to get to that vulnerable place. Yeah. Then the coaching engagement is never going to go anywhere. So I have an hour and a half call with them where we really just talk, just human to human. And if we can find some connectivity, then I do. I, I simply ask, I need in order for this to work, in order for the investment to be worth the spend for you or your company, you’ve got to lay it all on the table, or we’re just doing catch up calls and chatting about kids and all that kind of stuff. So I asked for their vulnerability, I asked for their honesty, and I commit to being the same on my side. And you probably you can probably establish a good trust if you do a six minute, six month engagement by the end of month one, you know if it’s going to be a good relationship. And if they are being vulnerable and they need some small wins. I always try to give them some small wins in that first month so that they go, oh, this is working okay. I can I can open up even more because she gets it. She’s asking me the things I need to do, and she’s helping me understand the shifts I need to make.

Stone Payton: So you’re a good five years plus in the coaching arena.

Alicia Thompson: I started my company five years ago after one layoff, and then I got chicken and it was like, oh no, I can’t do this. And so I went and got another corporate gig. But I kept my company. Yeah, kept paying my doing my annual registration with the Georgia, you know, office of whatever. Um, and then this year I started my coaching program in January of 2024, you have to coach to get your ICF credential. You have to have a certain number of hours. So I started coaching then and just added that to what I had been doing five years ago and here I am.

Stone Payton: So what are you finding the most rewarding about the work at this point in your career? What’s the most fun about it for you?

Alicia Thompson: You know, seeing people have that aha moment right where you’re talking to them. And I do have clients across the country. Um, and so some of them are in zoom, on zoom, some of them are in person, but when they go, oh my gosh, we talked about that last week and a situation came up at the office and I tried a different approach that we had talked about, and it worked like, well, of course it worked because we talked about, you know, you have to try new things. I also just had a second client come back. We coached early on, right. Finished that six month engagement. We talked on Friday. She says I want to come back for another six months. I’ve got a new struggle that I’m going through. And I was like, well, I must have been doing something right. If you’ve come back a second time, a second bite at the apple.

Stone Payton: So is having an accountability partner part of the equation, or is that a different thing altogether?

Alicia Thompson: No, and that’s exactly what my client that just came back said. She said, I’ve got to make some shifts, but I need an accountability partner. I need somebody that’s going to hold my feet to the fire. Somebody that’s going to be honest with me and not just say, yeah, yeah, yeah, and be a cheerleader. I need somebody that’s going to call me out on my stuff and make sure that I’m doing what I commit to do. And so being an accountability partner is important because what happens is as you move up the chain in a company, you become more senior. Who’s going to hold you accountable. Mhm. The likelihood that your people that report to you are going to call you out on stuff is slim to nil. So you, you don’t happen. And I worked for a CEO once and she said it’s lonely at the top. You don’t know who your friends are. You don’t know who to trust. When you become a CEO and your peer set gets smaller. Yeah.

Stone Payton: So speak a little bit to this idea of leadership presence.

Alicia Thompson: Mhm. Yeah. So I think leadership presence is really important, especially as you become more senior. And there’s kind of a couple of components that I think weave into that authenticity. I can’t tell you how important authenticity is. People need to know what they’re getting any given day and consistently so authentically being yourself because it’s too hard and takes too much energy to try to be something that you’re not. The second thing I say is empathy. Especially in this changing world of work. You’ve got people who are working remote people that are being called back to the office that may not be fitting their new lifestyle. So you’re having some angst there. So empathy is an important thing. Being a lifelong learner is. A third thing is you’ve got to constantly want to grow and improve and be better. You can’t just assume because you are now sitting at the top of the pinnacle, that you’ve achieved everything you’re going to achieve, and you’re the smartest person in the room. And then I’d say, finally, being someone who is committed to their own growth and growing other people.

Stone Payton: So you mentioned you touched on mentors and mentoring. I know the answer to this question has got to be yes. So but I’ll ask anyway so we can talk about it. Uh, it sounds like you have had the benefit of one or more mentors along the way to help you navigate new terrain up to and including the the coaching profession. Yeah.

Alicia Thompson: Yeah. I have had and continue to have amazing mentors. I like to call them my board of directors, and I think everyone should have a board of directors, and it should be a diverse group of men, women, all ethnicities, people who are in your industry, people that are not in your industry, just pure business people. But you can learn something from every one of them. And over the course of your career you will come across challenges where you will have to tap different skill sets. So why not have a group of people on deck that will take your call immediately and help you out? And so that’s what my board of directors is. And there are some amazing mentors, some I talk to every week, some I talk to once a year. I literally just reached out to two of them over the weekend and on LinkedIn, and they responded. And I haven’t talked to one of them in three and a half years. But she responded like that and she said, sure, I’m happy to help you.

Stone Payton: So so what are some signals that someone might look for that would indicate, hey, maybe it really is time for me to reach out and consider engaging a coach.

Alicia Thompson: Yeah, I’d say first you’re feeling stuck. That Mojo has left the room and you’re feeling like something’s missing. You’re not getting the same level of enjoyment out of your work, so definitely You’re feeling stuck. I’d say the second is you’re navigating a big change, either a layoff or organizational changes. You have a new leader. You’ve got a new CEO coming in. You’re not quite sure how that’s going to all work together. So you’re navigating some changes. Your leadership impact feels like it’s not landing the way it should. Like you’re if you like managing a high performing team, but they’re not really performing on the high level right now, you may want to take a step back and say, what more can I do? Or what more should I be doing in order to make help them perform at their highest level? Um, you’re struggling with the work life integration. Like I said, a lot of companies are making people go back to work, but we’ve been home for years learning how to take a call, do laundry, prep dinner, all that stuff. So the flexibility is gone and you’re trying to figure out how you’re going to integrate your work in life again, may need a coach to help you out with that. And finally, I’d say you’re just ready to up your game. You’re ready to be a better version of yourself, and that’s where a coach comes in.

Stone Payton: So what’s the best way to go get one? Because it because it seems overwhelming to me. And and I am doing a series right now, obviously interviewing very well-established coaches to get some insight in this arena. And, and so I feel like I’ve got the inside track, but even I don’t even know where to start to like, go get one.

Alicia Thompson: Yeah, I would say vulnerability for sure. And talking to people say, I’m looking for a coach, you know, this is what I’m doing right now and this is how I would love to have some support, a thought partner. Do you know any coaches? Because the best referrals come from people who know you, right. And so they have a sense of who you are and what makes you tick. So they can they would more likely pair you with somebody that they think has some commonalities with you. You could go on the International Coaching Federation site. You can find a coach on the site. There’s a find a coach function so you can go there. Um, and then I would say, you know, those probably are the two best routes. I think somebody giving you a referral and then going on the ICF, um, website and just finding a coach and, and vetting them, you know, having a couple most coaches will do a chemistry call, 30 minute call just to talk to you, see what it is you want to work on, tell you if it’s something they have a specialty in. Even though I said a few minutes ago, there’s a big competitive space for coaches. There’s a lot of us out there. We also are very much a community. I have found that coaching is very deep, interconnected community, and we will refer each other to someone if we if I meet someone and I don’t think I’m just the right fit or I don’t have a specialty in the area they’re looking for. Well, I’ve got 35 cohorts that went through my Emory program with me, and I know them all well enough that I could say, you know what? I think Chris would be better for you, right?

Stone Payton: So. So no doubt Chris would ask me great questions. What questions should I be asking? Chris?

Alicia Thompson: Right. You should be asking your coach about their experience and their life experiences right there. What things got them or led them to this place, what work experiences they have that you might be able to find some parallels, what experiences they’ve had to find out, if there’s some parallels of things they’ve lived through themselves. You should ask about their credentials. You know, I’ve gone through it, so I want everybody to have theirs, that you should ask them about their credentials. You should ask them about their training. You should ask them about some of their clients, like what does their client mix look like. And because that also can weigh in on their availability and their capacity to take on new clients. Yeah.

Stone Payton: So so on the business side of coaching, we said this earlier, you know, you you continue to hone your craft and become a better and better practitioner. And oh, by the way, you got a you got to run this business, you got to go get the business. And this likely isn’t the case now, I suspect. But early on, was it a bit of a challenge, like getting the work? Like how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a coach, or how does it work for you anyway?

Alicia Thompson: Well, I think it varies by person, by coach for me, because I had 30 plus years in the Atlanta business community, I didn’t have that big of an issue getting my first suite of clients because they were like, oh my God, you’re coaching. Thank God you could use you, I could hire you. And then I had the opportunity to speak on a couple of panels, and in speaking at those panels, people would come up and say, I got somebody I want to refer you to. I think you’d be a great match for her or him. And then now I am getting into that phase where it’s like, oh my God, how do I market this? How do I do this? So that’s why I’m reaching out to some of my mentors who have been in the business world much longer than I have been in sales roles. That’s why you have a diverse board of directors. Um, and so I’m doing that. I’m doing shows like this. I do weekly blogs, so hopefully and put them on LinkedIn. So hopefully something that I talk about will inspire someone to say, hey, I want to have a conversation. I have a website so people can find me through the website. You know, it’s just marketing is different for everyone because not everybody is comfortable being on a radio show. Or sometimes people don’t like to write, so they don’t want to do a blog. I’m trying a mixture of different things right now, just to kind of see what resonates the most with clients and then existing clients. I’m asking them for referrals.

Stone Payton: So has anyone suggested that you write a book?

Alicia Thompson: Everybody has suggested I write a book. Everybody has suggested I write a book. Um, and it’s so funny. My brother is seven years younger than me and he’s writing a book. He’s a college professor, And he’s like, no, you cannot write a book because I know you. You’ll get it done before I get mine done. And I’m like, yeah, probably so, but that’s okay. Um, yeah, people have said that. But when I, when I write a book and I will write one at some point, I want to make sure that it’s something that’s really, really powerfully useful to people. I don’t just want to write a book on a topic du jour. I want to write a topic on a topic that has some staying power, and something that people will continue to be faced with over the course of their career for a long time to come.

Stone Payton: So here’s a pro tip from me. Okay. That I did not follow because my writing a book preceded me being involved in this line of work 20 plus years ago. But if I were to write another one and I might, I think I’m going to sit down and talk it and get it transcribed. Maybe start with some prompts or something, maybe get it transcribed and hand it to a real writer and, you know, and get it cleaned up. So it’s just an idea and it’s it’s a good idea. It’s not something you have to come into a formal studio like this. I mean, you know, there’s equipment now you could set up at the house and. Yeah, and knock it out. Just an idea, because.

Alicia Thompson: That’s a great idea.

Stone Payton: I might do that on the next one.

Alicia Thompson: I think that’s a great idea, and I would think it would be easier. I could tell my brother that because he can talk in wax poetic for hours, but it seems like he’s struggling with typing it out so well.

Stone Payton: For whatever it’s worth for your brother, I found that some of the chapters came together incredibly easy, and others, you know, just I got blank paper staring back at me. Or digital screen really at this point even back then. But I don’t know. We’ll see. But I think that might be a good way to. I think that’s a great idea.

Alicia Thompson: I think that’s a huge, hugely helpful approach. I’m going to make a mental note of that.

Stone Payton: So I’m going to switch gears on you here for a minute outside the scope of your coaching work. Uh, passions, pursuits, hobbies, interests, anything you nerd out about, uh, when, when you’re not doing this. This kind of work?

Alicia Thompson: Yeah. So I’m a huge foodie, so any restaurant, any I follow Eater Atlanta. New restaurants. I’m ready to check them out. Um, I’m in part of a wonderful food group called The Tasting Collective, where they go to a different up and coming not not always up and coming. Some of them have already arrived, but they’re typically independent restaurants, so they’re not chained. Right. And so you’re going in and you’re meeting the chefs. They’re coming out and they’re talking to the diners. It’s amazing. Um, so I love food. Will travel for food. I’ve been to Madrid. I’ve been, you know, like if there’s a food trip, I’m. I’m on board. Um, I love to travel. We’re we’re planning our Christmas trip this year. We’re going to Costa Rica again. Again, because my nieces love Costa Rica. So we’re going back again to see more sloths. Um, so I love to travel and family and friends. Right now that I’m not working in corporate, I have more flexibility with my time. My mom’s moved to Atlanta, so I get the chance to spend time with her. My brother lives in Colorado, so I don’t go out there during the snow time. I won’t get back out there until probably June because they get snow.

Stone Payton: But it’s beautiful in June, it’s.

Alicia Thompson: Beautiful in June. It’s one of the most beautiful cities you’ve ever been to. It’s clean, it’s nice, fresh air. It’s great. Um, and then I think my other passion is I am an adult. Colorer. Right, I love I have a million coloring books, every pen, pencil color you could think of. And I color art pieces all the time. I even now do them on my iPad. They’ve got these things where you can touch. My mom goes, if you send me one more picture, I’m going to scream. Um, but I like things that occupy my mind other than business, right? You need to step away from business and just let your creativity flow. Allows me to be a better coach.

Stone Payton: I think it’s interesting that you say that I’m of the same mind, and my listeners know that I like to hunt, fish and travel and I do a lot of stuff outdoors, but I, I genuinely believe maybe I’m just telling myself this, but I genuinely believe if I give myself a that white space, I call it, I feel like I come back that much better equipped to serve. That’s your experience as well?

Alicia Thompson: That is my experience when you just let your mind focus on something else that again, that creativity, you just get to be you. You come back when it’s time to plug back in to work. I find that I’m much more relaxed. My head is clearer, I better questions come up. Um, yeah. It’s so much better. It’s good for me personally and it makes me a better coach.

Stone Payton: So what’s next for you professionally? Are we going to are we going to have the Alicia method documented and published, or are we going to are we going to continue to expand, going to stay on the same track? What do you think?

Alicia Thompson: I think for now, I my expansion is going to be from 1 to 1 coaching to doing more group coaching and leadership development coaching in companies. Um, so that’ll be like my next step. And then eventually, you know, maybe a book maybe. I don’t know, the world is my oyster right now. And I am just living life and loving it. And so I’m not saying no to any opportunity if it fits with and gives me an opportunity to talk to people and tout the benefits of coaching, that’s what I’m doing.

Stone Payton: Well, I hope you’ll invite us to continue to follow your story.

Alicia Thompson: Absolutely, absolutely.

Stone Payton: Before we wrap, let’s leave our listeners, if we could, with a a pro tip for producing better results and less time. Let’s lay a little wisdom on them. And look, gang, my number one pro tip for you is reach out and have a conversation with Alicia. Uh, but between now and then, let’s leave them with a little something.

Alicia Thompson: So I think my pro tip for being productive and being an amazing leader and team leader would be to listen. Listening effectively goes a very long way. When you listen to respond, you miss 50% or more of the message or the communication that the message that was being delivered. If you listen to hear, you end up coming up with better ideas, a shared idea that everybody’s already bought into because you build on each other. And that better idea typically drives better productivity, because you’ve come up with a solution that you couldn’t have done individually would not have been as effective individually, but collaboratively. It’s going to do gangbusters. And it’s all because you listened.

Stone Payton: What a marvelous piece of counsel. I’m so glad that I asked. Yeah, it has been an absolute delight having you in the studio this morning. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your insight, your perspective. And, uh, you’re clearly out there doing fantastic work for some folks that can, in turn have a tremendous impact on on so many. Thank you.

Alicia Thompson: Thank you. This was a great, great conversation. So much. So really enjoyed this. And um, yeah, be a good leader.

Stone Payton: Well, this has been my distinct pleasure. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Alicia Thompson with Signature Leadership, LLC. And everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you in the fast lane.