We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Allison Galloway-Gonzalez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Allison below.
Allison, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
When I was very young, under 2 years, I was in foster care and adopted by my now parents. I was already very charismatic, confident, and independent. My first sentence was “I do it myself”. I think that formative experience was what really became my resilience. Without being too morbid, I think my subconscious knew that I had already been given up by the person that should have unconditional love for me and I made it. There was more love to find and even still more to give.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
There are many pivotal moments that have my life branch in one way or another but my favorite one to share is that at the age of 8 I was opting out of the typical lemonade stand– instead, I made art and sold it door to door for a dollar (or a penny if you couldn’t afford it) – A non-profit arts administrator already.
Even now running my own arts related business, Mom and dad are still surprised I can make a living in the arts. but I have always found a way to surround myself with what I love and thrive. I can’t live without feeding that creative fever and supporting that community for all our sakes.
I have discovered that consulting specifically, I get to help people in various ways and most often a am a therapist, firefighter or matchmaker! Our firm was built during the first year of the pandemic, and its core mission is to support organizations and individuals through change. We help problem solve, find possibilities, innovate and build resilience.
We love to see the positive, the adventure and the light at the end of the tunnel. We also practice this as much as we advise. In fact, just today, we closed on commercial building. We will begin construction shortly in order to turn what was a factory union worker meeting hall in the 1930s into a place for resources, mentor, learning and collaborating opportunities for artist, consultants and non-profit workers. A “3rd place” for those that give so much to their community.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The way you treat other has always been the highest priority for me. Everything I have done well has been in part due to the people around me. I now work with people who were several rungs above me 5 years ago and people who were my very own interns. The folks I find the most challenging to work with are those who mask their own insecurities by criticizing others.
I believe clear boundaries are kindness. Getting clear with yourself about your own wants, needs and tolerances is so important. Then the next step is to kindly lay those out for others to engage with you or not. Learn to hear that from others too. Miscommunication is the death of progress.
I once had an employee say to me that she “thought she was too awkward to be successful but them she met me.” Of course, she was mortified realizing she has just called me awkward but I knew exactly what she meant and I still think it is the best compliment I have ever had. You don’t need to lose you personality to be successful. Always be willing to say I don’t know but I want to learn.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Our agency in currently organizing our scaling model to meet needs in the sector. There are so many areas we are exploring and I love to connect with people!
First, we are building our services for individuals, learning experiences for new non-profit managers, director, CEO and board members. These will include everything from writing a fundraising plan to coordinating a group insurance plan for individual artists, consultants and non-profit employee that do not currently have access to affordable options.
Second, we are looking to share systems and planning work. We think there are so many tools and processes that can be shared across the industry, we would love to help build a library of resources for all.
Finally, we are a national agency and we are always looking for new consultants so we would love to talk with folks considering consulting work or those interested in being under a larger agency umbrella.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gallowaygonzalez.com
- Instagram: @gallowaygonzalezconsulting
- Linkedin: Galloway Gonzalez Consulting
Image Credits
Toni Smailagic
