Meet Amanda Banks

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Banks . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.

Amanda , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
As a former high level competitive gymnast, work ethic has been engrained in my state of being and started at an incredibly young age. I remember long hard days in the gym and vividly how some were much better than others. There was a constant flow of pushing through challenging skills and the reward that came along with hitting that skill. One of the beautiful things about gymnastics was there was varying levels of skills and some were easier to overcome than others always exercising the muscle of building a strong work ethic. I live by the phrase “put one foot in front of the other” and appreciate the small steps required to reach long term goals and I attribute a lot of that to my experience as an athlete.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m an Entrepreneur, TEDx Speaker + Host + Organizer, Former High-Level Competitive Athlete, Media Show Host, 2023 Nashville Emerging Leaders Award Finalist- Education Category, Consultant, and Business Leader. My company Create and Innovate Solutions, LLC. helps individuals and companies build authentic influence through platforms, events, and relationships. My corporate background is primarily focused on sales, marketing, brand development, healthcare, and technology. I’m passionate about my family, friends, as well as personal growth and development and I believe every conversation is the opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives of others. I serve the community on the Nashville Sports Council – Women in Sports Committee, serves as a Mentor for Vanderbilt’s “The Wond’ry”, and sits as an Advisory Board Member for Austin Peay State University’s LEADher student athlete program.

I’m excited to announce that I’ve started out 2024 launching a Business Relationships Calendar and Journal that’s found on Amazon as well as developed a new program designed to help individuals, teams, and groups “Build Professional Authentic Influence” mainly through a digital lens. This program was developed to help all attendees learn how to leverage speaking, podcasting, relationships, social media (LinkedIn), and other methods of delivering thought leadership to build professional influence and generate new opportunities for themselves and/or their businesses.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Kindness, Curiosity, and Continuous Learning.

When I originally started out my career I wouldn’t say I was exposed to kind leadership. After years of navigating challenging work situations, I moved to another company and had the opportunity to work for an incredible leader. I learned that kindness was an incredible superpower (and differentiator) and realized that’s the type of leader I wanted to be and learned so much from him. His team and company was full of trust. modeled around collaboration, and always encouraged creativity and innovation. The employees were happy to show up as their best selves every day.

As someone that’s naturally curious, I love to ask questions and explore. Curiosity drives innovation, promotes problem solving, and inspires creativity. As an entrepreneur, curiosity is a key component to the puzzle. It’s about identifying opportunities, taking risks, and solving problems. Anytime I’ve seen any success, it often was initiated by a question and something I was curious about.

I believe, continuous learning is one of the best investments one can make. Whether it’s picking up a new book, taking a course, or finding a mentor or coach, continuous learning is a fundamental aspect of thriving in today’s ecosystem.

I’m grateful that I have been exposed to kind leadership and have the opportunity to lead with curiosity and learning. If I was encouraging anyone with some lessons I’ve learned it would be to surround yourself with people that truly want to make a positive impact and care about your personal growth and development. We are all unique and oftentimes our true skillsets and passions get put on the backburner. Surround yourself with healthy leaders and people that want to bring the best out of you.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I’ve got an incredible relationship with my mother and am so grateful that we are so close. She’s shown me what unconditional love and true support looks like. Regardless of how big and audacious my dreams are or what project I want to work on next, she’s always the first to support. We’ve had the opportunity to collaborate in many different projects including TEDxOldHickory and I always love how she jumps in and brings true love and support to everything she does. I’ve learned so much from the way she shows up in the world and I’m grateful for that gift as I’ve been able to do so for my daughter as well.

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Image Credits
The headshot images were done by “Stella Dolce Photography”.

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