We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gale Weithers a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Gale, thank you so much for agreeing to open up about a sensitive and personal topic like being fired or laid-off. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in layoffs recently and so your insight and experience with overcoming being let go is relevant to so many in the community.
I was severed suddenly on April 01, 2020 after working with a company for 15 years. It had been a very demanding job which involved extensive travel across the Caribbean. As a corporate training facilitator attached to retail (Sales & Marketing) all of my presentations had been in-person so during the first year after I was severed I upskilled and became a Certified Virtual Trainer & Instructional Designer. I also became more active on LinkedIn, growing my network through posting and commenting which is the best way to meet new people. I prioritized my mental health and even started a small garden business where I grew as well as sold a variety of plants.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
After being severed, I started my own company nVision Training Solutions, because after so many years of being a trainer I wanted to continue to help people see or envision training as a viable solution to many of their business problems. As the Owner and Lead Training Consultant, I offer training in Creating a Culture of Customer Service Excellence, Communication Strategy, Leadership & Teambuilding Techniques, as well as Train-the-Trainer bootcamps.
My first loves however are facilitating the Customer Service Excellence and Communication Strategy workshops. This is where I get super excited when the lightbulbs go off in the heads of participants as they really get what I am saying, as well as see how they can apply what they are learning to their jobs or lives. Additionally, I love to ask questions which are great conversation starters and who doesn’t like to share their story? Insightful conversations are what makes our training sessions engaging and meaningful.
The newest signature workshop is the Train-the-Trainer bootcamps, where managers/supervisors are taught how to train their teams effectively, measure/reward performance and have difficult conversations when needed. We’re putting on the final touches now, in an effort to launch in the next month or so.
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?
Over the years, I’ve found my attention to detail, organizational and communication skills to be most valuable throughout all of my career journeys – and these stretched from Office Administration to Meeting/Conference Event Planning to Sales & Marketing to Training Facilitation.
If you are now starting on your career journey, my suggestion would be go get a mentor who can guide you and take you to where you want or need to be. I mentored many millennials on my team who were new to the world of work and helped them improve on the skills I had already honed from previous experience, especially those that were critical to our roles.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
Currently I am facing the challenge of not being able to clone myself! Running a business on your own without a robust team means that YOU manage all departments e.g. Accounts Receivable & Payable, Administration, Sales & Marketing, Social Media content creation, Opertations, Workshop Design & Training Facilitation, and even Health & Safety … it can be a lot and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
This year the end goal is to
(a) automate any and all routine tasks that can be automated
(b) create standard document/training presentation templates for convenience and efficiency
(c) reach out and connect with other entrepreneurs for advice and support
(d) hire a VA to help with some of this work!
Contact Info:
Image Credits
All images were taken personally by me with my phone.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
