Today we’d like to introduce you to Maelea Galyon.
Hi Maelea; we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Before retiring in 2018, I spent 25 years in public education. My career was very non-traditional. I taught in a regular classroom for a very short period of time, and got tapped early in my career as a “change agent.” It came easily to me to work with adults to build consensus, create buy-in, train new skills, and implement change. This was the nature of most of my work in public ed for my entire career. Being tasked with leading change and facilitating difficult conversations required developing a unique set of skills and practices. For the past almost 30 years, I’ve been building a skillset, a toolkit, and daily practices that have led to an ability to lead collaboratively, to create safe spaces where people are willing to engage in meaningful work, and to teach others to do the same. As a school leader, administrator, and change agent, I knew what it felt like to make a difference in people’s lives and an organization. When I retired from public education in 2018, I knew I wanted to continue working. I knew I wanted to continue having an impact. I wanted to continue to experience that feeling of meaning and purpose.
I’ve spent the past 4+ years practicing and fine-tuning my methods for sharing the leadership expertise and experience I learned in the public education setting and bringing it out into the world of business and entrepreneurship. That has allowed me to do two things.
(1) It’s allowed me to work with organizational leaders to help them level up with Collaborative Leadership – helping them create space for their teams to develop solutions together and assisting leaders in gaining confidence in leading difficult conversations where the stakes are high and emotions are charged. Building the skills and practices of Collaborative Leadership helps these leaders get more out of their teams. It helps them increase engagement, build trust, encourage creativity, and foster a culture of positive contribution. These attributes improve retention rates, create more powerful organizational results, and lead to an improved bottom line.
(2) I utilize the very same Collaborative Leadership skills and techniques I teach to organizational leaders to lead small, intimate mastermind groups for leaders and entrepreneurs. Using the best collaboration and facilitation techniques, I “mine” the brilliance in the group and make it accessible to everyone. These groups become very close. They hold one another accountable; they celebrate together; and they come up with wildly creative solutions for one another. It’s exciting! I help them help one another.
Doing this work (first in the education setting and now in the business/entrepreneurship space) is incredibly rewarding for me. I’ve had the opportunity to see folks work together who thought they never would. I’ve seen folks achieve goals they felt would never be within reach. I’ve worked with folks whose results bled out into their personal lives to bring meaning and purpose to places they never imagined. Helping folks become Collaboration Superheroes is very rewarding for me! (And here’s a secret – it feeds me. It keeps my mind active. It helps me grow. It provides me with a meaningful connection!)
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not! Ha! Just doing the work of leading collaborative conversations (especially emotionally charged ones) can be very challenging. Working to build consensus and create buy-in has undoubtedly left me with a diminished and bruised ego in the past. I’ve had to grow some pretty thick skin! The biggest struggles I’ve had have been in working alone. Coming out of the school environment, I was accustomed to interacting with (literally) hundreds of humans every day. I was not prepared for how lonely it would be to work alone. I quickly realized that all my success during my career in education was built on a foundation of collaboration and collegial trust. Working as a solopreneur has been a tough adjustment for me. Another big struggle has been navigating the concept of self-promotion as a part of marketing, advertising, and sales; I’ve had to do a lot of mindset work in this area. It’s a constant challenge for me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Turn It up Consulting?
I help organizational leaders tap into and maximize the potential of their team members by utilizing the skills, tools, and practices of Collaborative Leadership. I help them build an environment and create a space where teams can solve problems together. I help them become confident and adept at being part of difficult conversations, sharing the power of Compassionate Candor with them. Using this same set of tools, skills, and practices, I also run kick-ass mastermind groups where I help leaders and entrepreneurs help one another by building trust, holding one another accountable, celebrating together, and developing creative solutions together.
I believe three things make my work unique:
- The infusion of my “5 Superpowers of Collaborative Leadership” – PAUSE, LISTEN, BE CURIOUS, ASSUME GOOD INTENTIONS, WITHHOLD JUDGMENT
- What all call the “Golden Rule” of collaboration – SAFETY (Folks won’t open up and contribute in a collaborative setting if they don’t feel safe)
- My “Special Sauce” – STRUCTURE – The consistent use of tools created for effective collaboration helps build trust in the process and in the participating group.
I am primarily proud of 2 things. I help folks become better at interacting with others around meaningful ideas. That’s pretty cool! Also, I’m proud to see my mastermind clients make true and measurable progress in their businesses, thanks to their group’s work.
What makes you happy?
My son, daughter-in-law, and grandkids (9,5,14 months) are the light of my life! I spend as much time as I can with them. Watching kids grow from the grandparent’s perspective and spending time with my 80-year-old mom, and my 90-year-old dad is fascinating. I’m so lucky to have them around! Music makes me happy. I sing in a cover band in Maryville with some friends of mine. We’ve been playing together for ~30 years. Making vocal harmony with my best friend is truly a place of joy for me. People – I love being with people!
Pricing:
- Mastermind Membership – $247/month – 6 month program
- Collaborative Leadership Consulting – Customized plans & pricing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://turnitupconsulting.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollaborationSuperhero
