Today we’d like to introduce you to Keesha Coleman.
Keesha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
You may have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life. A lesson I continue to learn each day is that it won’t always go as planned and that’s okay. As a project manager, planner, consultant, coach, and lifestyle strategist, my professional and personal lives tend to beautifully collide (most of the time). But believe it or not, I also have the tendency to forget that life happens and when it does, our meticulously crafted plans can modestly or drastically be derailed. How we respond can make or break our experiences and create the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.
By 2010, I was supposed to have my PhD in Psychology.
By 2013, I would be married with children.
By 2017, I’d have the beach house with a multi-coastal consulting business.
And 2020? Well, the year itself sounded magical and I expected it to be just that!
None of the above has happened – at least not on the schedule I envisioned. I’m a servant leader by nature and I immediately dived into career work that postured me to be active on the ground. While I did complete my Masters degree in 2008, I continued to find myself in spaces that allowed me to be an active practitioner of the things I was passionate about. After a couple of self-checks, many personal accountability sessions, and reassessing my choices, vision, and motivations, I realized that my timeline and even some of my more specific plans, might have presented greater barriers where I’d perceived there to be opportunity.
But remember when I said life happens? It truly does its own thing with or without your permission and you must decide to rise to the occasion or fall prey to the circumstances. After seven years, I resigned from my first real professional job in March of 2011 to explore new opportunities and just a few months later, I was fortunate enough to land a role that I needed to empower my professional aspirations. It was an exhilarating run, and each day presented opportunities for me to lean into new things and discover more about my voice and how I wanted to show up in the world. After a rewarding 6 and a half years, I decided to take a 2-year sabbatical to make a more intentional investment in my personal development. What I didn’t know was that amidst diving into a very exciting time in my life, I would be forced to navigate a breakup and my mother would be diagnosed with cancer. Talk about life blows.
So here’s what I know for sure. There is healing in and after the storm when you’re unafraid to face the pain and work the hand you’re sometimes dealt. You have to free yourself of carrying burdens that aren’t yours, carve forgiveness (not forgetfulness) in your heart, hold yourself accountable, engage in critical self-work, and liberate yourself to understand that you can’t control everything. I realized I needed a foundation that was equipped for both the victory and the fight; and began the journey of shifting my lens to one that saw opportunity in obstacles.
Today, I am a program manager and consultant for one of the nation’s most innovative urban research institutions and serve as coach and strategist to a small roster of private clients.
My 15+ year tenure in higher ed administration has given me more insight and experience than I could have ever imagined. I have had to function in some of the most complex working environments, juggle multiple projects, serve diverse stakeholder groups, and create pathways for opportunities where they have not been so apparent. Little did I know, these experiences would prepare me for being a caretaker, friend, sister, daughter, partner, strategist, coach, community activist, thought leader, change agent and inspiration. I also did not realize that learning how to show up for others would reveal the critical importance of showing up for myself.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Far from it! lol. All at once – I was navigating a breakup, processing the major life shift of becoming a caretaker, standing by my mother’s side as she was diagnosed with cancer (bonus of having her first treatment on my birthday!), AND I was trying to make room to cultivate my own interests and goals! Do I even need to say that I was overwhelmed? Lol Something that I have not openly talked about until now is coming into the awareness that I had a stint with depression. I wasn’t able to identify it at first. I would have extreme highs and sudden lows. It would seemingly come out of nowhere, and I could not conceptualize what was going on. Now I am a woman of faith, so let me dispel this myth. Christians can battle depression and going through this experience should not be shamed or used to minimize the power of faith in God. So yes, even in the middle of dealing with all of this, I knew that I would come out stronger and better, but it required that I both manifest and work. So that is exactly what I did, and it is a journey I continue to enjoy each day.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am Kay Coleman, Solution Architect. Builder of community. Agent of uplift. Catalyst for change. I help individuals and organizations come into the full awareness of their ability to thrive and I partner with them in taking action. I am a strategist and consultant who hasn’t forgotten that people, culture, and experiences are at the foundation of every great achievement and as we chart our lives together, we open ourselves to radical change. KC Consults is the coaching arm of TheKayColeman.com and we specialize in leadership development, life design and architecture, project & organizational management, and strategic planning.
As a motivated thought leader and public service professional, my passion and enthusiasm for creating innovative spaces to learn, think, and grow truly empowers my work. I am committed to building organizational cultures that support and encourage all individuals in their unique quests to achieve personal and agency goals. Driven by a distinct vision, plan, purpose–I am effectively, Your Partner In Power.
What were you like growing up?
I was a very active, curious and vibrant kid, but you’d find me sitting on the porch with to the elders before you’d catch me playing outside. My parents were slightly older than my friends’ parents, and I think that had a lot to do with me being an “old soul”. I was definitely a “teacher’s pet” but still well liked if you can imagine that. I was a high performing scholar throughout school and very outgoing. My classmates voted me best dressed, most likely to succeed, and best all around and I humbly say they nailed it! lol.
I have always been deemed a leader and very caring and selfless. I’m an empath (sometimes to a fault) and discovered my love for the world’s ebb and flow very early. But I don’t think I tapped into my passion as a public servant and “voice of thought and motivation” until after college. I believe the consensus of those who have known me most of my life would be that I radiate and peace, and I actively seek possibilities in any situation. This doesn’t come from a space of vanity. It’s simply who I am, and I have finally learned to lean into these attributes and celebrate them without feeling boastful or being overly concerned with unmerited opinion. Being unapologetic in who I am and all that I am becoming continues to be one of the most liberating journeys of my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thekaycoleman.com/
- Email: kay@thekaycoleman.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekaycoleman/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/StrategicCoachK
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