Meet McKenzie Reeves of The John Maxwell Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to McKenzie Reeves.

McKenzie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, interestingly the first time I applied to work at The John Maxwell Company I didn’t even get an interview. The then president said they weren’t looking for someone with my skill set which totally makes sense: college grad, communications degree, short-sighted ambitions, and NO business sense whatsoever. HA! The next time I applied I was married to someone who worked at the company and had a bigger foot in the door.

Professionally at that time (two years later), I was looking for a challenge. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and learn what it meant to work in a for-profit business environment as a marketer. I definitely got that when I started my job with no digital marketing experience in a small business environment. I was so grateful for the opportunity to come into this workspace, not just for the challenge, but also to get to work alongside my spouse. The personal story there was, we’d been married two years and were desperately struggling – at least I was struggling.

We’d very quickly entered into some really destructive behavior cycles that ended in rage and ultimately abusive words and actions. I was terrified of losing my marriage and becoming a public failure. But I was also afraid of him and who he was when we were alone. Unfortunately, this weighed into my decision to accept my position alongside him at JMC. I thought, if I can work with him, I can be a part of his world in a way that lets him see that I care deeply for him. In retrospect, it was a very naive perspective but done with the purest of intentions.

In the meantime, I was thriving in my role at the company. I’d quickly learned the basics of digital marketing and started to develop a real excitement for what I was doing and who I was getting to work with. I was also beginning to think about what I had a deep passion for, in the words of John Maxwell, what made me cry, sing and dream. For a long time, I’d thought it was being a really good wife. I was sinking my identity into making someone else happy, not what I was created and purposed to do. I was glimpsing my value in a couple of ways though that I couldn’t ignore.

I’d always been a writer, be it in secret in the form of a journal or writing for my college newspaper. I absolutely LOVED words and I was pretty decent at stringing them together. In my daily work, I was getting to write marketing copy and some longer form pieces, but I was developing a real thirst for more in that area of my life. A year and a half ago I started an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts to study creative nonfiction writing. I’d determined it was time to hone my talent and fuel the thing I’d identified as my big passion, the way I was going to impact the world around me.

Let’s just say, I learned that a passion is never an easy thing to pursue. I learned pretty quickly I was not as good as I thought I was and simultaneously better than I thought I was. I learned what it felt like to wake up at 5:00 am and stay awake past midnight trying to get my words right. I was completely energized and also zapped by it (and still am as I finish out the program this year).

While I was working full-time and getting my master’s degree, the thing I dreaded happening finally did. A year ago in May 2017, on another familiar night when I was physically threatened I said, “enough of this” grabbed my keys and went home to my parents. My secret was over. I had to unfold my fear and failing marriage to my family, my friends, my work team and my church. It was both humiliating and freeing. The people in my life came around me in a way that I never thought possible. I’d convinced myself that I would lose everyone in my life over that decision, but it was exactly the opposite.

I found grace, empathy, and mutual vulnerability on the other side of that painful admission. I was asked to stay on at The John Maxwell Company while my spouse resigned. I moved into my parent’s house and began seriously re-evaluating my life: what motivated me, what I was afraid of, what kinds of thoughts and feelings I was entertaining every day. I had a LOT of help with this – thoughtful counselors, friends with hard-earned wisdom, and some great books.

That was one year ago (and some change) and I can say that I am the person I never thought I would be. I work with a family of people I feel so incredibly grateful to be with every day, people who speak the truth and offer boatloads of love to go with it. I laugh, probably too much. I have confidence in myself to stand on my own, speak up, and own what I have to say – be it in writing or out loud. I always had a hard time understanding when people said that failure, our lowest moments are our biggest leaps forward. I better understand that now because I’ve realized that there is only one life for me and I’ve got to be my own advocate for joy, my passion and my purpose.

There’s still quite a bit I haven’t even begun to figure out. I mess up all the time and catch myself reverting back to bad habits (self-consciousness, fear), but a friend said to me recently that best is the enemy of better. You can’t wait for the best to happen to you. The journey requires getting better every day, little by little.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like I said in the novel I wrote on the first block (HA!). I struggled privately in my relationship with my spouse and the abuse I was experiencing there. I walked into my job as a project manager/digital marketer with no experience and a team of just me and my very patience boss. I started an MFA program in the midst of all of that and took on a full-time program along with my full-time job.

I’ve struggled emotionally to feel at times like the work I’m doing is good enough, worth it, taking me in the right direction. It’s been lonely and isolating to pursue a writing degree (a very solo act), work in a job that is both demanding and uniquely energizing, and to get divorced at age twenty-five when all the people my age are either still living up their twenties, maxing out their careers or starting families. I’ve felt like an anomaly and I think that’s been the hardest part of it.

The John Maxwell Company – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
So, since I started at The John Maxwell Company I’ve had a few different jobs. I started out as an email marketing specialist. Then I became more of a marketing copywriter and marketing generalist. Now I work as a project manager for an AMAZING team of five brilliant individuals. I get to lend everything I’ve learned about writing, marketing strategy and my semi-neurotic organizational skills to support al the projects and campaigns our team is developing to help people around the world encounter the value of personal growth and add value to others through the time-tested wisdom of Dr. John C. Maxwell.

I’m not a fan-girl of many speakers or authors, but this guy takes the cake. He is so sincere and focused on transforming the lives of leaders everywhere, his spirit is contagious. I think we’re most proud as a company of the remarkably profound mission we get to work toward each day. We’re doing work that helps other people discover their strengths, purpose, live more intentional lives and impact others. So I guess I’d have to say it feels like the greatest job in the world. 🙂

I think I stand out because I have a strong bias toward action, I try to be teachable and evolve with what I learn. I can’t help but care and take responsibility because I have a deep loyalty to the vision and the people in our organization. I think maybe what sets any person apart is their reaction out of adversity and challenge to grow. I think I’m on that track and I think I most admire others who have that same perspective.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me – at this point in my life have started from square one – is to have grown a little bit each day in my passion and gifts. Success is having significant relationships where vulnerability and authenticity flow freely and safety is apparent for everyone.

Success is also writing and communicating my story and experiences in a way that resonates with the core of others. I guess to summarize it, success is a human connection for me and being my whole self more and more often.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.johnmaxwell.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: mckenzielreeves or johncmaxwell
• Facebook: McKenzie Reeves or John C. Maxwell

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