We recently connected with Stefanie Griffith and have shared our conversation below.
Stefanie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
About 10 years ago I experienced depression for the first time. I was pregnant with my second daughter at the time and I had never experienced anything like that before in my life. After I was able to ask for help, and after I gave birth to my daughter I started to feel much better, I realized that I never wanted to feel that way again. I also knew that I wanted to help other people not to feel that way either. It shifted the trajectory of my life and started leading me down a path of mental health. I have spent the last 10 years learning from the best leaders in the world on how to be more compassionate and loving with myself. I have realized through many years that those things will transfer to those around me the better that I am at them. The more kindness I can show myself, the more kindness I can show the world. The more love I can show myself, the more love I can show the world.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
I have been life coaching now for almost 2 years. I work with clients who are at a point in their life where they are ready to take actionable steps as they move forward towards more self-awareness, self-love, self compassion and self care. I love to help my clients realize their full potential. I always see the best in people and my sessions are a safe space for everyone. I really enjoy seeing my clients discover new things about themselves as they have someone to listen to them and help them process through their emotions and through the experiences that they are going through in their lives.
I live in Nashville Tennessee and I have three children. I have been married to my husband since 2008, we moved here from Colorado in 2009. My husband is in the music industry and I have had many jobs through the years. I feel like I have found my niche in being involved in the mental health world. I love learning about the way that we relate to the world around us and I know that everyone has goodness inside of them. I know that we are all worthy of love and belonging. I believe that we all deserve to have somebody on our team who is there to listen and to help us to process the world around us. I love to do this for my clients.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
I believe that in order to be successful you need to be a great communicator. It is also important to be an active listener. That means that you listen to understand and acknowledge another person’s experience and validate their perspective. It doesn’t have anything to do with you agreeing with them, you can provide a space for someone to feel safe and seen and heard.
Most disagreements can be boiled down to a lack of communication. Communication means speaking up for what you need and also listening to what other people need from you. Having a frank discussion in a safe environment is essential to good communication.
I believe these skills make it easier to succeed in any profession, but most especially as a coach I need to be able to listen without judgment and provide a safe place for people to share. I also need to be able to communicate with them in an effective way so that they feel as though they are getting the best of what I have to offer.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
A few years ago I had decided that I was going to start to clean some houses in order to earn some extra income for my family. I begin talking to some friends about this, and there was a friend of mine who actually owned her own cleaning business at the time. I did not have an expectation of her hiring me on but she approached me after we had spoken and offered to hire me on and teach me the skills to become better at house cleaning. I was able to work with her to hone my skills and also get better at communicating with clients and scheduling my time to maximize my effectiveness. Unexpectedly, she ended up moving across the country last year and I took over the Cleaning side of her business. Now one branch of my business involves me cleaning clients homes. This was not something that I ever would’ve anticipated, I have been so grateful though that my life has gone this way. I love my cleaning clients and I have been able to have amazing discussions with them and get to know them as people which, in turn, has made me a better coach. I have learned to listen to a variety of needs from many different kinds of people and be able to provide them a service that is much needed. I have gotten better at communication with clients and my time management skills have improved immensely. A lot of times things happen that we are not expecting, and these things can provide us so many avenues to learn more about ourselves and about how to better manage our life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @labelleviecoaching
- Website: stefanie@labelleviecoaching.
com - Facebook: Labelleviecoaching