We were lucky to catch up with Stephany Poe recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephany, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The story of POEE Coaching and Consulting was birthed during my time working as a spiritual wellness coach for a nonprofit called LIV You. My role there was coaching women all over the world in removing barriers to wellness in their personal and professional lives. I coached women (ages 18+) in Africa, Brazil, Germany, Canada, the US and a few other countries. We would hold weekly live sessions via social media in providing coaching tips to women on how they can get passed challenges in their lives. LIV You stands for Love, Inspire, and Value You and there were 3 of us. We held weekly live conversations via social media on specific topics related to the areas of wellness we coached on; physical, mental, financial, & even spiritual and the amount of support we received was astronomical. We even had men who reached out to us thanking us for providing a way forward in their lives as well as the women in their lives. They were even inspired by our content. Many of the women that I coach and speak with had barriers in their professional lives which played a major role on their personal life as it do many people.

Even though I was a wellness coach in this non-profit, I was also working with Arizona government helping to implement a new management system which proved to have it’s challenges. The people I was coaching did not want to change nor did they believe that change could happen for many of them had experienced changes in leadership that resulted in nothing, but disappointment. As I got to know the leaders and their teams, building and maintaining a harmonious relationship, they shared their personal stories with me including why they started working in state government. They wanted to help people and what better way is there than to help your fellow man, woman, and child of the state you live in. They enjoyed their work in the beginning of their government careers, it brought meaning to them not only as an employee, but as a person because they were helping people have a better quality of life. It was fuel to their their passion when they were able to do accurately perform their roles in helping others get out of a tough situation, but their fires soon faded and unfortunately, their passion was completely nonexistent. It was nonexistent because they felt they weren’t heard by their leaders, they weren’t recognized for the hard work they’d done over the years in making life better for all of Arizonians. The systems they had to work with were outdated terribly, other teams that interacted with each other no longer did, when mistakes happened finger pointing began which soured the mood of the work environment, and worst of all there were no compensation to look towards even when performance metrics were met at the end of the year. Sadly, Arizona government continues to not provide raises or bonuses to it’s employees even when employees meet their performance standards for the frontline and mid-line staff. The once fired that fueled teams and leaders passions for helping others, turn into something that was unhealthy, unmotivated, and mundane behavior which of course bled over into their personal life and had an even larger impact. They were only cattle, being herded into a barn for performance. However, executive leadership chose not pay attention listen to the issues of their internal customers which naturally impacted external customers significantly and they left reviews via google of course. Even today, the same issues are still happening. Then covid happened.

Prior to covid, there was a cry for work place balance and there were things done to deal with the issue, but not making much of a dent and then covid. The outcry for a better work environment, better pay, benefits, culture, HR issues became larger. Covid really showed organizations that their employees will leave the work environment without a care in the world, exiting by the thousands, citing their mental and emotional health being of primary concern. This is not including the massive layoffs that also came as a result of covid. Not a single person was exempt from the impacts of covid. It didn’t matter what you looked like, where you came from, your status, etc… not a single person was exempt. To make matters worst, may of the “lifers” of the organization(s), (those are who I refer to as a person being employed 5+ years with an employer) were laid off the most. Post covid, organizations are still having the same issues in the workplace and the different organizational leaders I speak with on a regular basis have expressed, that there is a different generation in the work place. And the one thing about this new generation, is that they are VOCAL! On one end of the organizational spectrum leaders had a hard time with connecting and understanding this new generation and on the other end, the new generation didn’t believe their leaders didn’t understood them or the issues they were facing in the workplace, nor were they willing to take the time.

As much as I enjoyed coaching women while with LIV You and being a consultant in the work place, it was obvious that the workplace issues are not being solved. That’s when the thought then came to mind of creating a consulting company that focused on solving workplace issues, assist with implementing systems that actually work and encompasses all generations skills and abilities in the workplace for the organizations to thrive, embrace innovation, and bring balance back in the workplace! The workplace is a lacking balance between it’s generational employees, communication, and systems, and procedures. Our work environment is becoming more and more diverse and as vocal as this new generation is, I believe there is power in channeling that vocalization in a structured and proper manner that is effective in many capacities especially financial. That sparked the idea of creating POEE Coaching and Consulting.

I tell people that I have an eclectic background because I do. During my time in corporate I’ve worked in financial, tech, nonprofit, construction, government, and law and in each industry, I have seen, heard, and even experienced the workplace challenges. I’ve seen, heard, and experienced both sides of the organization fail at coming together to properly service their customers as they state in their mission, And I have seen, heard, and experienced the impacts of workplace mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, and even spiritually. So my idea needed to be more than just helping the leaders of an organization, but the staff members as well. It’s time to bring balance back in the workplace and bridge the generational gap between the workplace and POEE Coaching and Consulting has the pathway forward to do so.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Well, my name is Stephany Poe. I am the owner of the company POEE Coaching and Consulting where we work with organizational leaders in the construction industry, government, nonprofit, tech, education industry, and any service & administrative industries in bridging the generational gap, assisting with overcoming issues, improve leadership skills, and promote effective communication between the frontliners and higher-ups. I do this using a series of workshops ranging from Communication, Process Improvement, Leadership & Staff development, Cultural workshops, and Executive Development workshops. In addition to these workshops, we provide additional support through our coaching and consultation services in the implementation of the knowledge and tools learned from our workshops to be sustainable in the work environment. Each workshop is then given a customized or tailored training manual that is fitted to each organization’s culture and systems to help maintain their progress even after POEE Coaching and Consulting is gone.

I am also the author of the book, “Perfect Progression” that goes into detail about the workplace issues that people are having which gives leaders an in-depth view of what is actually happening in the workplace. It focuses on the passive-aggressive leaders who targets those who are not “successful” according to her perspective, the insecure boss who uses manipulative methods in getting ahead in the workplace, and the high achieving team member who only wants to show up and do her job, but is having to deal with the workplace obstacles set by these leaders and the organization inoperable systems as a whole. All of these workplace challenges impacts a person mental, emotional, physical and even financial capacity in which executive leaders miss because they are unclear on the issue and usually reactive in their response. My book is here to give leaders the ability to be proactive in responding and be reflective to the issues that are currently happening today in their work environment that they are completely unaware of.

“Perfect Progression” is currently ready for pre-order and is here to be a part of organizations arsenal of improvement. When I talk about my book to people both known and unknown, I am always humbled by the experience. I am always told by people that I meet that I am telling their story. A story in which they have been saying but fell on deaf ears which is why they left their former employers and on the verve of leaving their current employer. I couldn’t help but realize the pattern of the story I’ve heard over and over which is that the leaders have been a part of the story the entire time the moral of the story has been missed. That is, until now, until “Perfect Progression.”

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve always worked 2 and 3 jobs, trying to make ends meet to take care of my little family. Being a single mother of 3 girls working fulltime and going to school full time is not easy by any means. I had my children young, but was determined to not become another statistic as a young mother of color not making anything of herself. So, I worked and worked and went to school no matter the impacts. I eventually landed a role of my dreams in corporate! When that happened, I thought I was on top of the world. I was at the peak of my career during my time in corporate. I remember the feeling of “making it.” Not only did I land a position that was financially sufficient, but I was actually in a influential position where I could implement real organizational change!

I was only 2 months into that role before I lost a close family unexpectedly due to kidney cancer. It came a such a shock to my core that I could hardly believe it. I buried myself in my work in which it was an extremely high stress position. I was tasked with changing the minds of 8,000 employees from one way of thinking to a new way of thinking. I was completely unaware of the level of stress, but I was ready for the challenge. So with the death of a family member, being at work was an easy way out. A month after that death, I was in a 3-car car accident which thankfully I didn’t end of with a scratch, but I couldn’t say the same for anyone else involved in the accident which left me shook! I didn’t want to drive at all, but the position I held then required in-state travel. I’d let my leaders know what the issues were and they’d given me a bit of grace, but it only lasted for a month. I continued to work, but I didn’t have any time off for grieving or resting. The stress became enormous as people began leaving citing workplace issues. Then 3 more family members passed away and I was given a heavier workload. It was hard to speak. I couldn’t speak with any co-workers or anyone so I remained silent. It was too hard to have a conversation with others and I didn’t want to sour the mood of my peers so I ate alone, took breaks alone, and kept to myself. 2 more family members passed away which included my father and the workload kept increasing without any regard. I let my then leaders know, but it was clear they were tired of having to give me grace when tight deadlines were due and it showed. Even though I was great at my job, I was given more work than anyone and eventually, I broke. I could not carry the weight of the workload and eventually relieved of my position. This landed me back into the position of having to take on more than one job.

I went on to a different dept and was completely miserable. I exceled in the positions I held in different departments and was very well liked and respected amongst my peers who were happy to be working alongside with me, but I wasn’t happy, and decided to go back to school and get a higher degree like many people today to get a better paying job. I decided to apply to law school and remember speaking with my older and younger sisters who both thought it would be a great thing for me to do, considering I am great at solving complex issues. What’s more complex than law?

I dragged my feet in applying and during that time, my older sister who supported my decision, passed away at age 32. I could not understand why or what to do. All of the work I’d done all my life at that moment in time, I thought was for nothing. Then 8 months later, my younger sister passed away at age 22. Any belief I had about anything was completely shattered. I questioned my life, my goals, my existence. I had no understanding of the way forward or what that phrase even meant. The day I buried my younger sister was the day I was excepted into ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. I did very well in law, but I also was able to do so due to muscle memory and eventually captured the attention of different attorneys and judges across the United States to where I had the opportunity to speak to congress. I made quite an impression on those groups of people and still remain in contact with several of law associates today.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

What helps me build my reputation, is being relatable. No matter the position, no matter the title, I relate to everyone whether it is personal, professional, behavior patterns, mindset.

We are all different people, but over the years I’ve learned to embrace acceptance of myself. I had to accept the things I’d gone through was for a purpose. In order for me to reach the different feats I’d reached, I had to accept that all the circumstances in my life were meant to help me grow and it is my choice to accept that growth. In accepting myself, releasing things that I had no control over, my eyes opened wider than it had every been. I accept and more importantly, give grace and create the space for others to be comfortable in being their authentic selves. We never know what people are going through in life so I make it a point to make sure I am always creating space for others to be who they are.

I tell anyone who is willing to listen that every person we meet in a representation of ourselves past, present, and future and I truly believe that. And because of that belief, I choose to learn about myself through other individuals past, present, and future. This helps me grow and develop on multiple levels.

Lastly, another thing that’s helped me build my reputation, is being kind to others. It cost zero dollars to be kind to people no matter who and how they operate. I operate from a place of integrity, honesty, and kindness. To me, those are moral values that’s been instilled in me despite life obstacles, despite losses, and despite setbacks. I use my personal and professional life experience to let others know that they are not alone in their attempts to reach success. But know that success is different for everyone and our pathway to success may be different. But it doesn’t mean to give up. I want to inspire people to operate in their purpose, live by their purpose, and accept who they are, and where they are in life. My book, “Perfect Progression” serves as a literal reminder for people that they are not alone and that they can overcome life obstacles too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://poeecc.com/about
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephany_poeecc/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Faccounts%2Fonetap%2F%3Fnext%3D%252F%26__coig_login%3D1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanypoe/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@StephanyPoe
• Other: I am currently working on a podcast via Spotify. It is still inoperative, but it will be coming soon. It’s called “The Astrology of Business.