We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vantrel Mainor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vantrel below.

Alright, Vantrel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

Having been in Higher Education for almost 19 years and still counting, one of the things I would change is incorporating more courses that address soft skills. Critical thinking, problem solving, conflict resolution, etc. are just some of the examples of what students will need to maintain a competitive advantage. Earning a degree is the expectation, but possessing strong soft skills makes a student exceptional. From my experience, I have observed students who have exhibited these skills; however, I have seen just as many who struggle with these skills.

Vantrel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The subject of “Leadership” has been a conviction of mine since 2005. I live by the philosophy that I am a “learner” who happens to lead, not a “leader” who happens to learn. It is this mentality that I carried with me in 2014 as a demand began to increase for my leadership presentations. As I began to speak to more student organizations, special events, ceremonies’ etc., I realized the necessity of leadership discovery, development, and demonstration. It was and still is essential that I address leadership from the “inside-out” perspective; the person you are is the leader you will become, rather than addressing the subject on a surface level. Mainor Global was first formed and co-founded along with my wife, Sheri Rouse-Mainor in 2019, a year before the pandemic. Soon I began speaking at educational conferences addressing principles pertaining to approaches and best practices through energetic, inspirational, and instructional deliveries. After a major transition of a leadership directional role in 2021, I began to focus more on Mainor Global and the vision early in 2022. Training, consulting, Keynote speaking, and coaching are just some of the services we provide on subjects such as leadership, organizational culture, Higher Ed professional leadership training and development, among other topics. In addition to public speaking, I published and authored the book The Common-Sense Leader: Leadership Decisions are not as Complicated as the Leaders themselves in 2022 through our self-publishing company Lyric House Publishing. One of the things I am most proud of is the positive feedback from clients who have been impacted by our services.

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

One of the most compelling memories in my journey as a public speaker takes me back to 2021 when an academic advisement association was accepting proposals for workshops/lectures. After submitting about two or three proposals, I was notified that none of them was accepted for a lecture. The only proposal that was accepted pertained to academic coaching which was only accepted for a poster presentation. There was no way for me to do the poster presentation virtually; therefore, I had to fly out to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the conference. I was a little discouraged because I knew my presentation competency; however, my proposals were not initially as compelling. My poster presentation went well, receiving positive feedback; however, I was determined to eventually become a lecturer. I remember one of the sessions I attended in Ohio was a “Best of Region” award winning presentation. I sat there picturing myself doing the same thing. The next opportunity would come at our Region 4 Conference in 2022; this time I used some of the resources they provided to assist in writing a strong proposal. I submitted five different proposals and all five got accepted. I presented those five presentations in two days. I eventually won Best of Region 4 and presented the winning presentation again in Portland, Oregon. A year later, what I pictured while sitting in Ohio happened. I used my early failure as fuel and as a result I was able to see the picture in Ohio become a reality in Portland, Oregon.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Reading is one of my passions; therefore, there is a long list I could provide; however, I will list my top five books (no particular order). Please view the following books:

1. Good to Great by Jim Collins
2. 360 Degree Leader by John C. Maxwell
3. The Dip by Seth Godin
4. The Leadership Spirit by Myles Munroe
5. Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter

Contact Info:

• Website: Under reconstruction
• Instagram: mainorglobal
• Facebook: Mainor Global
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mainor-global/