What is the next goal???
I didn’t know July 15th would be such a big day in my life when I set some goals for myself a while back. I am the typical type A that thrives on setting a goal (personal and professional) and then creating a plan to execute it. Some goals take years, some goals take months and some of the micro goals take hours or days. Here is a shortlist of goals I’ve set for myself over the years….5k to Ironman (and all those races in between), promotions at work specific to growing the K-Wings overall attendance and community engagement, reading a certain number of books over the course of a year, meal planning and writing a grocery list each week (to save money and be more efficient at the grocery store), the list goes on and on.
So what happened on July 15th and why was that such a pivotal day?
Goal #1
Family Goals
First, I was on my annual summer vacation with my family on July 15th. No that wasn’t the goal, but if I step back and analyze it then I guess I would say that it’s a goal each summer to take a week off and spend time with my family. This year we were in Siesta Key with my extended family (my in-laws) and had a great time.
Goal #2
Personal Development Goal
Second, last December I elected to dive into my passion around helping others find freedom from whatever they feel is holding them back. I applied to become a certified coach with This Naked Mind (no, it’s not sexual) specific to alcohol reduction/removal from a client’s lifestyle. The methodology applies to other addictive substances as well such as caffeine, sugar, smoking, recreational drugs, prescription drugs amongst other items that can be addictive. A big project in completing the certification is creating a website. Well, in typical Toni fashion I figured that I had enough base knowledge with my extensive experience with marketing the K-Wings that I could figure out a simple website. I’ll spare you the gory details but suffice to say, I hired a pro to do the heavy lifting. I’ve learned in my years of leadership when I’m out of my depth to go to an expert and that’s exactly what I did.
On July 15th the Mindfulness Elevated website was completed! Now, I have been accepting clients since May and have been in a fully functional coaching business but having the certification is an important component to being the best coach I can be with continuous learning.
It took a lot of work and meetings and writing content. Josh helped me brainstorm the photographs, the merchandise to sell, the coaching package(s) creation. He was my sounding board and when I started talking about expanding my coaching he quickly reminded me to put the brakes on and that I have enough on my plate. Thank you, honey. :) He ultimately took the photographs with his phone over the course of a few days. I liked that the pictures were just me in my natural environment.
Drumroll….here it is! https://mindfulnesselevated.me/
I’m very proud of this and the fact I’ve started my own business. That has been a long time coming. One of my long time (20 years +) career goals has been to be a CEO of an organization whether it was a company I worked for or my own company and I accomplished it! I didn’t know that this would be the business I would start considering I felt self-conscious about my choice to eliminate substances from my lifestyle. Now I feel empowered!
Goal #3
Professional Development Goal
This next goal has several layers to it and is quite a journey, a journey that I embarked on 6.5 years ago. When I began in professional began hockey I didn’t think I was going into an industry that was male-dominated. I honestly had no clue because I spent the majority of my career in banking. I wasn’t concerned about gender roles, I was motivated to work for a company that lived the culture it preached. I wanted to work for an organization that celebrated autonomy in leadership, professional development, and growth opportunities that were passionate about the Kalamazoo community. That is exactly what Greenleaf Hospitality Group does each and every day. Breaking the glass ceiling wasn’t even on my radar. But that is exactly what happened on July 15th (well that’s when the news went public).
Each professional sports team is governed by the member teams (ie. franchise). Each member team has two designated leaders that serve on the Board of Governors (think the board of directors). In 2016, I became the Alternate Governor for Kalamazoo. There are upwards of 60 board members depending on the number of teams in the league in any given season. We direct the overall growth and financial health of the League. In 2018, I was promoted to represent Kalamazoo as Governor. I am the only female Governor serving on the board currently. There are 4 other women serving as Alternate Governors, which has grown incrementally over the past few years. In 2018 I set the goal to become the first female to serve on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors. The Executive Committee works to boil down the many agenda items in a conscious manner and make recommendations to the entire board.
I am very passionate about professional hockey and the Kalamazoo Wings. I knew that in order to achieve my goal I wanted to serve on committees to help move the League forward and help the member team within. Three years ago I was asked to create and chair the Team Services.
Committee where we focus on professional development and engagement for Front Office Employees. This year I was asked to join the Hockey is for Everyone Committee where we work on diversity and inclusion initiatives. I also served on the Covid committee during the pandemic season.
I expressed my desire to serve on the executive committee many times and was turned down more than once for various reasons. I refused to give up. I would learn more, collaborate more, volunteer more, build more relationships until I achieved my goal.
I achieved this goal just a week before the press release when the chairman of the board called and asked me to join. Wow, what a feeling! Here is the associated press release.
https://www.kwings.com/en/news/toni-will-named-to-echl-board-of-governors-executive-committee
Now what?
First, during vacation, I truly reflected and celebrated these achievements. I’m the type of person who struggles sometimes with celebrating the wins. I tend to give a shout-out on social media or at home with my family but don’t really sit and reflect on what it feels like to accomplish something so huge. So during vacation, I did just that!
Now I’m back home, back to work, back to the day to day and there are still so many more goals I have for myself both professionally and personally.
For the K-Wings, sell-out Home Opener on October 23rd! For Mindfulness Elevated, complete my certification this summer and earn a profit by year-end.
I have one more goal for me personally that I have often talked about accomplishing on and off throughout the years specifically related to my love of fitness and nutrition. I’m not quite ready to declare it publically but I promise I will. And no, it’s not another Ironman or anything related to endurance fitness. This is something totally new and nothing I have ever done before.
But I know exactly what I will do in order to accomplish this goal. I will follow my six leadership pillars. And I will explain what those are when I announce my goal in a later blog!
Stay tuned…..
