2021 Influential Businesswoman Awards

34 Acquisition International - Influential Businesswoman Awards 2021 Most Empowering Women’s Leadership Coach (USA): Alison Nail-Malone CG’s group coaching programs are designed for deep feeling, energetically sensitive women in leadership positions who want to navigate the corporate world with confidence and ease, without sacrificing their whole self. The company also provides corporate leadership programs that develop emerging leaders by transforming knowledge into strategy and strengthening personal and core management skills. Alison’s 20 years of experience in Human Resources includes leading and managing teams in recruitment and generalist work and spearheading employee resource groups targeted at underrepresented populations. The coaching industry has had an interesting shift over the last five years. “Overall, this industry is mainly dominated by women,” Alison explains. “Women have had to learn and perform at higher standards and have had to manage wearing multiple ‘hats’ in their roles in the professional and personal space we occupy. This has equipped us to learn quickly to be agile, flexible, and determined to raise the standards in our industry and impact.” This equipped Alison and MCG for dealing with the business challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. “We quickly shifted from in-person coaching and training to doing everything virtually,” she explains. “This required immediate pivoting so our team at MCG took three key actions to continue to stay connected to our clients and support them (and their needs), as well as to elevate our business.” The first action was for Alison and one of her business partners, Ticki Favaroth of from HR & CO, to create new series called HR Fireside Chats. They invited their entire client list and other network connections to join and talk about the uncertainty of Covid’s impact and provide solutions on communications plans, strategic policies, employee engagement practices, crisis management, and talent enablement, to name a few. Part two saw MCG create a free initiative between the months of February and March. Alison conducted brainstorming sessions with her clients to prepare their leadership teams for what might come next, such as transitioning workforce from in-person to work-from- home, and design strategies that fit their specific needs. The final step MCG took was to create coaching and training programs that allowed learning and support to take place away from the computer to reduce Zoom/Teams fatigue. M Alison states, “Work is where we spend most of our time and it became a goal of mine to create equitable opportunities and spaces for people to thrive. Strategic coaching is asking powerful questions and focusing on the future which is vitally important to the success of human resources and also for the executive coach.” However, Alison hasn’t been estranged to setbacks or challenges since establishing MCG. “As a working woman in the corporate environment, I found that it was challenging to ‘balance’ the responsibilities of being a leader and an influencer while managing life outside of work. I think it is also difficult for women in leadership to realize that we don’t have to do it all but more importantly, we get to define what ‘doing it all’ means to us individually.” Overcoming all these issues and ideas is challenging; however, Alison employs a client-centric philosophy to her teaching, as she explains. “I think about what motivates my client. I begin each relationship as a trusted partner as it’s my role to ensure that the person or organization in front of me knows the boundaries and expertise of our partnership. I often think how beneficial this might be if we approached all partnerships and relationships this way.” Continuing her self-aware business journey, Alison states, “It is imperative and necessary that I, as a white woman, ensure I am creating a space as an ally and accomplice for equity and inclusion. My company has established the Judith Yanez Coaching Scholarship program for women who do not typically have access to coaching. We intentionally set out to build partnerships with organizations that are also focused on the success of women, especially those who are historically marginalized.” Alison has continued to maximize and strengthen her group coaching programs for women in leadership and has established the ‘Overcome the Overwhelm’ Women’s Leadership Collaborative that is focused on banishing leadership burnout and decision fatigue. Furthermore, MCG is finalizing a contract with a Fortune 500 company to provide executive and leadership coaching to create a more equitable and inclusive environment for all employees. Regarding the future of MCG, Alison states, “I intend to continue our commitment to positively impact women in leadership. I plan to do this by continuing our group and 1:1 coaching programs for women in leadership, making it more accessible, and hiring equity-centered coaches.” Malone Consultants Group provides restorative leadership coaching and advising for women in leadership who want to think, be, and do leadership differently. Alison Nail-Malone, Founder and recent winner of The Most Empowering Women’s Leadership Coach (USA) award officially established her business five years ago after years of laying the foundation. Find out more about Alison’s journey to success below. Jul21126 Company Name: Malone Consultants Group Contact Name: Alison Nail-Malone Web Address: www.maloneconsultantsgroup.com