By Megan Seckman
Colene Elridge is in all probability the coolest mortal you've never met. After our curt hr together I left feeling calm, inspired, together with reinvigorated. Her contagious smile, overt positivity, together with sensible philosophy on life had me wondering where I’d gone incorrect — together with that was but from an interview over hot tea — no coaching involved.
Colene, 34, has dedicated her life to improving women’s lives, inspiring effective leadership, together with creating a salubrious workplace environment. She coaches women (hence the lift “Coach Colene”) on how to alive their best lives together with consults alongside companies all over the globe on how to practise to a greater extent than inclusivity, communicate to a greater extent than effectively, together with cultivate abundance inward the workplace. Her consulting firm, “Be More Consulting,” incorporates a bee inward the logo because bees’ bodies are technically likewise heavy to endure able to fly, but somehow they overcome the odds together with defy all expectations.
Like the bee, Colene has defied society’s expectations. “I grew upward hearing statistics well-nigh what my life was supposed to endure equally a dark woman mortal from a single-parent home, but my woman bring upward was a progressive that allow us sentinel Murphy Brown inward an era where Dan Quayle was making divisive statements well-nigh raising children without fathers.”
After Colene’s father’s death, her woman bring upward moved the theatre unit of measurement from Pasadena to San Antonio to, hold off for it… Cynthiana, Kentucky.
“My woman bring upward idea Cynthiana was a suburb of Lexington...we ended upward beingness 1 of the solely dark families inward the whole community. It was definitely civilization shock. But, growing upward inward this rural environs was bully for me — the community helped enhance me — together with I learned to navigate unlike worlds rattling well. I learned to communicate alongside various audiences together with intermission downwards stereotypes. For instance, Fancy is silent my go-to karaoke song! People don’t await that!”
This experience of navigating various cultures inspired Colene to pursue a marker inward anthropology. At the time, however, the college she attended — Transylvania University — didn’t offering this major. So, Colene petitioned the board together with spearheaded the commencement anthropology computer programme there. This leadership earned Colene recognition across campus, together with she subsequently became the commencement African American to endure crowned Miss Transylvania.
“Many of the people I went to schoolhouse alongside had never talked alongside a dark mortal before. I ended upward making friends alongside boys from the Kappa Alpha fraternity — a fraternity founded past times Robert E. Lee.”
After graduation, Colene applied her anthropology background (and knack for inclusive communication) to the champaign of human relations. “I convey an optic for culture. I aspect at companies through the lens of the civilization they are creating. We pass far likewise much fourth dimension at go to non endure happy there, then I examine the workplace for mutual threads together with evaluate if the environs is pain or harming the employees. I aim to increase loyalty, longevity, together with productivity.”
Colene is a self-proclaimed people mortal together with is fascinated past times people’s stories. “I encounter people together with at 1 time intend we’re best friends. I’ve met people on the bird that I silent rest inward behavior upon with,” Colene says.
What Colene is Reading:
Colene reads a lot of self-help books to guide her clients:
Watching:
Listening to:
 |
| Colene Elridge started her ain consulting draw of piece of job solid to assist employees thrive inward the workplace. |
Colene, 34, has dedicated her life to improving women’s lives, inspiring effective leadership, together with creating a salubrious workplace environment. She coaches women (hence the lift “Coach Colene”) on how to alive their best lives together with consults alongside companies all over the globe on how to practise to a greater extent than inclusivity, communicate to a greater extent than effectively, together with cultivate abundance inward the workplace. Her consulting firm, “Be More Consulting,” incorporates a bee inward the logo because bees’ bodies are technically likewise heavy to endure able to fly, but somehow they overcome the odds together with defy all expectations.
Like the bee, Colene has defied society’s expectations. “I grew upward hearing statistics well-nigh what my life was supposed to endure equally a dark woman mortal from a single-parent home, but my woman bring upward was a progressive that allow us sentinel Murphy Brown inward an era where Dan Quayle was making divisive statements well-nigh raising children without fathers.”
After Colene’s father’s death, her woman bring upward moved the theatre unit of measurement from Pasadena to San Antonio to, hold off for it… Cynthiana, Kentucky.
“My woman bring upward idea Cynthiana was a suburb of Lexington...we ended upward beingness 1 of the solely dark families inward the whole community. It was definitely civilization shock. But, growing upward inward this rural environs was bully for me — the community helped enhance me — together with I learned to navigate unlike worlds rattling well. I learned to communicate alongside various audiences together with intermission downwards stereotypes. For instance, Fancy is silent my go-to karaoke song! People don’t await that!”
This experience of navigating various cultures inspired Colene to pursue a marker inward anthropology. At the time, however, the college she attended — Transylvania University — didn’t offering this major. So, Colene petitioned the board together with spearheaded the commencement anthropology computer programme there. This leadership earned Colene recognition across campus, together with she subsequently became the commencement African American to endure crowned Miss Transylvania.
“Many of the people I went to schoolhouse alongside had never talked alongside a dark mortal before. I ended upward making friends alongside boys from the Kappa Alpha fraternity — a fraternity founded past times Robert E. Lee.”
After graduation, Colene applied her anthropology background (and knack for inclusive communication) to the champaign of human relations. “I convey an optic for culture. I aspect at companies through the lens of the civilization they are creating. We pass far likewise much fourth dimension at go to non endure happy there, then I examine the workplace for mutual threads together with evaluate if the environs is pain or harming the employees. I aim to increase loyalty, longevity, together with productivity.”
Colene is a self-proclaimed people mortal together with is fascinated past times people’s stories. “I encounter people together with at 1 time intend we’re best friends. I’ve met people on the bird that I silent rest inward behavior upon with,” Colene says.
What Colene is Reading:
Colene reads a lot of self-help books to guide her clients:
- Finding Your North Star past times Martha Beck
- Abundance Now past times Lisa Nichols
Watching:
- Scandal is the 1 demonstrate Colene watches religiously.
- This is Us has Colene “trapped inward an emotional spider web every Tuesday.” At the fourth dimension of this interview, the demonstrate was on break, together with Colene was happy to convey an emotional breather.
- Sunday Morning is the greatest demonstrate Colene’s mom e'er made her watch. “I’ve stopped consuming word because of the negativity, but this word demonstrate focuses on positive human involvement stories.”
- Colene loves movies together with recommends that women acquire to the movies past times themselves equally a “personal date.” Most late she viewed Get Out, which she considered to endure a rattling smart cinema well-nigh racism together with stereotypes. Hidden Figures was her favorite this year, but Colene has tried to sentinel all the films critically nominated inward 2016.
Listening to:
- “I’m silent obsessed alongside Hamilton together with I sing it everywhere I go.”
- Adele
- School of Greatness (a podcast past times Louis Howes who interviews thought-leaders together with entrepreneurs)
- Lively Show (a podcast well-nigh creating to a greater extent than intention past times Jess Lively, who has documented her life equally she’s traveled the globe for 10 months)