Chamber Connections – 100 one-to ones with Sheila Morgan

Of the many reasons to join the Springfield Chamber, the benefit members cite as most important is “connections to other businesses.” Our chamber is a community of local businesses coming together to make a positive imprint on their home, and nowhere is the spirit of connection and positivity more enthusiastic than at Springfield Greeters. Every Thursday morning at 7:00 AM, early birds (and a few sleepy night owls) gather to find businesses we know, like, and trust. Week by week, these relationships are built – over Zoom, through networking, and “offline” in one-to-one meetings among members. Throughout the past two years, these one-to-ones have been more important than ever, providing a spark and connection beyond Zoom screens our local businesses.

Among Greeters, Sheila Morgan (Sheila Morgan Coaching) took on an extra challenge; to have 100 one-to-one meetings in just a few short months. We sat down with Sheila to talk more about her challenge, the vibe at Springfield Greeters, and how important these individual connections are.

(Answers have been paraphrased for brevity and clarity)

• Thanks for meeting with us! To start, can you tell us about your business?

I am a relationship mindset coach, and help people see that future relationships are not dependent on their past relationships. Most specifically, I am a coach for people in their 2^nd marriage that are worried it will end up like their 1^st. I help people work through their thoughts about their past relationships using coaching and other great tools, and not just survive but thrive.

I’m starting a podcast called the Relationship Reboot, which is an idea that grew out of having these 1-on-1 conversations. It is amazing what people will share with you when they trust you, know you and you just sit quietly and listen. That will launch late April/early May. It will be a combination of me sharing my tools and experience, and talking with individuals and couples who have their own great expertise and experiences to share.

• How did you find that focus in your coaching?

I love helping people who are struggling in their relationships. Whether it’s due to a lack of confidence, excessive people pleasing, giving up on their dreams and feeling resentful, or just not being taught how to be in a relationship, which is, sadly, all too common. All of that creates a certain dynamic in marriage, particularly when we’re not being authentic to ourselves, where communicating is impossible or extremely difficult. I teach people to look at how they’re showing up in their marriage and their mindset about relationships in general, without judging themselves. I like to call this “winning and learning”. But if you’re caught up in judging and complaining, you’re “whining and losing” and that’s where the feeling of being stuck comes from.

• For those that might not know – what does “having a one to one” mean to those in Greeters?

I came to Springfield Greeters after doing other networking events and getting invited by a few of those connections. From my first meeting, I just loved the energy of the group. Christie and Denny were the “chairs” and they made the meetings fun, engaging, and positive. They epitomized the idea of relationships first business.

At the time, I was comfortable on Zoom, but I wasn’t an experienced networker. I was still learning to pitch my business and wasn’t feeling authentic connection with others yet. I changed the way I made offers to focus more on creating relationships, and one on one meetings were key to that.

At my birthday this past February, I looked around the room and realized I’d met most of the people through networking and had made genuine friendships. I had that change in mindset that I had to be selling to everyone and really started connecting with people.

• Where did you get the idea for this challenge (100 1-to-1s)?

I learned through my coaching that feeling disconnected is a big part of why people are hurting and feeling unheard contributes to that disconnection. I wanted to give people the gift of being able to think out loud, or rant, or get outside of their own brain, because it is so powerful. My goal as a coach is to hear what people are thinking and help them sort through it. I wanted to create that for as many people as I could. That led me to wanting to do a “listening project”.

I was still an introvert, and with the pandemic and other things going on in the world I was trying to figure out how to best do that virtually. I got the inspiration from a workshop to invite 100 people to have what I started out calling “listening conversations”. As I went along, many people told me they wanted to hear about me or have a regular 1:1 where we take turns talking about our businesses and sharing how to refer each other, so I decided to allow the other person choose how they wanted the conversation to go. I let go of the idea that it had to have a strict structure, and it led me to this place.

What are a few memories or takeaways that stand out to you?

My favorite conversation was with a woman who is a teacher. As we spoke, she wanted to share a few accomplishments and things that had made her proud over the last couple of years. It became a celebration call, and at the end when I asked, “what are you taking away from this call?”, she told me how it made her feel so good to say those things out loud and take a full view of all of her accomplishments.

One of the things I heard so often from these conversations was how people “felt heard” after talking with me, and how good that felt. It all came back to my initial goal, even if I got there a different way than I thought. There’s a Maya Angelou quote along the lines of “people remember how you make them feel.” Our impression of a conversation is how we feel at the end of it, and if you feel great, then it was a great conversation.

One conversation I had was completely unplanned and happened at a workshop I was attending. I initially wasn’t going to add it to my official count, but in talking with my own coach I realized that it had been a great connection with the other person. They walked away feeling heard and ultimately, that was the entire goal of the project. This realization broke down my barriers to connecting, because I get to let go of all the rules and just have real conversations.

• How do you think this has helped your business? Your personal or professional growth and in Springfield?

As far as my professional growth, I know how to manage my calendar so much better! I learned how to use Acuity Scheduler more effectively, and block my personal and family time first, so I don’t get overwhelmed and overbooked. I also learned a lot about my own personal energy, and how to manage that to make sure that I was taking good care of myself.

This challenge is what my coach called a “marketing firework.” It gave me something to talk about in regard to my business all the time, even if what my business is didn’t always come up. People get excited about helping others reach goals and being a part of something bigger than themselves. I couldn’t have done this without the people who participated and shared with others. I’m learning about funnels and this is something that can be used to invite people to join your email list.

• What’s next?

The podcast is my next big challenge, and is my primary focus right now.

I also want to start a small group program alongside my one-on-one coaching. This will be a 6-week group program teaching relationship skills coupled with coaching sessions tailored for the participants. I’ll be doing a pilot program Mid-May as well. I’m looking for 4-5 participants to help me test this idea and figure out how I want to shape that program. It will be a lower cost entry point as for some people the price of 1:1 coaching is a deterrent and I want to be able to help as many people thrive in their relationships as possible.