Meet Mandy May | Leadership, Career, and Performance Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mandy May and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mandy, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I’ve never thought of myself as a big risk taker. I’ve always considered myself too anxious or apprehensive. I don’t like heights, not a big fan of rollercoasters or fast rides. You won’t find me bungee jumping or sky diving. But when I think back on my career, I’ve been comfortable taking some pretty big risks. When I was 22 and had recently finished my undergrad degree in psychology, I was offered a job at the Harvard Bipolar Research Program in Boston. While nervous to move across the country from my childhood home, friends and family, I was excited for the adventure and opportunity to grow. It was worth the risk! loved my time in Boston, exploring a new part of the country on my own, getting the opportunity to publish in peer reviewed journals, and helping me discover a career path in public health. Perhaps the biggest risk I’ve taken was leaving my executive position of 13 years to start my own coaching practice. With each jump, I’ve been nervous, unsure what might happen. But getting out of our comfort zone is necessary for real growth.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started building my coaching practice in spring of 2024. I left my long-term leadership position that July. I had purchased a recruiting franchise with the vision of partnering career coaching with recruiting and talent acquisition. The model made so much sense to me, to simultaneously coach clients for career advancement, developing a talented pool of candidates for job placement. Unfortunately, the recruiting model I was required to use for the franchise wasn’t set up to realize my vision, a fact which took months to determine. I was spending too much time trying to make the recruiting business successful, when my real goal was to create a thriving coaching practice. I ultimately made the tough decision to close the franchise a year later.
While the first year was a struggle, I have no regrets, I don’t view the closure as a failure, but an adaptation of the business I’m creating. I learned a lot and developed great relationships along the way. All of which has helped me evolve as a coach and taken my practice in directions I didn’t imagine.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Entertaining out of town guests always includes our favorite activities like paddle boarding on Soda Lakes or the Chatfield gravel ponds, biking or hiking Waterton Canyon, a brewery tour, and patio margaritas at Cencali’s in downtown Littleton.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I had the privilege of working under a phenomenal leadership mentor for 7 years. Louise modeled emotional intelligence and empathetic leadership, transparent communication, self awareness and collaborative decision making. Under her mentorship, I honed my own authentic and intentional leadership style and discovered my passion for coaching others to do the same.

Website: https://www.coachmandymay.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachmandymay/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandygmay