You Have To Take a Chance on Yourself

Damita Miller-Shanklin

I had the opportunity to have a great chat with Patricia Hayes. Her company is PVH Consulting Group, LLC. Her company provides Strategic support, Executive Advisor services, and Coaching. Meet Patricia Hayes. 

Patricia Hayes is an Attorney by training but her work is around educational law, policy, and legislative work. She graduated from Pepperdine Law School. Twelve years ago was her last nine to five. She started a legislative consulting firm which she did by herself and at one time with other people. Then six years ago, she felt her work was not as fun as it used to be. Hayes loved policy and strategic planning but office politics ruined things. She then started to shift to the policy realm instead of Legislative clients. Executive advising and coaching became a part of what she did as well.. 

Networking has always been a part of Hayes. She said even though people found it hard to believe she was shy and reserved but understood the power of relationships and learned how to leverage those relationships to get to the next level. Hayes knew it was not about meeting people but learning from them. She had great mentors to model after. A Lobbyist gathers information for their cause and puts it back out and then connects with people to leverage the position they want to take. Networking came easy for her after 30 years. The Executive Advising of the business came about because most of the time she was a lawyer and a lobbyist. She also did administration work for higher-ranking people in the legislative areas. Hayes was exposed to a lot and was able to watch people in leadership roles.

Public speaking has always been something she did. People started asking Hayes to speak at different conferences. She began getting calls from people who wanted to discuss their career choices. Hayes describes her typical client as her avatar- Professional Women or Entrepreneurs in a leadership role, going through a career transition and/or leveling up and needing support to transition. These clients usually call saying they need this new job and need her help. Hayes starts with a free twenty-minute consultation where the client tells her what they want and she asks targeted questions and then tells them what she hears they need. From there she and the client figure out the best way to address their need. The person usually needs someone who is objective and not invested in their outcomes. 

The services Hayes provides are executive advising, which she describes as the brain behind the scenes. Some high executives need help with a special project or initiative and they don’t have the staff who can take it on or someone who can do it. Career Empowerment coaching is more than resumes but more about helping clients be empowered to move to the next level and advocate for themselves. Then there is the Authentic Networking Strategist. Hayes can see people who need to be connected and connect them. The  30 years of legislative work and understanding of the job is to find the right person and bring it together. Her focus is networking authentically because people are not trained to network and do it well. Hayes points out that networking for professional reasons is the second most hated thing to do behind public speaking. However, she likes both!

Personal Development is important. Hayes calls herself a personal development junkie. She recalls growing up she loved reading people’s bios. She enjoyed learning where people came from and what went into making them who they are. People don’t take the time to figure out what they want to do. Most people don’t take personal development courses unless they are required by their job. But it doesn’t address what you want to do and learn. Sometimes you have to pay for that growth. You need it for the next level. Hayes tells people to buy a journal to get started. Most people don’t slow down to think about what they want to do unless it is crisis time. This comes with being laid off, fired, or a health crisis. Literally keeping track of what you want to do makes it more real when you place it on paper. It’s always good to review old journals to see how far you have developed. It’s the story of your journey and how you developed. 

People have to know and learn not to be afraid to challenge the status quo. The pandemic taught all of us that nothing is in writing, nothing is permanent and you have to be willing to step outside your comfort zone or you may get crushed People who didn’t pivot during the pandemic may be struggling thinking they are going back to a new normal. There is no normal. You can’t think with the blinders on and things have to be done one way. There is always an out. Always. Will you take it is the question but there is always an out. You have to be willing to take a chance on yourself. You have to talk to your fear and you tell it can sit in the passenger seat or the back seat but fear doesn’t get to drive. Fear is real from our lived experience. Fear can ride along but it can’t drive and by the way, be quiet. No back seat driving allowed.  Hayes shares go look up the lyrics to Hello by Kurt Franklin. He is singing about fear, the words are very powerful. 

To connect visit the website at www.patriciavhayes.com, her Linkedin page, and her Facebook business page.