We know that every Electives teacher is special because they each have their own unique story. Their lived experiences and stories coupled with their compelling content has such a massive impact on employees’ learning and development.

We are excited for you to learn more about Deb, who teaches several important electives such as Giving Effective Feedback, Creating a Culture of Trust, Presenting with Power and Presence, and Navigating Change and Transition. 

Enjoy our conversation with Deb!

Q: How did you get to where you are now in your career?

Deb: I actually started when I was in high school because I did speech and debate as my extracurricular activity. I spent every day after school practicing public speaking and spent every summer at speech camp, which isn’t a cool thing to admit but it definitely helped me get intense practice. Little did I know that all those things would launch a career that I still have as an adult where I help organizations and people communicate more effectively.

Right now, I do a few things: I’m an executive coach, a speaker for numerous companies such as Coca-Cola, and a teacher at Columbia Business School and Duke Corporate Ed. I’m also a writer for Inc, Fast Company, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review and I’ve published a few books. In my personal life, I’m a wife to an executive coach, a mom to 21 year old identical twins, and most importantly a mom to a rescue dog.

Q: What has been the best career advice that you’ve ever received?

Deb: The best career advice that I’ve ever received is to run lots of experiments and de-personalize the results. In my 18 years of having my own consultancy practice, I know that everyday I'm running experiments; everytime I run an experiment I get excited about the data whether it shows me that something works or that it doesn’t work. I know I’m only going to get better when I quickly gather the feedback and pivot based on what I learned.

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher with Electives?

Deb: Jason Lavender actually inspired me to become a teacher with Electives. When I started having conversations with him, he was so smart, credible, and friendly and I know that he was a person that I wanted to work with because I trust the background he brought to the table and the vision for Electives. I just wanted to go where he goes because of his wisdom and personality.

Q: Can you share with us the electives you teach and why you focus on those topics?

Deb: I can share the electives I teach by categorizing them into a few buckets; I teach classes in presentation skills, which includes things like storytelling; navigating conflict and difficult conversations; how to give and receive feedback; and how to talk about mental health in the workplace. I also teach some electives on how to build your personal brand of directors and recently I launched a new elective on how people can be better at asking for help.

Q: What do you hope your attendees will gain from your electives, for example maybe your elective on Creating a Culture of Asking for Help, Offering, and Accepting Help?

Deb: From the Go to Help class, one thing I want people to know is how normal it is for people to resist asking for help. We associate asking for help with reputational risk starting at the age of 7. And because it’s hard-wired in us from a young age, we don’t think of help as something we actively want to do. So I hope that, after attending this specific elective, participants can change their mindsets around asking for help and gain skill sets so they can be better at asking for help. I also hope that teams, leaders and organizations will learn how to create psychological safety around asking for help in the workplace.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone who wants to be a teacher with Electives?

Deb: Come in with a positive and creative attitude. Know that the Electives team can be a great partner and resource for you. Take the work seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously. And most importantly, bring a positive attitude whenever you teach with Electives!

Q: If you could take a class from any teacher, who would it be and why?

Deb: I would probably want to take a class with Michelle Obama. There are so many things I could learn from her - showing up with presence, bouncing back from setbacks, navigating life and work boundaries, and just like how to crush it in everything you do.

Q: Is there a book or podcast that you recommend people should read/listen to?

Deb: Yes, but for entertainment purposes! My favorite podcast is called SmartLess, a comedy podcast with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. They are magical together and have strong comedic chemistry. They can just riff with each other in such a brilliant way and the guests they have on the show are just magnificent.

Q: What are you looking forward to doing this summer or even the rest of this year?

Deb: So my husband Michael and I took off almost all of March to go on a vacation to Utah and it was absolutely magical, soul infusing, and full of fun and relaxation. So I'm looking forward to taking more time off this summer and this year to create more memories and experiences.

We know that every Electives teacher is special because they each have their own unique story. Their lived experiences and stories coupled with their compelling content has such a massive impact on employees’ learning and development.

We are excited for you to learn more about Deb, who teaches several important electives such as Giving Effective Feedback, Creating a Culture of Trust, Presenting with Power and Presence, and Navigating Change and Transition. 

Enjoy our conversation with Deb!

Q: How did you get to where you are now in your career?
Deb: I actually started when I was in high school because I did speech and debate as my extracurricular activity. I spent every day after school practicing public speaking and spent every summer at speech camp, which isn’t a cool thing to admit but it definitely helped me get intense practice. Little did I know that all those things would launch a career that I still have as an adult where I help organizations and people communicate more effectively.

Right now, I do a few things: I’m an executive coach, a speaker for numerous companies such as Coca-Cola, and a teacher at Columbia Business School and Duke Corporate Ed. I’m also a writer for Inc, Fast Company, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review and I’ve published a few books. In my personal life, I’m a wife to an executive coach, a mom to 21 year old identical twins, and most importantly a mom to a rescue dog.

Q: What has been the best career advice that you’ve ever received?
Deb: The best career advice that I’ve ever received is to run lots of experiments and de-personalize the results. In my 18 years of having my own consultancy practice, I know that everyday I'm running experiments; everytime I run an experiment I get excited about the data whether it shows me that something works or that it doesn’t work. I know I’m only going to get better when I quickly gather the feedback and pivot based on what I learned.

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher with Electives?
Deb: Jason Lavender actually inspired me to become a teacher with Electives. When I started having conversations with him, he was so smart, credible, and friendly and I know that he was a person that I wanted to work with because I trust the background he brought to the table and the vision for Electives. I just wanted to go where he goes because of his wisdom and personality.

Q: Can you share with us the electives you teach and why you focus on those topics?
Deb: I can share the electives I teach by categorizing them into a few buckets; I teach classes in presentation skills, which includes things like storytelling; navigating conflict and difficult conversations; how to give and receive feedback; and how to talk about mental health in the workplace. I also teach some electives on how to build your personal brand of directors and recently I launched a new elective on how people can be better at asking for help.

Q: What do you hope your attendees will gain from your electives, for example maybe your elective on Creating a Culture of Asking for Help, Offering, and Accepting Help?
Deb: From the Go to Help class, one thing I want people to know is how normal it is for people to resist asking for help. We associate asking for help with reputational risk starting at the age of 7. And because it’s hard-wired in us from a young age, we don’t think of help as something we actively want to do. So I hope that, after attending this specific elective, participants can change their mindsets around asking for help and gain skill sets so they can be better at asking for help. I also hope that teams, leaders and organizations will learn how to create psychological safety around asking for help in the workplace.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone who wants to be a teacher with Electives?
Deb: Come in with a positive and creative attitude. Know that the Electives team can be a great partner and resource for you. Take the work seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously. And most importantly, bring a positive attitude whenever you teach with Electives!

Q: If you could take a class from any teacher, who would it be and why?
Deb: I would probably want to take a class with Michelle Obama. There are so many things I could learn from her - showing up with presence, bouncing back from setbacks, navigating life and work boundaries, and just like how to crush it in everything you do.

Q: Is there a book or podcast that you recommend people should read/listen to?
Deb: Yes, but for entertainment purposes! My favorite podcast is called SmartLess, a comedy podcast with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. They are magical together and have strong comedic chemistry. They can just riff with each other in such a brilliant way and the guests they have on the show are just magnificent.

Q: What are you looking forward to doing this summer or even the rest of this year?
Deb: So my husband Michael and I took off almost all of March to go on a vacation to Utah and it was absolutely magical, soul infusing, and full of fun and relaxation. So I'm looking forward to taking more time off this summer and this year to create more memories and experiences.

CHECK OUT DEB'S ELECTIVES

Meet one of our teachers Deb Riegel who teaches unique electives such as effective feedback, asking for help, navigating change, and more! 

Teacher Spotlight: Meet Deb Riegel

Fri Apr 29 2022

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