Melva Holt

melva holt

Coach Overview:

Melva Holt is an experienced executive coach and former HR Executive with over 18 years of corporate experience and 4+ years of small business ownership experience. Prior to founding PAISE Leadership, Melva was the VP of HR for Kaman Industrial Technologies, where she led the HR strategic direction for over three years, building a business partnership model and leading the efforts to establish an independent organization through a divestiture. Melva began her career in the Engineering Development Program at General Mills. Over her 14 years at General Mills, she held various leadership positions of increasing responsibility within HR, Operations, and Engineering, including being an HR Business Partner for the North American Retail Sales and Supply Chain functions and leading Talent Acquisition for the R&D and Quality functions.

Melva’s proven track record of results building creative HR strategies to deliver outstanding business results is a hallmark of her career. She is skilled at guiding organizations through transformational change by helping to identify root issues, developing comprehensive and clear strategic plans, and coaching leaders to lead at new levels during transition.

Melva is seen as a thought leader in leadership development, strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and culture. She is highly sought-after for coaching, consistently driving for excellence, and pushing all to reach their full potential. She is affectionately known as the “goal whisperer” by many of her clients.

Statement of Coaching Philosophy:

Melva believes in deep partnership with her clients to surface their holistic true desires and create action plans to reach them. Her clients achieve success by breaking through the various blocks holding them back from making the decisions that lead to real progress toward their goals. Her approach is client and accountability-focused and follows ICF ethical practices, leading to sustained results.

Coaching Expertise:

  • Individual coaching of Director+ leaders
  • Coaching and development of new leaders and leaders in transition to new leadership levels
  • Specialization in helping leaders say the hard things that ultimately provide the traction for improvement and growth of their teams. This is delivering tough but actionable feedback, resolving conflict, and challenging the status quo.
  • New team startup and team building/effectiveness facilitation
  • Assessments: Hogan, Rejuvi, Leadership Circle, Energy Leadership Index, Clifton Strengths, MBTI, DiSC, Social Styles, and multiple 360 tools (Hogan 360, Extraordinary Leader 360) 

Experience with Higher Education and/or Academic Medical Centers:

  • Leadership expertise in mid and large corporate organizations through direct leadership, coaching, and consulting work
  • Alumni association board member for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Chair of the Career Services committee and member of the alumni engagement committee
  • Former board member and Board chair for Girls Taking Action non-profit organization
  • New leadership coaching and training with HR and Medical leaders of Henry J. Austin Health Center

Representative Coaching Engagements:

  • Coached high potential leader in transition from Department lead to General Manager. Focused on increasing self-confidence, leading change, and building cohesiveness of the newly formed leadership team. The leader made significant improvement in all areas as, noted by the CEO, COO, and all direct reports through the coaching engagement. Strategies used included co-creating a future vision of the team and action planning to bring that vision to fruition over 1.5 years.
  • Coached executive in a startup environment out of burnout mode to create a positive culture with personal and team boundaries, clear roles and responsibilities, and prioritization of work. The leader’s entire organization reported experiencing a positive shift in the leader’s confidence, attitude, clarity, and overall leadership.

Certifications and Trainings:

  • Associate Certified Coach (ACC), International Coaching Federation
  • Certified Master Coach, Center for Coaching Certification
  • Certified Professional Coach, Center for Coaching Certification
  • Rejuvi Certified
  • Hogan Assessments Certified
  • The Five Behaviors and DiSC Certified
  • xchange approach (Appreciative Inquiry) training

Education:

  • Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering and Consulting Engineering Certificate, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
  • MBA coursework, DePaul University