About

Who am I

I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend, a thinker, a mentor, an organizer, a leader; I am a communications “lifer”. I love, love the summer and detest winter, yet I live in Michigan, which is beautiful and makes up for tons of snow. I read, I read a lot. Books that are fun, books on leadership, books on CD, blogs, newsletters, you name it I will read it. I love to dance. I dance with my kids, with my husband, with no one and yes recently I even dance in the car at stop lights where everyone can see me. Hello my name is Kandace Chadwell and I am a recovering freeze dancer, aka someone who pretends they are not dancing once they approach another car or a stop light.

People say I live to change. I live to grow. I live to help others in all aspects of life.  I am that person who writes things down randomly on note cards, like Jon Acuff, says to do. If only I could put the puzzle pieces together.  I am the person who others turn to for advice, for words, for process and for understanding people better and how to tie that into great teams. But, most of all, I am finding myself just as many of you may be. I am being led and want to share my story and maybe a few helpful tips along the way. I may be able to give guidance to others but my path has yet to be revealed to me. This could be the beginning. Where does your story begin?

My Family

I am a mother of three wonderful children: a 3 year old daughter, a 16 year old son (yep big gap there), and a 20 year old step-daughter. I have an awesome loving husband of 16 years.  My mother, father, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are very important to me. Growing up hanging out with my family taught me so many things about people. First of all people are different. People are loving and kind. People have different views. People have different jobs. People have different cultures and beliefs. Family is life. Family teaches “people” skills. In my family you speak up or you will not be heard. We are loud and yet loving. We are helpers and we are strong. Together we can accomplish and do anything that God leads us to do together.

My History

While driving along one day I thought about what my many jobs and life experiences had taught me.  It all seemed to boil down to one thing.

Every great manager, supervisor or leader I have ever encountered had a few elements that all seemed to connect.  They worked in fast food, retail, hospitality or serving some time in their life. They worked in a fast environment with lots of people who had to work together. They invested in training in leadership, speaking, coaching, mentoring or communications. They had experienced hardship and struggle and overcame it with the help of other people in their lives. They took time for their spiritual growth.

So what does this have to do with my history you say? Well, people often came to me for advice and I never understood why. I could not figure my life out or how to handle my own situations so how could I help them? They too could look at things from a different perspective. They could provide good communication and customer service. Then it hit me. Not everyone has the same skills. It may be experience or personality but some of us develop or acquire a

My Master’s Degree in Life 

Spiritual growth has been one of the biggest impacting factors. God is my number one. I read the bible pretty much every day, except when I falter like we all do. I have attended bible studies. I have an awesome life group that my husband and I spend time with as much as possible. My church is part of my family. I volunteer in a youth group and help out whenever I can. I try to find a way to provide peace and understanding in all “different” types of people.

It was not always this way. I grew up believing but did not commit. I did not attend or volunteer or help. I never left the first chair you sit in when you start your spiritual journey as my pastor often says. My husband never even sat down. He stood on the outside looking in for many years. We have grown together so much and are still growing with the help of our number one and friends, family and our church.

We all have been through hardship and struggle. From loss of loved ones to loss of jobs to all the other stories you may have. If you have been in the dark and made it through to the light, you know what it feels like to come out on the other side and what people helped you to get there.

What they call “real” work history

Currently I am a Business Account Manager at a utility company, aka I help businesses with customer service and connecting with other people within the company to get things done. I help communicate messages to “different” types of people in “different” types of businesses, from “different” types of people.

Previously I was an Account Supervisor at an advertising agency, aka I helped clients convey their messages to others and connected them with internal people to get things done. I supervised projects and some internal employees to benefit both the client and the agency in a fast working environment with many “different” types of people.

Previous to that I was an Assistant Store Manager at a retail company, aka I helped customers and developed team members to help customers. I managed the many “different” people helping many “different” types of customers.

My education and training includes a Master’s Degree in Communications, ongoing development and process improvement training and many books/blogs on leadership, careers, skill building, coaching and building a life you want.

Do you see a theme here? I love people. I love helping others. I love leading and I love sharing my thoughts and insights. I love hearing what people have to say and how they think and where they came from and why they do what they do and how they do it. Understanding people can get you through rough times, difficult tasks, through work, through life.

Guess what I am going to write about, you’re not guessing, you are right people and how that relates to life.