Discovering Your Potential, with Margaret Alabi – TPW323

Margaret Alabi is a busy Pharmacist by day but spends her free time coaching others to reach their full potential as leaders through her agency, The Pivot Consulting Group. In this week's episode, Margaret and I talk about how she balances her professional life with her passion for helping others grow through sustainable productivity. Growing into your potential via sustainable productivity Margaret Alabi is an industry pharmacist and leadership coach who serves as the CEO and co-founder of The Pivot Consulting Group (TPCG). In addition to coaching, speaking, and training for TPCG, she currently serves as the Director for US Immunology Patient Advocacy at UCB Inc where she partners with patient advocates and her colleagues to create innovative healthcare solutions that improve the lives of patients living with severe conditions. Margaret hails from Atlanta, Georgia, where she enjoys singing, roller skating, and posing with her standard poodle puppies, Belle and Beau! Margaret says that although she is a pharmacist by training, she's never actually dispensed any medications. She learned early in life what she valued and knew what her strengths were, which is what brought her into the industry. Margaret wanted to focus on her strengths and learn to be productive on a different level. In this kind of industry, she has encountered some stumbling blocks along the way but has no regrets. A typical day For Margaret's average day, one half of it is typical and the other half is unpredictable. She said this is good, though, because she's learned to be malleable and flexible. With that being said, Margaret starts her day at about 5:00 in the morning and immediately does a 30-minute meditation. This meditation time is essential to give her mind some "mental space and flexibility" right at the start of the day, rather than crowding her mind with things she has to do. While meditating, she likes to focus on the type of day she wants to have. What emotions does she want to feel (or not feel)? What does she want to accomplish? After her meditation, she gets on her Peloton bike for a 60-75 minute ride. Margaret says that without this vigorous workout, she does not have the stamina to make it through her day. In addition to the much-needed energy the ride provides, completing a strenuous workout also gives Margaret a huge sense of accomplishment that kicks off her day right. Her workout completed, Margaret gets dressed and begins her workday in her living room. She is now working from home like most of us. Margaret spends the majority of the workday in front of her computer but blocks out two one-hour periods of time, at 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm, where she will step away from work to play with her dogs, take a walk, or simply be away from her workspace. She doesn't take a typical lunch because she tends to snack throughout the day. Having dedicated time away from her work throughout the day has really helped her to cope with sheltering in place. Due to the nature of Margaret's job, she doesn't have a specific time that she stops working. However, she tries to balance her job with other things she may be doing in the evening, such as spending time with family, coaching her clients, or watching a favorite television show. She is currently enjoying The Undoing on HBO Max. Biggest productivity challenges When it comes to managing her life, Margaret's biggest challenge centers around knowing when to ask for help. She is a "recovering Type A" personality and doesn't always know when to release control. She has learned to trust others to help her along the way instead of trying to do it all herself.