What was your background before joining Enterprise Strategies?
Enterprise Strategies was my “big girl job” after graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington. I spent the summer after completing my degree in Cape Town, South Africa volunteering in Capricorn Township as a teacher. Upon returning, I took over social media for Enterprise Strategies. Now almost four and a half years later, I have transitioned from the social media manager to the community manager and now a consultant.
What do you like most about working for Enterprise Strategies?
I love the people that make up the Enterprise Strategies team. Everyone is spread out across the globe, and it may sound hectic to some, but it works for us – especially with active clients. Some clients are on Eastern Time, some on Pacific Time and others on Greenwich Mean Time, and having a dispersed team allows us to tackle client needs and deliverables like a well-oiled machine. Our team is comprised of a myriad of different backgrounds, expertise and passions. And honestly, what I love most is how everyone transparently shares their knowledge for the benefit of the whole. Having the opportunity to work with individuals who genuinely want to help others is really refreshing, because that is what we do at Enterprise Strategies – help organizations be the best they can. We don’t oversell, we customize our services to what the client needs, and deliver what best serves them.
What areas of expertise are you most passionate about and why?
What I enjoy most about what we do is the initial calls we have with potential clients or clients in the early stages of an engagement. We listen to their pain points and hurdles that they are trying to jump. They might be trying to gain executive buy-in, or increase traction with their social collaboration tools. As I take notes, all the ideas of how we can help them flood in. The most rewarding part is at the end of our client engagements – seeing how their communities of collaboration are thriving.
What do you see as the biggest challenge in the industry right now?
As more companies move toward a more digital and transparent way of working, a challenge is getting employees comfortable with sharing things that are not fully baked or 100% complete. Some people may be hesitant or resistant to sharing part of a document or presentation in an open area that they would normally exchange back and forth in a closed email chain. Being vulnerable and possibly publishing something that may have an error or needs updating can be nerve-racking or completely out of someone’s comfort zone. Aligning expectations and encouraging people to share and give feedback is what makes these collaborative environments successful and helps with knowledge retention within the enterprise.
Additionally, some may feel that these new tools may replace their job or take away some of their responsibilities. Trust is the basis for this concern, and highlighting and helping them understand that these new tools are intended to streamline daily activities, enhance the work they are doing and alleviate frustrations from traditional ways of working – not eliminate their jobs.
What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t working?
When I am not working at Enterprise Strategies, I am usually volunteering or hanging out with my two grandmas (they both are named Judy, and are the cutest and most feisty humans). I have the privilege of serving on the board for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and serving as the co-chair for the Indianapolis Out of the Darkness Walk (the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s main fundraiser). When I am not at a board meeting or at a walk planning meeting, I also train people in safeTALK which is a suicide alert training.
When I am not advocating for suicide prevention and mental health, I am volunteering as a high school and middle school girls rugby coach. It’s no joke – girls are fierce! The high school team has won state 10 times and has had 14 undefeated regular seasons, and our newly formed 
middle school team won the state championship this last year. Nothing makes my heart thrive more than seeing other people do something they never thought they could, whether it is someone who is able to save a life after a suicide prevention training, seeing a young woman finish a warm up lap at practice for the first time when she never thought she could or a client exceeding their onboarding expectations.
I am a true believer in reframing bad days into “plot twists.” I keep Land O’ Lakes in business with my love for baking (and need for sweet treats), and I think everyone should have their grandmas as their best friends.
What is your favorite success story?
One of my favorite success stories so far has easily been the Student Success Network. Formed in September 2013, the SSN is a rapidly growing network of 50+ education and youth development nonprofits providing direct service to more than 20,000 low-income middle and high school students in and outside of NYC public schools. Throughout our engagement, I was continually impressed and inspired by the individuals who work for their member organizations.
Not only do they commit to improving the education sector by measuring student SEO, but they are currently growing to be the largest communities of practice in the nation that are using a common data set. It makes me so happy to see an organization like Student Success Network thrive. Their impact and the good their member organizations are doing in the greater New York City area has and will continue to have a ripple effect of impact and positivity.
Building communities is a selfless act. Kelsey’s experience stems from many hours of non profit volunteer efforts. Through hard work and patience she helped establish community and trust in underprivileged neighborhoods in and around Cape Town, South Africa. As an International Volunteer Ambassador, she leveraged her experience to mentor others on how to build similarly impactful communities. Applying these same principles, Kelsey has built Enterprise Strategies online community from the ground up. She now works with our clients to build and manage trusted, impactful online communities. Connect with Kelsey on Twitter and LinkedIn.
