“The time to be ready is not the time to get ready. Success is only reserved for prepared people.”

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Tameka Williamson, Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Coach and Trainer on the John Maxwell Team, is the owner of Celestial Enterprises. Her focus is to provide successful leadership training, business strategies and consultancy services to clients that will improve their business processes and enable them to operate in a lean fashion, yielding a successful return on their bottom line; along with providing training and development workshops for youth centered on college and career preparation. Tameka is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, received a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern University A & M College and a Masters of Business Administration from Webster University. She has served in the capacity of several operational and managerial roles with Fortune 50 Companies.

Celestial Enterprises provides educational coaching and training, leadership development and business consulting to help improve the capabilities of our youth, businesses and non-profits.

MO: How are you working to create an increased number of opportunities to coach and train youth and their families on how to be better prepared and equipped for life after high school?

Tameka: I am establishing partnerships with area high schools and organizations that allow me to speak to students on a consistent basis and provide them with a recipe for success. I have also partnered with my church to institute my college prep program for the youth and parents in our church and the surrounding community. These interactions allow me to utilize the principles covered in my book to transform the mindset of the next generation. In addition, my management team is working to establish some synergistic relationships with organizations that already have the platform, but our services compliment one another.

MO: Where does your passion for working with non-profits and community involvement come from? How has your life-long commitment to civic duty contributed to your career path?

Tameka: My involvement in the community has been part of my life since I was in high-school. As a high-school student, I was actively involved in numerous community organizations that served the youth in my area. I also benefited from the service of others who mentored me and encouraged me through their involvement in organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club and W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center. I truly believe my involvement in these organizations, whether it was as a contributor or a receiver, changed my life in a positive way. It is for that reason, I have a passion and commitment for non-profits and community organizations. One of the key principles of leadership is to reach back and teach others what you have learned. This speaks to the legacy you leave and your ability to graduate from success to significance – what John Maxwell classifies as a 5th Level Leader. It’s not what you can do for me, but what I can do for others.

MO: You’re certified as John Maxwell coach. Can you explain what your training entailed and what services and guidance you’re able to offer as a coach and speaker?

Tameka: My training entailed weekly training calls before and after certification, on-line training webinars, live and on-site training by John and his awesome team. We also have a mentoring component by John’s team to help you be successful in implementing your goals. Above all of this, we have a dynamic support structure amongst the other John Maxwell Coaches. We encourage one another, collaborate on new opportunities, provide resources, etc. It is an awesome family, I am proud to be part of. In terms of services and guidance I am able to provide as a coach and speaker, I am able to help businesses and/or individuals increase their leadership confidence level, sharpen their business and personal skills, improve their bottom line, understand how to value and relate to their people by utilizing the various leadership learning systems based on some of John’s most prolific books (21 Irrefutable Laws, Everyone Communicates Few Connect, Becoming a Person of Influence, Put Your Dream to the Test, How to be a R.E.A.L. Success, and Leadership Gold). I execute these programs through mastermind groups, individual coaching, lunch n’ learns, and workshops/trainings.

MO: You held roles in manufacturing, operations, management, and human resources for several Top 15 companies on the Fortune 100 list. How has your background and experience gained at these companies help contributed to the development and success of Celestial Enterprises?

Tameka: My corporate experience has afforded me many opportunities and taught me many lessons. I had the opportunity to understand the challenges of being in leadership, the journey to get there, the gaps in adequately preparing those in position to seeing how the lack of leadership, value of people and knowledge can impact a company’s bottom line drastically. This real life experience allows me to provide lessons learned and an objective viewpoint to leaders on how to approach business scenarios strategically with a sustainable approach. It also enables me to help guide them to see what their Achilles Heel is and the potential risks they could encounter if ignored. Because I also have a passion for developing leaders and helping businesses succeed, I wanted to take what I learned and experienced firsthand to help others so our economy can continue to thrive, people will have jobs and the US will remain competitive.

MO: Can you give us an example of Pinnacle Leadership?

Tameka: The Pinnacle Level of Leadership is the 5th and highest level of leadership according to John Maxwell. At this level, these leaders empower many people to lead larger, develop an abundance mindset in their people and establish a legacy within their organization. An example of a Pinnacle Leader of course would be John Maxwell, as he not only write about it, but he walks it out through his certification program. I also wrote a blog on another person I classified as a Pinnacle Leader and that was Steve Harvey and his wife Marjorie Harvey. After serving as a facilitator for their foundation’s Girls Who Rule The World Mentoring Weekend event, I saw the empowerment and abundance mindset affirmed daily not only in the girls in the program, but the leaders who support the organization. Then I saw the legacy lived out through the involvement of their family in leading the charge and carrying out the mission. Often times, we start organizations and businesses and don’t train our offspring or leaders on our team how to keep our dream alive. If Steve Jobs didn’t train and equip his predecessor, Apple would have crumbled after his death. Pinnacle Leadership is synonymous with Sustainability and this equals Legacy.

MO: Who or where do you look to for inspiration?

Tameka: Because I am spiritually grounded, I get my inspiration from God. Then I ask Him to surround me with people who will encourage me, hold me accountable and challenge me to maximize my full potential. This is where I live out the Law of the Inner Circle, one of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. So, I have a dynamic business coach, Jonathan Sprinkles, an accountability partner and colleague, Jack A. Daniels, and a great team of supporters: GlenNeta Griffin – PR & Publicist, Tomika Webb – Business Manager, Sonya Wimberly-Hawkins – Publicist, Parents and a host of close friends.