Growing up, my friends and family insisted that I would one day become a teacher. I've always been a bit of an extrovert and never shied away from helping or giving advice if it was asked of me. As I navigated through my college education, I realized that I excelled in my foreign language classes. I pursued a B.A. in Spanish. What fascinated me (and still does to this very day) about speaking another language, is that it gave me the opportunity to communicate & create relationships with an entire new group of people.After graduating college, my career path took a sudden turn into Sales. I started working as an Account Executive in the equipment leasing / finance industry. I was eager to learn and grow. As my career progressed, I took on new roles in Sales Management, Sales Training and Sales Enablement. And suddenly, things came "full circle". I found that I had become the very thing my friends and family knew all along. I had become a teacher.This role was where I found my true passion. There's nothing more satisfying than laying out a plan, taking the sales journey with my reps and ultimately, reaching the destination that screams, "SUCCESS". My teaching has reached far beyond sales training. I began to incorporate both product and systems training into my curriculum to produce well-rounded, successful reps.There are three key factors that keep me on the right track to being a successful "teacher":1. BE EMPATHETIC - Sometimes, people have a bad day. Sometimes, people make mistakes (myself included). Mistakes are merely successes that have not yet been learned.2. BE OPEN-MINDED - There are always opportunities to learn and grow. Accept feedback, constructive criticism and new ideas. You never know how much it may be able to help you in the future.3. BE LIGHT-HEARTED - Although the work needs to get done, there is no reason why you can't create an environment where people WANT to learn, engage and grow. Having a little bit of fun along the way helps people feel safe and equal as they progress in their role.