Alecia Tolver
Alecia Tolver is a Certified Executive and Transition Coach, leadership strategist, and U.S. Army veteran with more than 21 years of military service as a Human Resources Specialist and Executive Leadership & Transition Strategist with Focal Point Business Coaching. She began her career in Big Army before transitioning into Special Operations where her work centered on ensuring service members and their families had seamless support in the rear. In that environment she learned the importance of removing uncertainty from the lives of those on the front lines by addressing family readiness, financial stability, and personal well-being so operators could focus fully on mission success. This experience shaped her leadership philosophy of understanding individual needs deeply, identifying what motivates people, and equipping them with the right tools to succeed.
Following her military career Alecia transitioned into civilian leadership through the SkillBridge program with Hire Heroes USA where she served as a Project Manager in the diversity equity inclusion and belonging space. In this role she focused on identifying and addressing organizational challenges before they escalated into larger systemic issues. One of her most meaningful accomplishments was helping uncover pay inequities through facilitated conversations within a women’s affinity group which ultimately contributed to an organizational review and corrective action. After being laid off she experienced her own difficult transition while raising a young child and a toddler navigating feelings of overwhelm and isolation. Accustomed to being the strong one she initially struggled in silence an experience that later became a defining insight in her work around transition and identity.
Today Alecia serves in dual roles with American Corporate Partners and RecruitMilitary while building her coaching practice focused on military connected professionals and leaders in transition. Her mission is to help individuals uncover their transferable skills reconnect with their passions and access the resources needed to move forward with clarity and confidence. Drawing from both her military and civilian leadership experience she helps clients break through uncertainty translate their experience into new opportunities and avoid suffering silently through major life transitions. Through her coaching and mentorship she is committed to helping others re anchor their identity strengthen self leadership and move into their next chapter with purpose and direction.
• Master Leadership Certified Coach
• Certified Business Coach
• DISC Assessment Coach
• Positive Intelligence Coach (in training)
• ICF (International Coaching Federation) training
• Certified Scrum Master
• Certified Product Owner
• Culture Assessment/Training Certification
• Resume Writing Certifications
• OSHA Course Certificate
• Executive Coach
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt
• Maxwell Certified Team Member
• Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
• University of Arkansas Grantham - BS, Business Administration and Management, General
• Military awards (multiple)
• Toastmaster competition runner-up (twice)
• Toastmasters
• ACT Now Education
What do you attribute your success to?
I think my number one thing is probably faith. If I didn't pray as much as I did, or hope as much as I did, and have as much faith as I did, I'm not sure how much of any of it would be possible. I tell people all the time that my grandmother must have been a really great praying woman, and I give her the credit. She's the first roots of a mother figure that I knew, and I know she started it. My mom is the way she is because of my grandmother. Everywhere I went, I was received with open arms. I never spent Thanksgiving by myself unless I wanted to. If I couldn't get home, I never spent a Christmas by myself, unless I chose to. Wherever I went around the world, somebody or a group of us would get together and just be in those moments. So I think it's my faith and the fact that my family also has a strong faith, and I feel like they've been praying for me my whole life. That compilation of people has been why I feel like I'm successful.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to try to listen more and speak less. I heard this a few years ago, and I feel like I've been sitting in that for a long time now, and I'm also sharing it with anyone that will listen. Some people even joke that you have two ears for a reason and one mouth, because you're supposed to listen twice as much as you speak. I think that's just a lesson that takes you through personal, professional, just life in general.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Any advice I would give young women entering my industry today would be trust yourself. I think sometimes we get a gut feeling, or we're being pulled and kind of prodded and pushed towards something, and we're like, maybe I'm not sure that's me. And it's like, we're not trusting. That instinct is in there for a reason. And sometimes, if you'd have pulled that thread, you'd be surprised what you uncover. But it all starts with trusting myself.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge is that there are a lot of people out there that probably need the help and don't know how to reach out and grab it or ask for it. I think that's a challenge that's probably going to take a while to get rid of. But it also poses an opportunity as well. If I can reach one, I can teach one. Just like the challenge is a challenge, it is also an opportunity. Just letting people know that they have access to these resources, and to best serve themselves, they probably want to ask. Sometimes, okay, maybe financially I'm not in a position to invest in it, but maybe ask. You never know that someone can help you unlock something, and that unlocks everything else. And now you're like, okay, I couldn't compensate you then, but maybe I can give you something now. And that goes a long way. So yeah, the same challenge and opportunity is that people need the support, but then we don't necessarily know how to ask for it or reach out and get it.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I tell people I fill my cup with faith, family, integrity, love, loyalty, and service. I think those are just a good capture or snapshot, or reminder that when I'm off course, if I at least live in one of those, I feel like I'm back on course. I'm at least doing the right thing, whether for me or for others. So that's definitely how I fill my spiritual cup, for sure. Faith, family, integrity, love, loyalty, and service.