Keisha Engelhardt

I attribute my success to my work ethic and having grit to overcome challenges and work through obstacles. Really, it's my ownership and the pride that I take in my work of wanting to do a great job. I think about those two significant leaders who empowered me when I didn't see my potential, and that drives me to do the same for others. Starting as an agent on the phone and working my way to senior manager in about 6 years - that came from ownership and grit. But I'm most proud of the leaders I've been able to bring along with me on that journey, helping empower them to their highest potential when they don't see it in themselves.

The best career advice I've ever received was 'progress over perfection.' Early in my career, I would second-guess myself and not be confident, even though I knew I had looked everything over. I was going for perfectionism rather than just moving forward. But I learned that it's going to be okay if it's not 100% perfect. You can learn from your mistakes. As long as you learn from them, you're moving forward, and it's actually better development than everything being 100% perfect.

My advice would be to work hard, but also surround yourself with others that you see with success and to find a great mentor. I would say those two things - having a great work ethic, and mentors with people around you that can support you, and even just be an ear to listen through those hard times - can really set you up for success.

Some of the biggest challenges in our field right now are related to the economy and the state that our clients are in. Being in the debt settlement industry, we work with clients who need help getting out of hardship, but when it comes to the point they're not able to afford their deposits due to outside factors, that presents some challenges. Another challenge is integrating AI - figuring out what that looks like for our teams, making them more efficient with different platforms, and helping them know that AI is there to support them and not to take their roles. On the flip side, the opportunities are similar to the challenges. With the economy, there are more people in debt, credit card debt, who need help to get back on a better path to financial freedom. That creates opportunity for where we can come in to support them. Our company is multifaceted - through debt settlement, you resolve that, but then we also have personal loans and HELOC loan departments that clients can transfer to. It's a full portfolio to help everyday Americans get back on track with their finances.

The values that are most important to me are integrity, being your authentic self, and trust. All three of those go together - they go into being reliable, being a great teammate, and being able to collaborate. Those are very important to me.