Her Story
About Shirita
I have been working in human resources, coaching, and consulting for over 25 years. My career began at Enterprise Rent-A-Car where I had many different opportunities including training and development, cycle of service programs for new hires, call center work, body shops, accounts, and human resources. I conducted first-level screening interviews, set candidates up for second and third interviews, and did data analytics within the department. After four years there, I moved to Racetrack Petroleum as a recruiter for two years, focusing strictly on recruiting, onboarding, hiring, orientations, and career fairs at their corporate office. While working at a career fair, FedEx approached me because they always saw me there with a long line, and they poached me for a regional HR position. I then took a position at BAE Systems as a human resources business partner doing OD, coaching, and training. Currently, I work at NASA where I am responsible for everything awards and recognition for our agency. In February 2021, I started Acnestis Coaching and Consulting where I do coaching, human resource consulting, and workshops at universities. I work with the University of South Florida's executive business school teaching students about resilience, emotional intelligence, and why that's important to leadership. I also work with nonprofits and have individual executive clients that I coach one-on-one to help them lead in their industries. I am doing this work because I have a gift and I definitely feel like it's a blessing from God - I'm a people whisperer. I'm really doing things to elevate my platform just so that I could have more opportunities to help people. I published a coaching book last year as a resource for those people I can't coach one-on-one, so I can continue to use this gift to help others know their triggers and blind spots so they can live more fulfilling lives.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shirita
01What do you attribute your success to?
I am doing this work because I have a gift, and I definitely feel like it's a blessing from God. I have the ability to be a people whisperer and to see people. I have a very thriving career at NASA, and then I have my business where I can still feed into people and help them and really be a helper. I'm really doing things to elevate my platform just so that I could have more opportunities to help people. The saying goes, small hinges open big doors. It's not for my brand, it's not for me, it's just how do I get to more people. For those people I can't coach one-on-one, my coaching book is still a resource, so I continue to use this gift to help others to know their triggers, to know their blind spots, so that they can live more fulfilling lives.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
What I noticed was that as I was coaching these executives, the lines were blurred between the issues they were having at work and at home. They're not very partitioned, and so that prompted me to go back and get my doctorate in marriage and family counseling to be able to have more tools in my tool belt to help them when we go there. And typically we go there because we coach the whole person and not just the things that cause the work issues. Sometimes it's the personal pieces. I'm certified to facilitate assessments like communication assessments, change assessments, and strength assessments that really help with understanding yourself and that self-awareness, and that goes with the emotional intelligence piece as well. The better you know yourself, the better you are able to communicate with others and have better connections and relationships. All of those things kind of go together.
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