Shelly Orr Priebe

When my clients ask me a question, then instantly revert to personal reflection sighing “I know — you will ask me what I think.” They DO have the answers, and coaching is the white space they need to surface their truths.          

Since February 2021 has published the monthly column “Board Room Beat” for the GALA Knowledge Center, with a distribution to 17,000 subscribers in 70 countries.

OK, it was an era… When named CEO of McElroy Translation, I assembled a rock-star team within 30 days—a team that maintained 100% retention for the next 10 years. This team led the turnaround of a technology dinosaur that leapfrogged competitors, becoming the darling of industry pundits and analysts. Long before cloud and crowd were de rigeur we disrupted supply chains by leveraging crowd utilization and cloud infrastructure. Not a day goes by that I don’t think with gratitude of my #2 in command. I credit a strong foundation in in organizational best practices to her unending talent at "managing up."

Being walked out of my CEO role—along with my entire senior leadership team—after 22 years of service to a company and industry I loved was a plot twist straight out of a novella. In hindsight, I should have seen it coming. When the founder’s sons took over controlling interest after his death, they kept asking, “But why can’t we do things the way we always did them?” It never occurred to them to offer severance packages—or even to secure the system passwords for the next day. You can’t make this stuff up!

Being awed by the bio and accomplishments of a panelist being introduced at a conference — not realizing it was me. (I lost my chutzpah for a while after the memorable failure!)

Thrift stores, cowboy boots, Mexican martinis, LU PiM’s Orange Cookies, climbing trees, being alone.

My goal is to stay relevant via continuous learning so that I might coach for many more years — after all, 60 is the new 40. I never have the “Sunday Scaries”  because what I get to do on Monday is an absolute delight. I also have an AI project in the works — Ask me about “Your Areté.”

• Master Certified Coach (MCC) - International Coaching Federation
• Advanced Certification in Team Coaching (ACTC) - International Coaching Federation
• Diversity Equity Inclusion Certificate - Cornell University
• Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) - IPEC Coaching
• Core Energy Coaching - IPEC Coaching

Besides the next coaching conversation? Developing and delivery of a coaching program with measurable business impact that helps employees at all levels of a company through point-in-time 1:1 coaching. Though, I’m pretty dang proud that my adult kids ask me for coaching and advice.        

Facilitated 50+ workshops in multiple countries and around the US (see Proudest Moment). Corporate and community speaker on topics of Leadership, Learning & Development, and Unconscious Bias. I wrote, acted, directed, edited, and produced a 4-episode web show with 5 others in the first few months of covid. I can often be seen on theater stages around San Luis Obispo having performed in over 25 shows, a couple of commercials, and a short film. All of that and what sticks out most is the (almost) daily fiction writing I do for fun almost every day (243 out of the last 312 days) with no plans of publishing those stories. Well, I don’t want to say it’ll never happen.

Winning an industry award for the work we did on the experiential unconscious bias workshop “Make Some Room,” and delivering that content in multiple countries.

Early on as a manager, I was taken advantage of by an employee who spent most of their time working on personal projects. I dismissed info from other people about their work habits and ignored signs of poor work and timely delivery. Months later, when I finally stepped in, the employee announced on the spot that they were leaving to start their own event planning business. The people around me had been right, but I wanted to be liked more than lead.

Stepping into the role of Head of Learning and Development at a large ad agency. Having transitioned into L&D mid-career without a traditional background, I found myself questioning, “Why me?” I struggled with doubt until I connected with other L&D leaders, stayed open-minded, and embraced curiosity—transforming uncertainty into growth.

Watching animated Disney movies by myself… and no, I don’t have kids at home (anymore).

I will be able to play “Eruption” by (Eddie) Van Halen. Or at least I’ll keep working towards it. I’m already living my “someday” as I partner with others to knock down barriers to their success

• Professional Executive and Leadership Coach - ICF PCC and CPCC (Co-Active Professional Certified Coach)
• Gallup CliftonStrengths
• MBTI
• University of South Florida DEI In The Workplace

Watching the light bulb switch on and seeing growth and accountability

Quoted in Wall Street Journal, Over 100 speaking engagements globally - Topics: Leadership, Coaching, CX, Motivation, Health and Fitness. Read this article written about Lewis to learn what he has in common with Trinity and Neo of the cult film classic “The Matrix.”

Building a team and seeing them come together as one unit.

Not following my gut and making a regrettable hire of someone who did not fit well within the team. 

My first VP role - I had a moment where I needed to fall back on my strengths and gain my confidence back.

Working out, Biking, and anything smoked meat related.

Living my best “someday” life now, but spending more time giving back/paying it forward.

• Scrum Master
• Business Coach - ExpertRating
• Life Coach -  ExpertRating 
• Master Personal Trainer