Barbara Jacobson is the true face of Turknett Leadership Group. She is the first person most of our clients meet, and she works closely with each and every client and coach throughout their engagements. What Barbara is most known for is her contagious smile and bright demeanor. Frankly, we don’t quite know where we would all be without her. Besides Lyn & Bob Turknett, our Founders, Barbara is the longest tenured internal team member at the office and has seen a lot of change happen at the company over that time. We want to shine the spotlight on Barbara to find out about the exciting work she is doing, how she has kept up with change, and how it’s all going!
Q: As the Chief Administrator, and really, the face of Turknett Leadership Group (TLG), how do you connect and build rapport with so many people while helping coaches and their clients?
My favorite part of working at TLG is supporting so many interesting people – the clients and the coaches! I always miss working with the clients on scheduling and assessments every time a project ends.
Q: What was your biggest challenge in 2022? What was the best part of 2022 for you at TLG?
My greatest challenge in 2022 was a group project involving assigning assessments, getting them completed, and then scheduling three appointments for over 60 people worldwide! It was also perhaps the most exciting part of 2022 because I interacted with people in Poland, Germany, England, and Spain as well as North and South America. I also improved my excel skills while trying to keep track of everything, a nice side benefit.
Q: How has your upbringing in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and your time spent abroad in school shaped your life?
Los Alamos, New Mexico, was a great place to grow up! It is a small town, but because of the scientific laboratories, there are many interesting people. We also had our own town ski area, canyons with historic Indian ruins, hiking, biking, and Santa Fe amenities (25 miles away), including the Metropolitan Opera outdoor summer season, where some New Yorkers spend their summers. My family moved to Vienna, Austria for two and a half years when I was nine. I was the perfect age to profit from the trip, old enough to learn and appreciate it yet too young to feel I was missing friends and other opportunities. I later was a foreign exchange student in France and lived near the Pyrenees mountains for a year, which was great for building confidence and independence.
Q: How have you seen TLG grow during your five-year tenure? How have you kept up with that growth and change?
I think the main area of growth for TLG over the last five years has been adding more consultants and expanding our services worldwide. The pandemic pushed us quickly into the virtual space, allowing us to expand our services rapidly and even globally. In the past, clients would fly in for appointments, but now they can join a Zoom meeting. Even our Atlanta clients prefer not to have to negotiate the Atlanta traffic! But we do miss seeing our clients in person!
Q: Where do you see yourself on the Leadership Character Model? What are your strengths?
I genuinely care about all our clients and my colleagues, so I suppose Empathy would be my strongest attribute on the Respect side. On the Responsibility side, maybe Accountability because I have to keep up with all the deadlines and appointments. It’s all about balance!
Q: Tell us about when you first met the founders, Lyn and Bob Turknett. Can you see the impact their company has had on the local community?
Lyn and Bob have lived in my neighborhood here in Tucker, GA many years. We have a mutual friend who introduced us. I can’t imagine a better place to have worked or better people to work with! I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of TLG. Lyn and Bob’s work has impacted numerous local business leaders over the years through coaching and other leadership development initiatives.