Growthward Consulting

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Growthward Consulting Driving meaningful change with an experience-based approach to coaching! Our mission: To help you unlock potential and create lasting success.

Shana Ackles, Kristan Cole, and our team, bring decades of expertise in Leadership, Leverage, and Life Coaching. Our certified consultants - Shana Ackles & Kristan Cole - specialize in Leadership, Leverage, and Life Coaching, driving lasting results for our clients. As experienced business owners, we understand the challenges you face and are dedicated to guiding you toward growth and success. We believe in purposeful development, helping you thrive in both business and life. Our mission is to leave a lasting, positive impact on everyone we work with, fostering meaningful transformation along the way.

There are seasons when growth asks us to work harder, reach further, or take on more and then there are seasons when gro...
10/10/2026

There are seasons when growth asks us to work harder, reach further, or take on more and then there are seasons when growth asks something very different of us.

To recognize that something we have worked hard to build no longer fits who we are becoming….that can be difficult when it still looks successful from the outside. When you are good at it and when other people value it, it can make walking away harder to explain than staying.

But success and alignment are not always the same thing. Sometimes growth is less about reaching for what is next and more about being willing to notice what is no longer right for you.

The 5th C: ChaosAn event is only as strong as the people responsible for making it happen.And sometimes, the biggest eve...
10/09/2026

The 5th C: Chaos

An event is only as strong as the people responsible for making it happen.

And sometimes, the biggest event risk isn't the venue, the weather, or the technology.

It's the people.

Every person brought into the event planning process—employees, vendors, speakers, contractors, volunteers—has the potential to impact the outcome.

That's why vetting matters.

You don't want to be 20 days out from your event, looking at Google reviews for the first time, only to discover that the vendor you hired for your ice sculpture isn't returning your calls.

Or find out that the person in your office who volunteered to handle the floral design has never actually created a statement piece for an event.

These aren't necessarily bad people.

They may simply be the wrong people for the job.

And by the time you discover that, your options may be limited.

One of the most important parts of event planning happens before the event planning really begins:

Knowing who you're trusting with the outcome.
Ask questions.
Check references.
Review past work.
Confirm experience.
Understand their capacity.

And most importantly, don't assume that because someone can do something, they're the right person to do it for your event.

Because when you're dealing with hundreds of attendees, important clients, executives, speakers, or your company's reputation, “I thought they could handle it” isn't much of a contingency plan.

The goal isn't to assume everyone will fail.

It's to make sure you've done your homework before you need them to succeed.

The 5th C: Chaos — because the best events are prepared for what happens when the plan changes.

Be well,
Teagen Tanner

One of the hardest things for highly capable people is recognizing that capability can become a trap.Because you can do ...
09/26/2026

One of the hardest things for highly capable people is recognizing that capability can become a trap.

Because you can do it, people ask you to. Because you can do it well, you keep saying yes. Because you can solve the problem faster, you step in. Because you are responsible, you carry more.

Eventually, your competence becomes the reason too much depends on you.

That can happen in business, leadership, family, and life.

The answer is not to become less capable. It is to become more intentional about where your capability belongs.

There are things only you can do.

There are things you are simply used to doing.

Those are not the same.

Sometimes growth requires becoming better at something.

Sometimes it requires finally letting something go.

In the fall of 2018, I was preparing for the largest and most complex event I had ever managed at the time.A two-day gro...
09/25/2026

In the fall of 2018, I was preparing for the largest and most complex event I had ever managed at the time.

A two-day growth conference.

200+ attendees.
15 speakers.
And we were just 9 days away.

I was scheduled to fly from Alaska to Arizona to begin onsite event preparations when, early one morning, Alaska was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

Suddenly, everything stopped.

Power was out.
Gas stations were closed.
Major highways were impacted by bridge damage.
The airport was closed.
And my own home had sustained damage.

I remember sitting there thinking:

“I have 200+ people counting on me for a great event—and I can't even get out of the state.”

This was not an event problem.

This wasn't something I could fix with a phone call to a vendor or a quick change to the agenda.

It was a natural disaster.

And yet, the event still had to move forward.

Thankfully, I had already built contingency plans into the event.

I began working through every possible way I could get to the airport, while monitoring conditions and waiting for travel to become possible.

The incredible communities across Alaska also began working together to restore services and reopen access.

Within 24 hours, the airport reopened.

I was able to get on my flight and proceed with the event as planned.

But that experience taught me something I'll never forget:

You cannot control what happens. You can control how prepared you are to respond.

And that is one of the reasons I believe every event planner needs to account for the 5th C:

Chaos.

Severe weather. Natural disasters. Environmental emergencies.

Transportation disruptions. Power outages.

We can't predict all of them.

But we can build plans that give us options when they happen.

And one lesson I took away from that earthquake?

Don't plan your travel around the event as if everything will go perfectly.
Whenever possible, give yourself a buffer. Flying in the day before may be convenient—but it leaves very little room for the unexpected.

Because sometimes, the biggest threat to your event isn't happening at the venue.

It's happening somewhere completely outside your control.

Be well,
Teagen Tanner

To feel seen is one of the most human desires we have.Not just acknowledged. Not just included in the conversation. Trul...
09/23/2026

To feel seen is one of the most human desires we have.

Not just acknowledged. Not just included in the conversation. Truly seen.

Leadership changes when we remember there is a person behind the role, the responsibility, the deadline, and the outcome.

Sometimes the most meaningful thing a leader can offer is their full attention.

A moment that says, “I see you. You matter here.”

- Shana

I hear people describe themselves as “bad at time management” all the time, and I think we are often far too quick to ac...
09/19/2026

I hear people describe themselves as “bad at time management” all the time, and I think we are often far too quick to accept that conclusion.

Sometimes it is true. We procrastinate. We avoid. We overcommit. We fail to protect our priorities.

But sometimes the issue is not that we are managing our time poorly. It is that we have built a way of working that does not fit the reality of our lives.

We expect ourselves to concentrate in environments full of interruption. We carry responsibilities because we know how to do them, even when they no longer require our level of experience. We let other people’s urgency determine our best hours. We adopt systems that work beautifully for someone else and then judge ourselves when they fail us.

I think this is especially true for leaders. As responsibility increases, we often keep adding without asking what should come off.
That is where overload starts to masquerade as a discipline problem.

I still believe deeply in structure, accountability, and follow-through. But I also believe we have to be honest about whether the system we are trying so hard to follow is actually supporting the work we are meant to do.

A question worth sitting with:

What are you still carrying simply because you know how to do it?
And what would become possible if you stopped?

Shana Ackles

I believe deeply in personal responsibility.It is one of the foundations of my coaching and one of the standards I try t...
09/12/2026

I believe deeply in personal responsibility.

It is one of the foundations of my coaching and one of the standards I try to hold for myself.

But personal responsibility becomes distorted when a leader starts carrying responsibility that belongs to everyone else.

Those are two very different things.

Taking responsibility for my leadership means asking whether I was clear, whether I communicated honestly, whether I gave someone the tools to succeed, whether I addressed the problem when it first appeared, and whether my own behavior contributed to the pattern.

It does not mean making excuses for someone else's repeated lack of effort.

It does not mean lowering the standard.

It does not mean rescuing someone from every consequence.

And it certainly does not mean believing that if I were simply a better leader, everyone around me would always succeed.

That isn't leadership. That's control dressed up as responsibility.

We are responsible for creating healthy conditions for people to succeed.

Then we have to give capable adults the dignity of being responsible for what they do with those conditions.

There is enormous freedom in learning where your responsibility ends and another person's begins.

In business.
In leadership.
And in life.

-Shana Ackles

In the fall of 2018, I was preparing for the largest and most complex event I had ever managed at the time.A two-day gro...
09/11/2026

In the fall of 2018, I was preparing for the largest and most complex event I had ever managed at the time.

A two-day growth conference.

200+ attendees.

15 speakers.

And we were just 9 days away.

I was scheduled to fly from Alaska to Arizona to begin onsite event preparations when, early one morning, Alaska was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

Suddenly, everything stopped.

Power was out.

Gas stations were closed.

Major highways were impacted by bridge damage.

The airport was closed.

And my own home had sustained damage.

I remember sitting there thinking:

“I have 200+ people counting on me for a great event—and I can't even get out of the state.”

This was not an event problem.

This wasn't something I could fix with a phone call to a vendor or a quick change to the agenda.

It was a natural disaster.

And yet, the event still had to move forward.

Thankfully, I had already built contingency plans into the event. I began working through every possible way I could get to the airport, while monitoring conditions and waiting for travel to become possible.

The incredible communities across Alaska also began working together to restore services and reopen access.

Within 24 hours, the airport reopened.

I was able to get on my flight and proceed with the event as planned.

But that experience taught me something I'll never forget:

You cannot control what happens. You can control how prepared you are to respond.

And that is one of the reasons I believe every event planner needs to account for the 5th C:

Chaos.

Severe weather. Natural disasters. Environmental emergencies. Transportation disruptions. Power outages.

We can't predict all of them.

But we can build plans that give us options when they happen.

And one lesson I took away from that earthquake?

Don't plan your travel around the event as if everything will go perfectly.

Whenever possible, give yourself a buffer. Flying in the day before may be convenient—but it leaves very little room for the unexpected.

Because sometimes, the biggest threat to your event isn't happening at the venue.

It's happening somewhere completely outside your control.

Teagen Tanner

One of the most important shifts I have made as a leader is learning to become curious before becoming frustrated.That d...
09/04/2026

One of the most important shifts I have made as a leader is learning to become curious before becoming frustrated.

That does not always come naturally.

When someone repeatedly misses something, when a process breaks down, when I have to ask about the same thing again, it is incredibly easy to move quickly to:

Why isn't this getting done?

Why do I have to keep asking?

Why doesn't this person take more ownership?

And sometimes those are completely legitimate questions.

But I have learned there is usually a better question to ask first:

What is actually breaking down here?

Is the expectation clear?

Does the person have enough time and capacity to do what I am asking?

Did I adequately train them?

Have I given them responsibility while keeping too much of the authority?

Is the system strong enough that either of us can actually see whether the work is being done?

Have I clearly addressed the issue—or have I been silently growing more frustrated while hoping they would figure it out?

And perhaps the hardest one:

Have I repeatedly stepped in and fixed things, teaching the people around me that if something becomes difficult enough, I will eventually carry it?

Personal responsibility in leadership goes both directions.

I do not believe leaders should take responsibility for another adult's choices, effort, or performance.

But I do believe we should be willing to examine our leadership before we assign blame.

Sometimes that examination reveals a problem we can fix.

Sometimes it reveals a person who needs more development.

And sometimes it confirms that we have provided clarity, support, authority, resources, opportunity, and honest feedback—and the person simply isn't meeting the standard.

Then our responsibility changes.

The courage to develop people and the courage to make difficult decisions come from the same place:

Being willing to tell the truth about what is actually happening.

When planning an event, most people focus on the questions they’re excited to answer:Where will it be?What will we serve...
08/26/2026

When planning an event, most people focus on the questions they’re excited to answer:

Where will it be?
What will we serve?
How many people will attend?
What will the experience look like?

But experienced event planners ask another question:

What happens if something goes wrong?

It’s the question nobody wants to ask—but every successful event needs an answer.

Medical emergencies are one example of event chaos that cannot always be predicted.

While we hope we never need these plans, preparation creates confidence and allows you to respond quickly and professionally.

A strong emergency readiness plan should include:

✅ Nearest medical resources.
Know the closest hospital, urgent care, and emergency services.

✅ Emergency contacts
Have key contacts easily accessible for event leadership, vendors, and venue staff.

✅ Venue response procedures
Understand what support the venue provides and how emergencies are handled.

✅ First aid access
Know where first aid supplies and resources are located.

✅ Team communication plan
Make sure your team knows who is responsible for what if an emergency occurs.

✅ Insurance & documentation
Understand your coverage and keep important event documents organized and accessible.

Planning for emergencies doesn’t mean expecting the worst.

It means creating the ability to stay calm, protect your attendees, and continue providing a great experience.

That’s the 5th C: Chaos.

Because great event planning isn’t just about creating memorable moments.

It’s about creating moments people can trust.

Be well,

Teagen
Event Consulting Expert

Address

Wasilla, AK
99654

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+19078416238

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