T.J. Holloway, President of Holloway Group, Speaks Exclusively to The Silicon Review: ‘The Heart and Knowledge Behind our Relationship Team Leads to Our Unwavering Commitment to the Highest Service Levels in Professional Development’

“Our Assertive Communication & Conflict Management Seminar has been voted the best communication training in New England.”

Holloway Group, LLC is a leading independent professional development and consulting firm serving clients throughout Maine and New Hampshire.

To highlight and further understand what Holloway Group stands for and seeks to explore in this segment, I sat down with T.J. Holloway, who serves as the company’s President.

Below is an excerpt.

Q. What’s your story?

My story is simple. I love to help people succeed. I have no idea why but people trust me to help them get better in management, leadership, and life. I am an avid reader and learner. I love my wife so much. I love my whole family, of course. I love my church family, friends, and the whole Bangor community. More importantly, I love my church, the Rock Church in Bangor. I love them all!

Q. What’s the greatest challenge you have faced? And how did you overcome it?

My greatest challenge has always been myself. Napoleon Hill wrote, “You may see at one and the same time both your best friend and your greatest enemy by stepping in front of a mirror.” No truer words have been spoken to me. I have made many mistakes in my life, overindulged in worldly things, and had spells focusing too much time on things instead of people. The way I am overcoming it is by changing my focus to what matters—relationships.

Q. Tell me about the most difficult customer encounter you’ve experienced. And how did you handle it?

The most difficult customer encounter I have had is one that haunts me. It was a husband and wife team that owned a business. They were referred to me by a long-time client that I already had, so I wanted to do a good job. As I went in to do training for the group, as leaders of the company, it became apparent to me that there were deeper but fixable personal issues that were far more important than the training materials they had requested. I couldn’t help myself and began to speak more toward the spousal relationship issues that I saw. Immediately, they both engaged, and before I knew it, we had agreements written up and they were breaking through some important relational issues.

Before I left, one of them said that the session was great and they wanted to sign up for more. However, days later I got an email saying that my insight was provoking and helpful, but that they decided the work was outside of the scope of what they were looking for. They shut down the services. I have thought of those people a couple of hundred times since that email. I am frustrated that I could not do more and I wonder endlessly why they’d discontinue when all of my intuition was telling me that we were on the verge of breakthroughs.

I apologized for missing the mark and wished them the best, but I think of them like the ones that got away. To this day, they remain the only company that I have only serviced ‘once’ and did not want more HG services.

Q. Who do you look up to and why?

Jesus Christ, because He laid down his life for me and is preparing Heaven for those that choose Him.

Q. What can you tell us about Holloway Group’s product suite?

Our suite has some great seminars. Our Assertive Communication & Conflict Management Seminar has been voted the best communication training in New England. Our Emotional Intelligence for Leaders seminar has also been recognized. We provide executive coaching to many awesome corporate clients. Some of the leaders we serve lead Fortune companies and JD Power award winners. Most importantly, everything is customized to fit the culture of the firm we are serving.

Q. About Holloway Group, how efficiently does your company’s customized professional development training package bring real-world experience to your customers?

Great question! Preparing seminar and workshop participants for the ‘real world experience’ is what we are praised for most. We get that praise on so many of our post-seminar surveys. Our clients love how we discuss and provide sample situations that they live in every day and that we provide practical advice and solutions to their common frustrations.

Q. What’s your company’s point of differentiation?

Authenticity! We know it when we see it. We are authentic in our approach and bring a realism that people appreciate. Even though we’re in corporations our services don’t feel corporate. There are many moments when you put the pen down and hone in on the moment because something moving and powerful is being stirred up… something that just might spur you to do something different or even life-changing.

Q. From your perspective, how is the industry you serve currently evolving? And what are the trends in the different categories?

We have had to evolve to keep up with the impact that Covid-19 has had on the country. We have learned (those of us who are smart) that you can have successful and engaging professional development online. Online training doesn’t have to be boring (and they aren’t at HG!). We have evolved to understand that people are busy and that we must talk, not only to the corporate leader in our audience but to the other roles they possess, too. We evolved to understand that people are business leaders during the day, but parents in the evening. Those parents need encouragement and tools to do that job, too. We have evolved to understand that we should deal with ‘the whole person’ not just the manager/leader they are for their firm. The better equipped they are as a mom/dad, spouse, community leader, friend, etc.…the better they are at work, too. So, this is a differentiator for HG, LLC, and evolution that more professional development agencies should wake up to if they haven’t already.

T.J. Holloway | President

T.J. Holloway is an experienced entrepreneur and business leader that speaks from experience as well as years of his own personal and professional development.

His education includes a bachelor’s degree in Business from Pfeiffer University, a Master’s of Science in Business from Husson College, an MBA from Husson University, and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Liberty University, where his cognate was Executive Leadership.

TJ is a professor in the College of Business at Husson University, where he teaches organizational management and other business courses. He continues to coach many business leaders and executives throughout New England, passionately and professionally. Clients seek him by name for his depth of business knowledge, and his ability to motivate, educate, and inspire executive leaders to achieve higher levels of success through improved relationship management skills and organizational communications.

T.J. Holloway is committed to his family life in Glenburn, Maine, with his wife, Breanne, and children, Grace-Lyn (13), Jace (8), and four-year-old son, Jaxon.

“We provide executive coaching to many awesome corporate clients. Some of the leaders we serve lead Fortune companies and JD Power award winners. Most importantly, everything is customized to fit the culture of the firm we are serving.”