Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Banks.
Liz, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey began more than 30 years ago in education and coaching. I started my career as a teacher and basketball coach and later became an athletic director, assistant principal, and school principal. Throughout each of those roles, I was always drawn to helping people recognize their strengths, build confidence, and grow into the best version of themselves.
Coaching basketball for more than 20 years had a particularly meaningful impact on me. I loved the strategy and competition, but what mattered most was the opportunity to develop young people. I saw firsthand that confidence, communication, resilience, and a strong team culture influence much more than athletic performance. They shape how people lead, respond to challenges, and see themselves.
Those experiences ultimately led me to create JOY Teen Mentoring and Wellness Coaching. The organization began with a focus on helping teenage girls develop confidence, strengthen their emotional well-being, and navigate the pressures they face. As the work grew, I began receiving opportunities to support not only young people, but also the adults and organizations responsible for leading them.
Over time, it became clear that my experience in education, athletics, coaching, and school leadership had prepared me to serve a much broader audience. That realization led to the evolution of the business into JOY Leadership & Development.
Today, I work with leaders, coaches, organizations, teens, individual athletes, and athletic teams at the high school, travel, and collegiate levels. My work includes leadership development, team culture, CliftonStrengths, emotional intelligence, confidence, resilience, and mental performance. I provide individual coaching, team and organizational workshops, leadership development programs, and customized support for coaches and athletic teams.
One of the things I value most is helping people turn ideas into practical action. Whether I am working with a corporate leader, a coach, an athletic team, or a teenager struggling with confidence, I want them to leave with tools they can actually use. I believe people perform at their best when they feel seen, supported, equipped, and challenged to grow.
Most recently, I created The Championship Culture Blueprint™, a self-paced digital program that gives coaches practical tools for building stronger culture, connection, communication, accountability, athlete leadership, and resilience. Creating the Blueprint has allowed me to take what I have learned through decades of coaching, education, and leadership and make it accessible to coaches and teams beyond the communities I can serve in person.
Looking back, the path to where I am today was not a straight line, but every chapter prepared me for the work I now have the privilege of doing. What began in a classroom and on a basketball court has grown into a business centered on empowering people, developing leaders, and helping individuals and teams recognize what is possible within them.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has definitely not been a completely smooth road. Building a business has required me to step outside of the roles and environments I had known for most of my career. After more than 30 years in education and coaching, I was accustomed to having a clearly defined position, established systems, and a team around me. Entrepreneurship required me to create those systems for myself while also learning how to manage every part of a business.
One of my biggest challenges was clearly defining the full scope of my work. JOY began as JOY Teen Mentoring and Wellness Coaching, with a primary focus on supporting teenage girls. I loved that work and still do, but I gradually recognized that my experience and expertise could also benefit leaders, coaches, teams, and organizations. Expanding and rebranding as JOY Leadership & Development required me to think carefully about how all of those areas fit together without losing the heart of why I started.
Like many business owners, I have also had to learn how to balance doing the work I love with marketing, content creation, technology, finances, and the many behind-the-scenes responsibilities of running a business. There have been moments of uncertainty, ideas that did not develop as quickly as I hoped, and times when I questioned whether I was moving in the right direction.
One of the most important lessons I have learned is that growth rarely happens in a straight line. The challenges have pushed me to become more adaptable, trust my experience, ask for help when I need it, and remain open to new opportunities. I am still evolving, but I have learned to view that evolution as a strength. Each challenge has helped me gain greater clarity about who I am, whom I am called to serve, and the impact I want JOY Leadership & Development to make.
As you know, we’re big fans of JOY Leadership & Development. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
JOY Leadership & Development helps leaders, coaches, teams, teens, and athletes build the confidence, skills, and self-awareness they need to lead, perform, and grow. My work sits at the intersection of leadership development, team culture, emotional intelligence, CliftonStrengths, and mental performance.
I work with businesses and organizations through leadership coaching, professional development workshops, keynote speaking, CliftonStrengths facilitation, emotional intelligence training, and customized leadership programs. My goal is to help leaders better understand themselves, strengthen their communication, build healthier workplace cultures, and lead their teams with greater clarity and confidence. Whether I am delivering a keynote, facilitating a workshop, or working individually with a leader, I focus on providing meaningful insights and practical tools people can apply immediately.
I also work extensively in athletics, supporting coaches and high school, travel, and collegiate teams. This work includes developing team culture, improving communication and accountability, building athlete leaders, and helping athletes strengthen their confidence, resilience, and ability to perform under pressure. I understand the realities coaches face because I spent more than 20 years coaching basketball and also served as an athletic director. I do not simply talk about culture and leadership in theory. I provide practical strategies that coaches and athletes can apply in practices, competition, and everyday team interactions.
Another important part of my work is individual coaching for teens and athletes. These sessions are personalized to each young person and may focus on confidence, self-talk, emotional regulation, goal setting, resilience, leadership, navigating relationships, or mental performance. I create a supportive space where young people feel seen and heard while also giving them practical tools to move forward.
What sets JOY apart is the range of experience I bring to the work. My approach is informed by more than 30 years across education, coaching, athletics, and leadership. I have served as a teacher, basketball coach, athletic director, assistant principal, and school principal. Those experiences taught me that the same foundational principles matter in classrooms, workplaces, and athletic environments: people thrive when they feel valued, understand what is expected of them, and are equipped with the tools to succeed.
Most recently, I created The Championship Culture Blueprint™, a self-paced digital program for coaches. It provides video lessons, a comprehensive workbook, Sideline Cards, and practical tools for strengthening culture, communication, accountability, athlete leadership, and resilience throughout a season. I am proud that the Blueprint allows me to share the strategies I have developed over decades with coaches and teams beyond those I can personally serve.
At the heart of JOY Leadership & Development is a commitment to empowering people and helping them recognize what is possible within themselves. Everything I offer is designed to help people become more confident, intentional, and effective in the way they lead themselves and others.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
That is a tough question because I was fortunate to have a wonderful childhood filled with so many great memories. Some of my favorites are the summers my family spent at my parents’ cottage on Glen Lake, near the Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Every summer, we would head “Up North” and spend our days swimming, boating, fishing, and enjoying time on the lake. Our evenings were filled with campfires and games like kick the can and flashlight tag. There was always plenty of good food and, of course, lots of ice cream.
As much as I remember all the fun things we did, what made those summers so special was simply being together. The time spent with my family and our “Up North” friends created memories and relationships that have lasted throughout my life. Glen Lake is still my “happy place.” It represents family, joy, relaxation, peacefulness, and fun, and I feel all of those things every time I return.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joyforleaders.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyforleaders
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joyforleaders
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizbanks44
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joyforleaders
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@joyforleaders
- Other: https://www.joyforleaders.com/coaches-digital-playbook
