Coach, Competitor, Former Evaluator: Meaghan Hakala’s Playbook for Orals Success

Read below for Meaghan’s full employee spotlight Q&A.

Athletics were a big part of your life growing up and you’re now a strong believer in getting a workout in to start the day. What do you enjoy about that routine, and how do sports fit into your life today?

I’ve always loved competing and working out in general, and these days I try to start the day with a run or strength workout. Getting some movement in before the chaos of the day takes off is a great way to clear your head and go into the day energized. Athletic competitions look a little different for me these days; cheering for my daughter in her field hockey games, and assistant coaching my 7-year old’s flag football team. Seeing your kids out on the field brings a whole new love to the competition.

A big part of your role at Vericol is coaching teams as they prepare for Oral Presentations. What is most important about helping people go from simply knowing their material to feeling confident presenting it?

My favorite thing about coaching orals is watching the evolution of the team. At the end of the day, Orals are a group job interview and the team needs to come across confidently and authentically. We often see teams come in with strong subject matter expertise and a wealth of experience, but little background giving formal presentations to the government. Working with groups to highlight compelling win themes and a strong story is what first sets the stage for effective run-throughs and getting to the next level. As teams work through rehearsals and support each other through solutioning sessions and script re-writes, you can see their hard work pay off. Nothing is more satisfying than hearing a team has knocked it out of the park during debrief.

You’re currently pursuing a leadership professional coaching certification through ACT and Brown University. What inspired you to pursue coaching more formally, and what have you been able to bring into orals coaching at Vericol?

I’ve always been passionate about coaching and mentoring, so I jumped at the opportunity to take a leadership coaching class. The focus with this certification is that the client is creative, whole and resourceful. The coach partners with clients through a creative process to inspire them to maximize their personal and professional potential. It has been impactful for me to bring this style into my 1-1s with teams, and I’ve been humbled by how coaching enables clients to tap into their true potential as both presenters and leaders.

You previously worked on the federal side as a GSA Division Director. Now that you’ve made the jump to the private sector, what are some of the things you’ve been able to bring to Vericol in supporting clients as they win more government contracts? What are some of the changes you’ve noticed since you left the government?

Spending 17 years in the Government, and more specifically the last decade I spent working with GSA FAS on the contracting side of the house, has given me a solid background into the priorities and challenges federal agencies are facing. One area in particular I’ve been able to bring some unique insight into is in supporting companies with their written proposals and Oral Presentations. After serving as a Government Evaluator, I have a strong sense of what the government is looking for, what strong win themes and good story sound like, as well as some pitfalls to avoid. I’ve really enjoyed getting to work with teams as they prepare to go in front of their government counterparts. As far as what’s changed, there have been some significant shifts in the last few years. For one, we’ve never seen the government this constrained for resources, and its more important than ever that the focus is on the partnership between government and industry as they navigate major shifts in the contracting landscape.