Leading a Health Revolution: Team Profile – Julia Arguelles, Sr. Director Account Management
Leading a Health Revolution: Team Profile – Julia Arguelles, Senior Director of Account Management
As we surpass a major milestone, our company’s 30th Anniversary, we wanted to celebrate the people that have led us to where we are today. By sharing their stories, their inspirations and lessons learned, we hope to enthuse others to pursue their goals and aspirations, so together we can lead a health revolution that moves the world!
The A-ha Moment
For Julia, her parents may have played a role in her discovery of fitness. At an early age, they encouraged diversity by making it a point to enroll her in many different activities, including ballet, tap, gymnastics – even karate. According to Julia, her time with karate was somewhat short-lived, but she did find her passion for dance. Throughout her elementary years, Julia found herself exercising mainly to stay fit, but also as a way to keep her athletic abilities and performance strong. For fun, when she was about 12, she participated alongside her mom in semiweekly Jazzercise classes and absolutely loved it! When she was a bit older, wanting to spend more time with her dad, Julia learned to play golf so the two could spend the day together on the golf course. But it was the experience with Jazzercise that made it possible for Julia to step up to the plate in seventh grade PE class one day when her teacher was out sick. She took charge and was very comfortable instructing group exercise to her PE class that day and Julia’s love for fitness and her passion to deliver it to others grew from that moment.
We asked Julia to share a few things about her career journey and with success Corporate Fitness Works. This is what she had to say…
Tell us about a time in your studies or in your career that helped you prepare for the challenges you face in your role today?
Teaching group exercise classes to a hundred students at Towson University helped me build my communication, presentation and leadership skills. I never feared presentations or challenges; I always thought if I could instruct a hundred students, I could easily present to any size audience in any other situation. Little did I know then that the experience as a young group exercise instructor would not only build confidence and my presence but strengthen my leadership skills used today.
What is your #1 motivator? What are you most passionate about in the work that you do?
Giving what you can, when you can, to make a positive difference any way you can. It’s not about being able to do it all; it’s about doing what you can with the true intention to better someone else’s day. We only have the pleasure of one life to live and we should all make it the best possible for each other. Seeing smiles on members faces because of the member engagement programs we offer, the community involvement in group exercise classes we teach and the personalized attention we provide motivates me to continue each day with dedication and drive. I am passionate about serving our team so that they can best serve our members. A happy team with happy members leads to a happy client which in turn makes me happy. A revolving win-win!
Describe the key steps you took in the path to your career success/career growth that made the greatest impact?
Career success is like an inclined treadmill. Always moving towards the next goal; never stopping the climb. There is no end to success as long as you keep moving. My journey has included, finding ways to increase member utilization, making successful proposals for additional Team Leaders at sites; demonstrating leadership by volunteering to handle the coordination of a Group Exercise contract; volunteering to assist with delivery of services through seminars, screenings, training’s, etc. to increase visibility and networking with leadership in the company; seeking and accepting responsibilities outside of my job description for the learning experience, tackling projects to demonstrate continued growth and team partnership, and always learning from my mentors. With Corporate Fitness Works, my career positions over nearly 15 years have gone from Health Fitness Specialist, to Health Fitness Program Manager, to Account Manager, then Senior Account Manager, and currently Senior Director of Account Management. I’ve been on the Mid-Atlantic Club Management Association Board of Directors since 2013 and currently serve as Vice President.
By seeking out new avenues to explore; new ways to bring opportunities, and the attitude of not resting on my laurels…my career “treadmill” is running strong and I’m doing my best, with a bright smile to keep going forward.
How does your role as Senior Director of Account Management support Team Leader growth and our business growth?
As Senior Director of Account Management my role is to ensure that our Team Leaders are focusing their efforts on successful implementation, delivery and positive outcomes for our valued programs and services. In addition, working with the Account Management team to prioritize our efforts of client engagement, retention and recommendation. Growth of existing accounts and awarded new business directly correlates to the satisfaction of our Team leaders, members and clients, the willingness and drive for existing clients to refer our business to their other partners, and the ability of our team to follow through on our promised deliverables.
How does your role most impact our client’s (and the members we serve) success?
Maintaining a proactive and solution focused approach to their success. Whether that be through diverse programs with increased member engagement and participation, increase in referrals for services, working to resolve technology challenges, solutions to decrease their insurance claims, etc. Sharing ideas to garner new thought processes. Being transparent on issues and demonstrating a willingness to achieve goals with flexibility all while highlighting the Corporate Fitness Works value.
Share a career highlight.
Career highlights come in many forms and over many years but all bring joy to my heart! Group Exercise Instructor of the Quarter in 2004, selected for the Director’s Service Leadership award in 2007; the many times I’ve received positive feedback from a client regarding the great job our team is doing, recognition as one of IHRSA’s Top Rising Star’s in 2017, and seeing long-time members at sites who share praise regarding their experiences with you (former classes, programs, events). The united thread holding them together is the continued drive to make strong connections and create experiences worth repeating.
If you could share one “value added tip” as Senior Director of Account Management of CFW, what would it be?
Always allocate time and attention to efficient details; everything we do; choose to rush through or not do at all is a reflection of our self and the team we represent. The goal with efficient details is not to overdo the content delivered to the end user, where the important information may get lost in the lengthy thoroughness; but to elicit the balance of clear, specific content with efficient and timely delivery.
Please share an interesting fact about you that you would want our Team and our clients to know.
I love to dance! When I dance my soul shines pink (pink is also my favorite color). I have loved to dance since I was little and continued on dance/pom teams through college. Experiences as a dance camp instructor traveling the US during the summer and dancing in the half-time shows for the Florida Citrus Bowl and Capital One Bowl were exciting times. My love of dance easily transitioned to group exercise and allowed me to incorporate this movement in classes for members including ZUMBA and Hip-Hop. Even in classes like Kickbox and Step could my choreography be found to have a dance influence to include a little cha-cha ball change or one-two step combo. I never miss a moment to shimmy along to a song and let my passion for movement shine through.
Left: Julia at age 5, Middle- Julia and her cousin at the Capital One Bowl, Right: Julia dancing; All striking a pose!
Left: Julia Salsa dancing, Right: Julia with God-Daughter, Amelia
Left: Golfing, Right: Beach time with Husband, Michael and Stepson, Carter