Milica Clayton: Living and learning
A person's life is like a book. Interwoven chapters encapsulate the choices one makes, big or small, every step of the way. Milica Clayton's life is a rich collage of heartening chapters, and it is still a work-in-progress.
The many roles she plays are impressive: executive coach, customer experience expert, talent spotter and nurturer, career sounding board, voracious reader, fitness enthusiast, lifelong learner, as well as wife, mom, daughter, sister, colleague and friend. But more impressive is her evolution into a compassionate person others seek out for company or advice.
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
Milica has fashioned her life across Serbia, Greece and the United Arab Emirates, working in banking, construction, airlines, home improvement and designer luxury for brands such as Emirates, IKEA and Chanel. “If there's one thing I am passionate about, it is Growth,” she says.
When she was 12, her family was in a terrible car accident. Her father's injuries forced Milica into a caregiver role and a steep acceleration to grow up; in her teens her brother was diagnosed with severe mental illness, and she worked as her father's right hand in a construction business from the age of 18. She looks back on it as character forming. “At age 7 I still didn't know how to read and write, had no friends, and was always pushed away. But I was stubborn and determined, and overcame the bullying.”
In her twenties, to support her family, she took a cabin crew job with Emirates in the UAE despite her fear of flying. “It was a terrible first flight, but I did it!” On a low-point layover in South Africa, she picked up a book, “The Fairy Godmother's Guide to Getting What You Want”, that nudged her toward a more positive outlook. Whenever she finds herself at a critical point, she opens herself to signs and acts on the learning she receives.
After four years flying, she moved to IKEA, where she grew for eight years, leading new store openings, spotting talent and nurturing people into bigger roles. She read voraciously and posted her own book reviews on LinkedIn, and enrolled in coaching courses that were “filled with discomfort, vulnerability, joy and happiness.”
Two years ago she came across a LinkedIn post from Agneta Olsson, also from IKEA, who was leaving to do coaching full time, which sparked Milica's curiosity and led her to enrol in the five-week Women of the World coaching programme. She connected deeply with WOW founder Isa Buencamino. “Direct your confidence into commitment, rather than a goal,” Isa advised. To which Milica declared: “I am committed to People, to Growth.”
“If I have a superpower,” she says, “it would be to see talent in people, something they may not see in themselves, and then highlight and nurture it.” A lifelong learner working toward her ICF accreditation, she now pilots a new customer experience department in a global fashion house. “Deep inside I know I can do it. It's exciting and I'm up for it!”
At home she picks up lessons from her husband Dan and their two young children, appreciating 360-degree learning even from her kids. She doesn't look back with regret, all experiences count in shaping who she is. In her own words: “All I need to do is lift my head and see all the opportunities.”
