ACTIVATIONAL COACHING

The skills I learned while going through the intensive certification process are invaluable to me as I work with clients. I am a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) through the Co-Active Training Institute and an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation. I am also a certified mindfulness and meditation teacher and a clinical therapist. Obtaining the highest level of training possible to bring to my coaching is an integral component of what I offer you.

I bring to my practice the experience of navigating a major career shift of my own and of assisting a wide variety of employees at an internationally renowned children’s hospital.

My professional transformation came more than a decade into my career. That’s when a work story from my twin sister — who had helped a teen mother following a traumatic delivery — convinced me to leave my well-paying job managing a law firm. 

As a mother of five children (three of whom were in college), and as a big contributor to the family finances, I embarked on two years of graduate school to follow my sister into social work. I also completed a year-long fellowship at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. It was a huge leap, but it launched me into an incredibly gratifying profession.

In more than two decades of work at the children’s hospital, I established a family therapy team that had 10 therapists and numerous programs by the time I pursued my next challenge: building an emotional well-being program serving hospital employees. We provided critical mental health support immediately following crises, such as the loss of a surgical patient. It was not uncommon for me to respond in the middle of the night.

I was often called upon in nonemergency situations to work, for instance, with a burned-out team or an executive struggling through the stress of a demanding job.

I had employees tell me they felt like I significantly impacted their lives.  

So when I say I can relate, it’s not a catchphrase.

We’ve all seen sideline-stalking sports coaches who argue with officials and berate their players. Effective? I don’t think so. 

I approach my work as a cheerleader (minus the pom-poms). I bring an outside perspective that helps you overcome your doubts and identify your strengths.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to give advice. I’m here to guide you in the direction you say you want to go.

Clients deserve straight talk. I’ll tell you where you are off base — where your actions are incompatible with your goals. 

Maybe it’s the mom in me.

Leaders

Hospital leaders have some of the toughest jobs around, and it’s through many years of working with them that I have become a trusted sounding board for leaders.

I help silence the insistent inner critic arguing the person is not measuring up. It takes time for higher-ups to shed the persona of being in complete control and having no self-doubt.

My familiarity with the demands of leadership roles means I can help leaders prioritize their tasks while staying true to their values.

It’s all about asking the right questions. What can you control? If you can’t control this, can you set it aside?

Like most of us, leaders struggle with uncertainty. It’s not intimidating for me to encourage introspection among leaders.

Folks in transition

News flash: People don’t like change.

So a big part of my practice is helping clients deal with the inevitable ebbs and flows of life.

I have worked across the spectrum of life-cycle events — from the new mom looking to establish a work-life balance to the retiree who wonders what they are going to do with themselves after decades of being defined by their occupation.

Or maybe it’s someone who is stuck in a job, a relationship, in mid-life, maybe just got a promotion, or lost a job.

You start telling yourself stories; holding yourself back; believing you “can’t do this.” I believe you can.

Folks who are stuck

Imagine you are a highly trained, well-paid
physician who feels trapped in a job you don’t like.

It happens. I know. I have seen them.

But it doesn’t have to be a doctor. People in any
field can feel like they have no choice but to
maintain the status quo for any number of reasons.

No choice? Really?

Who better to help clients dream big than a mom of
five who went back to school at age 40 to become a
social worker?

Life choices are rarely all or nothing.