Letās be honest: trying to make a difference in the age of late stage capitalism can be rough.
Whether youāre fighting the good fight within an organization or trying to find a new kind of balance working for yourself, itās not going to be easy. In my experience, a lot of the stresses we haveāthe overloaded schedules, the late night overthinking, the negotiating with our selvesāstem from within, not without. That means that no matter where you go, the grass is never going to be greener.
Unless the gardener chooses to change.
My 1:1 coaching sits right at the intersection of strategy and subtle magic. I think thereās space for both intuition and facts when weāre making important decisions about what we want to prioritize. Itās designed for purpose-driven individuals who need a grounded, judgment-free space to untangle the messy human reality of navigating the next steps in your career.
What is coaching anyway?
Does anyone else remember in Gilmore Girls when Paris gets her ālife coachā Terrance? I think him saying āsharks can choose not to biteā was my first major introduction to what ācoachingā was all about. Iām sure that teenage me had no idea that coaching would be part of my professional life, and yetā¦
Coaching is both wildly helpful and wildly misunderstood.
I have the unique privilege of having direct personal and professional experience with three commonly confused services: consulting, coaching, and therapy. Hereās the big differences you should be aware of:
Wearing my consultant hat, I assume that the client Iām working with has a knowledge, skill, or capacity gap and Iāve been hired to fill that gap. That means my recommendations or work is directive and clear, and my expectation is that my client will do what I recommend.
When Iām in coaching mode, I assume that my clients know the answers. They just need some help finding, committing to, or executing those answers. That means Iām in co-creation mode, working with clients to actively co-design goals and strategies to attain those goals.
As a recipient of clinical therapy, I know that therapists are working to heal psychological distress. They have specialized training to diagnose and provide clinical interventions based on medical manuals. That means that therapy clients are engaged in therapeutic processes.
I received my professional training as a consultant by doing the strategy and business development work that I now help them with. I received my professional training as a coach at the Institute for Coaching Innovation (formerly CoachDiversity). The certification I received, as a Transformational Coach, is equivalent to the International Coaching Federationās Professional Certified Coach. Iāve worked with dozens of clients for over 200 session hours.
What We Can Untangle Together
My coaching clients are often bringing the issues that keep them up at night. Iāve worked with clients who are:
Burned out and trying to figure out how to set better boundaries
Struggling to decide what the next step in their career should be
Starting a new job and wanting to ādo it differentlyā this time
Feeling āstuckā and not really understanding how they got there
Navigating new situations, like managing clients or negotiating rates
Regardless of what issue a client comes in with, my goal is to help you feel supported, understood, and confident that you have what you need to get where you want to go.
I use a lot of different methodologies and tools in coaching sessions, depending on what the specific client is seeking and works best for them. Some of the tools Iāve brought into sessions include:
Iterative goal setting. Because new yearsā resolutions fail, I like to help clients build adaptive goals that can be adjusted, so theyāre seeing constant incremental progress, even if itās toward a shifting end.
Tarot as an intuitive practice. No future predicting, but the visuals, archetypes, and intuitive prompts from a professional tarot reading can help to bypass your overthinking brain and get to the heart of an issue.
Taming over-functioning. Many mission-driven folks are often their own worst enemy, taking on too much and letting the guilt overpower their on-paper understanding of why rest is valuable.
Diagnostic tools and asynchronous activities. The nitty-gritty of progressing toward goals often benefits from having a worksheet or specific activity to focus on. Love me some co-designed homework.
Somatic reflection and seasonal rhythms. After all, people are just animals at heart. Checking in with how your body feels about a direction youāre considering or a project youāre pursuing can yield valuable answers.
āA free first-time coaching session with me is a great way to suss out whether working together may be the right solution for what you are navigating.
Each session is approximately 50 minutes in length and conducted virtually via Google Meet. Iāve worked with clients in a wide variety of time zones, so if you canāt find a time that works for you, just drop me a message and weāll find something that works.
You can follow this link to book your free first-time coaching session with me.
After that session, youāll walk away with some clear next steps, grounded confidence, and practical tools you can use immediately. Youāll also receive information on how to book additional sessions, either as single āgut-checkā sessions to untangle a specific issue or as a package of sessions to navigate a longer challenge or transition.
If coaching doesnāt feel right, right now, thatās okay. This space will continue to exist, regardless, and Iām often hanging out in the chat that paid subscribers can access for answers to quicker consulting style questions.
If you are worried that you canāt afford coaching, please donāt let that stop you from reaching out. Iām happy to work with folks to set up what will work for you.
Walk your own path.
Just know that wherever youāre going, you donāt have to go it alone.
(Looking for organizational business development, coaching services for your team, or INGO advisory support? That work lives separately over at Boss Insights.)