What is coaching?
The “what” of coaching is simple: Executive coaching and leadership coaching are structured, confidential partnerships that help leaders expand how they think, make decisions, and show up in complex, high-stakes situations.
The magic is in the “how.”
Together we create the conditions to look under the hood of leadership. Often the patterns that made someone successful earlier in their career begin to limit them as responsibility grows.
Through coaching we:
- Build awareness of patterns and assumptions
- Clarify purpose and leadership intention
- Experiment with new behaviors in real work situations
- Develop new habits that sustain change, even when pressure is high
The goal is insight that drives lasting shifts in how a leader leads.
What is your coaching sweet spot?
My tagline is:
“Growing collaborative leadership for sustainable results without losing heart.”
Each part reflects the focus of my work.
Growing
Adult development is the foundation of my coaching.
When I begin working with a leader, I do not see behaviors that “need fixing.” I see a growth edge: a place where assumptions and habits that once worked well are now creating unintended consequences. That edge is a portal to intentional development.
Collaborative leadership
For more than 25 years I have studied how leaders navigate difference and complexity.
My background includes:
- A PhD in conflict resolution from Syracuse University
- Deep training in negotiation and difficult conversations through Harvard’s Program on Negotiation
- Years of work helping leaders and organizations build trust, psychological safety, and collaborative cultures
For some leaders, developing collaborative leadership means cultivating the capacity to listen deeply, incorporate different perspectives and build trust with empathy. For others, it means balancing their natural empathy with clarity, the ability to speak hard truths that are unpopular, give critical feedback and hold the tension that builds as conflict emerges.
Sustainable results
Sustainable results are deeper than just behavior change. With a focus on adult development, leaders transform how they see themselves, how they relate to power and authority, and how they understand their impact. In order to lead differently, they must see themselves and the world differently.
Without losing heart
The most powerful leaders can hold two things at once:
- Clear direction, boundaries, and accountability
- Genuine connection and respect for others
Leaders who can hold both create organizations where people perform and thrive.
What makes your coaching different?
My coaching integrates several disciplines that are often treated separately.
Adult development
I focus on how leaders make meaning of their work and relationships, not just what they do. This creates deeper and more lasting leadership growth.
Conflict and negotiation expertise
With a PhD in conflict resolution and extensive training through Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, I help leaders navigate disagreement, power dynamics, and difficult conversations with clarity and confidence.
Relational leadership
Many leaders struggle with the tension between authority and connection. My work helps leaders develop the ability to set direction, offer clear feedback, and hold boundaries while maintaining trust and respect.
Practical application
Coaching focuses on real leadership challenges leaders face every day, such as team dynamics, organizational politics, decision-making, and culture.
The result is leadership growth that strengthens both organizational performance and human connection.
How do I know if coaching is right for me?
Coaching is most valuable when a leader recognizes they are at a leadership edge. This is a moment where greater clarity, executive presence, and relational skill are required. Where default approaches are no longer working. Where you need a safe space to be really honest with yourself about how you need to change to get different results.
Some common challenges my clients come to coaching with are:
- How do I set direction without shutting people down?
- How do I hold people accountable and maintain trust?
- How do I lead with clarity and create space for other ideas?
- How do I increase my influence and executive presence without becoming someone else?
Your coach is your partner in exploring organizational politics, complex human dynamics, how to navigate competing priorities and how to lead when both the stakes and visibility are high.
If any of these feel like places you find yourself, a conversation is usually the best place to start.
Do you work with leaders in-person or virtually?
Both. Coaching is highly effective when done over zoom. For New England and Boston-based clients, I often like to meet at least once in person, schedules permitting.
How long does coaching typically last?
It depends on the engagement and the leader’s goals. When I work with emerging leaders and new managers who are focused on immediate challenges, we may only meet for three months.
For senior leaders focused on adapting to increasing responsibility, leading in a complex environment, or preparing for a significant promotion, we will meet for six months. For these leaders, I often use the Leadership Circle Profile to gather data on how key stakeholders experience their leadership.
How do you partner with HR or sponsors?
Coaching is always more effective when managers actively support the leader they are sponsoring for coaching. I work with all parties to collaboratively frame the goals and objectives for the engagement, create clear parameters for how we will communicate and measure success.
Some coach sponsors like to have a brief meeting mid-way through and at the end of coaching. Others are content to hear from the leader. Together we create the right process to support the leader and the organization.
What role does confidentiality play in coaching?
Confidentiality is essential. A leader needs to know that their coach will not share anything sensitive or personal with the coach sponsor or HR. As an ICF certified coach, I adhere strictly to the International Coach Federation code of ethics. You can read them here.
At the same time, it is important for managers and HR to be kept abreast of how coaching is progressing. We discuss this natural tension when we are agreeing to the coaching goals and I ensure that we all understand what information will be shared, by whom and when.
How do we begin?
Schedule a free 30-minute coaching synergy conversation. We will explore your needs, how you are hoping a coach can help, my approach and we can see if we are a good fit.
What kind of training do you offer?
My training focuses on developing collaborative leaders and cultures. Common subjects included in my training are:
- Difficult conversations
- Coaching
- Trust and psychology safety
- Team dynamics
- Negotiation and influence
- Conflict resolution
- Emotional intelligence
- Deep listening and curiosity
Do you offer custom training?
Yes, I work with organizations to create training that meets their business needs. I also have some standard training that can be delivered more quickly and at lower cost. It depends on what works best for the client.
Do you offer in-person or virtual training?
Both. For longer leadership journeys, I often recommend pairing longer in-person training with shorter virtual sessions. Bringing a distributed team together is expensive and short virtual modules keep the learning progressing and reduce travel time.
When do you recommend hiring a third-party facilitator?
When the team leader needs his or her full attention on the content of the discussion and not on the process, it is best to have a third-party facilitator. This can include:
- When the stakes are high and alignment is key
- The topic is contentious and emotions are running high
- Previous attempts to create alignment have not been successful
A skilled facilitator will manage the process, ensuring that all voices are heard and no one dominates, framing the issues constructively, keeping the group on task, recording agreements and managing time. This frees the team leader to be fully present.
What is your process for an organizational culture assessment?
While every culture assessment is customized, there are some steps that we always include.
The first step is to define the need and design the process to fit the need. This also includes creating a planning committee that will be seen as credible and representative of the organization. Both the process and how the process is created will be assessed and evaluated for fairness and legitimacy.
Then we decide what information we need. Can we just do a survey or do we need interviews? Who needs to be interviewed and how do we ensure that the data is representative? We also decide what documents we need to look at such as an organizational flow chart, job descriptions, team charters, contracting documents, etc.
Once we have collected the data, the consultants create a report that highlights the themes and protects the identity of individuals.
We then design a half day experience to share the results with the organization or team, allowing time for them to both digest the findings and respond. Often we ask them for possible solutions to the challenges highlighted.
The final work product is a prioritized list of action items to address the challenges the assessment was designed to address.
We are always available to support implementation such as mediation, coaching, training or organizational design. We usually contract for this after the initial assessment.
What is expected of the leadership team during an organizational assessment?
The importance of strong leadership support for an organizational assessment cannot be understated. Organizational assessments are stressful for employees, especially because they often come at a time when trust and psychological safety are not high. Leaders must address the skepticism, fear and distrust while also answering questions about the process. Regular communication about each step of the process and what to expect is just as important as fielding unexpected questions from someone who catches you at the end of zoom meeting. We will support you in this communication, both with written documents that you can edit and ways that you can frame and respond to the unexpected.
How do you protect confidentiality?
Confidentiality is essential. We engage in sound data security to ensure data integrity. And we don’t share the raw data with the leadership team. Everyone sees the same findings report that highlights general themes rather than individual comments.
Before an interview or a survey, we have team members sign a document stating that they have been advised of the confidentiality protocol. We also request that if an example or something they are sharing feels “extra sensitive” to alert us and we will use extra care with that information.