The purpose of the coaching relationship is to enhance self-awareness of the implications of typical behaviors, learn new skills, build competencies, change behaviors, achieve results, and reflect on ways to improve and refine skills and behaviors. 

My coaching approach is a blend of inquiry and advocacy.  Building a relationship of trust that allows me to work productively with the client,  I provide honest feedback and assessments, challenge the client to look at things in new ways, and support the client in developing practices to address challenges and leverage opportunities.  I help the client to re-frame experiences and view them differently, which opens up new avenues and options for the client to move forward.

I am an expert in human development, interpersonal skills, management skills, and leadership skills and my experience informs my practice. I operate as a diagnostician who is able to identify problems and opportunities; and I play the role of a process-oriented facilitator who helps clients gain insight into their situation and figure out ways to improve their behavior. 

More specifically, I am able to provide clients with honest feedback without judgment or evaluation that allows clients to hear and understand the data in a way that proves useful and effective.  I provide insights about management, leadership, behavioral change, and personality constructs that help the client make sense of him/her self  in light of his/her situation.  I help clients recognize the impact that their behavior has on their teams, themselves, and their organizations.  I challenge clients to look at the impact they are having in relation to their intent; I challenge clients to commit to making changes, and help them design practices that are targeted at changing their behavior so that it better reflects their intent.  

HIgh performing teams have two basic components: structure and human dynamics.  Team coaching can be used to help create a  structure in which the team operates efficiently and to help develop operating principles that build trust by providing for open communication, self disclosure, honest feedback, constructive conflict, and accountability that drives consistent results.

I use a model that  ensures that the structure for effective teams is in place (shared purpose, clear roles and responsibilities, critical skills, and operational principles) before working with the human dynamics of the team.  The human dynamics revolve around working with self disclosure and giving and receiving feedback in order to build trust and effective communication skills within the team. I generally begin with the FIRO-B assessment to give clients a safe way to begin self disclosure and then follow that up with a model for giving and receiving feedback and have team members follow that model as they deliver feedback to each other and get feedback from each other.  I complement this by providing just-in-time team coaching that includes observation of the team's dynamics. In addition, I develop team or peer coaching groups within organizations.  This has been effective in both modeling coaching behavior to the participants as well as training the participants to use coaching techniques and coach each other.  The goal is for the group or team to be able to take the peer coaching model and become self sustaining without a facilitator. 

Leadership development is personal development.  It is the development of emotional intelligence (self awareness and self management), social intelligence(relationships) and exitential or spiritual intelligence (authenticity, values, meaning, purpose). 

I am an Adjunct Professor for leadership development programs delivered by the National Leadership Institute (NLI) and the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).   In addition to teaching in the leadership development programs developed by CCL and NLI  I have designed, developed and facilitated leadership development programs for the National Association of Independent Schools, the University of Maryland University College, Fannie Mae, the International Finance Corporation (World Bank) and Mars, Inc.    

Transition and change are constants in today's economic environment.  I have worked with change and transition at all management levels of an organization from new managers to VP’s, SVP's, and CEO's.  I have used change models, and transition models to help clients understand the process of change and their role in it.  I have used assessment instruments (Change Style Indicator, CPI260) to assess their personality types in relation to change and how they respond to change to help them understand how they reacted and how others reacted.  My work with CEO’s has assisted them with large transitions in their organizations.

Management training is skills development.  It is the acquisition of skills and competencies necessary for directing the work of others.  I provide tools and techniques to assist people moving from an individual contributor role to a management role in an organization, and give them guidance in  mastering the arts of communication (conversation), decision making, feedback, influencing, and conflict.