I decided to hire a leadership coach because I’m executive director for Westside Baby, a non-profit company that is rapidly expanding. I’m trained in law, not business management. I found that my background helped me be an excellent boss, but I could learn to be a better manager. 
I decided that leadership coaching would help me better my communication skills and learn to get the best from my staff and board.
Amanda was my choice because I clicked very well with her. She is a good listener and understood my personality. I felt she understood where I was coming from and could help me get where I wanted to go.I anticipated I’d feel uncomfortable and a little vulnerable about putting myself out there to be coached. Instead, I found myself looking forward to sessions with Amanda and laughing frequently in our conversations.
She managed to give guidance that wasn’t about fixing me. Rather, she offered wisdom and insight that encouraged me to make the changes I needed. She made me want to work on things!
Practical Tips and Helpful Tools
One of the things I really wanted to improve was meeting structure and content at Westside Baby. Amanda offered resources and advice on when and why to have meetings, how to distinguish different kinds of conversations (check-in versus strategic) and how to separate them out from each other to move towards what needed to be achieved.Our meetings went from being unfocused and uninspiring to more efficient and participatory. The tools Amanda suggested added a lot of value to our meeting structure, and everyone wants to participate now because it’s mutually beneficial.
Your Coach is Your Sounding Board
When I had difficult conversations that needed to be addressed, Amanda was a great sounding board. She framed the situation in a way that helped me look at it from many perspectives. I tap into my work with Amanda probably five times every day in managing people and communicating out. Amanda also gave me the confidence to trust my intuition and test out things that I wanted to try in my organization.
Horses and EQ Assessment Provide Insight
Gaining outside perspective in a safe environment was invaluable and a critical component to having a coach. I was able to execute my decisions with more self-assurance. My board’s confidence and trust in my decision-making increased. Everything was accomplished with a little more oomph!
My EQ (emotional intelligence) assessment was eye-opening. I consider myself to be emotionally self-aware as well as in-tune with the emotions around me. The assessment confirmed this to a point, but also made it clear that I had areas to work on. The resources associated with the assessment provided useful and practical tools, and Amanda took them and brought them to life for me personally, making them easier to absorb and apply.
Amanda is not the least expensive coach – but she’s worth every penny. The results are probably triple what the investment was, not just on a personal level but also for my organization.
Nancy’s Insights
- It’s important to have a good match between you and your coach.
- Coaching provides an outside perspective in a safe environment.
- Coaching can help you accomplish things with more ease and grace.
- Working with a coach helps you and your organization.
I was excited about the coaching sessions with the horses, as I like to be around horses. My experience was fascinating. Horses mirror emotions, and my biggest lesson was that it wasn’t about whether they liked me or not but the emotions I was projecting.
I spend a lot of time in the world worrying about people liking me instead of leading people with clear direction. Deciding where to go was not my forte, but a horse requires you to know where you want to go.
Coaching Supports Personal Change
As a result of my coaching experience, I would recommend Amanda to anyone who is ready to make a leadership change, needs support in making that happen, and wants to enjoy the process. She has the ability to help you sort through the leadership changes you need to consider, categorize everything, and make it manageable without you realizing. It’s painless and you have immediate results.
Amanda pays attention to you as a person and can connect the solutions to not only what you need but what your organization needs. Amanda is not the least expensive option as a leadership coach – but she’s worth every penny. The results are probably triple what the investment was, not just on a personal level but also for my organization.
