Starting My Own Gig: First 6 Months

I ended my 20-year corporate career and started my own leadership coaching gig 6 months ago.

During these first 6 months, a few very courageous souls and start-ups gave me the chance to beta-testing the corporate rah-rah I have hoarded over the years. Here are few observations:

1. “High-Performance; Low Potential”: Too often we divest from someone (or ourselves) because their potential is “limited.” No one lacks potential. We merely need to break down leadership traits into approachable blocks and hone them. I am more convinced than ever that a practice-based coaching approach would steer and motivate us to work diligently, patiently and persistently. Yes, we are all bound to be successful 💆🏻

2. Founders, young leaders, and executives all share a similar challenge: the language to articulate ourselves. Business jargons often confuse rather than clarify, and the work on listening from within deserves a lot more attention.

3. It seems difficult for many to evaluate the value of coaching because coaching qualifications and quality don’t always stack up neatly. After all, unlike fitness coaches, we don’t have the muscles to show for. 🙃 Yet great leaders invest in leadership coaches: Gimlet’s Alex Blumberg and Matthew Lieber, Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry page, SoulCycle’s Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, and more. Clearly we coaches have more work to do 💦

My Practice-based leadership coaching dojo 🥋:

Enliven Works — Practice-based Leadership Coaching