Appreciative Inquiry – a key coaching conversation for executive coaches

Michelle, with Optimized Leadership Coaching and Consulting, invests in leaders through coaching to enhance their interpersonal skills resulting in empowering cultures, high performance teams and breakthrough results. She is known for her highly relational approach, high energy, and her innate ability to truly hear clients making sessions personal and applicable across differing industries and cultures. Capitalizing on almost three decades of executive experience in a complex and highly regulated, high-risk environment, she vulnerably and candidly shares both positive leadership experiences and lessons learned to connect with the clients. Michelle is dually Masters prepared with a MEd in Human Resource and Organizational Development and MHA with Leadership Specialization. She is an Authorized Partner with Wiley Everything DiSC, Agile EQ, Workplace and Work of Leader, and a certified facilitator through Development Dimensions International (DDI). Learn more about Michelle at www.michellecabell.com.

Key Points from Michelle Cabell’s Hall of Fame Interview

“My business is different now because I have knowledge, expertise and credibility. People are looking for that in a coach. There are many coaches out there, and this certification that is from a credible institution has helped to garner business.”

Michelle’s Results

• More confidence in her own skills
• Has a recognized qualification
• Equipped with versatile coaching tools
• Has support to build her business

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Michelle make a career change into coaching

• A library of useful resources
• Help to unlock your potential as a coach
• Flexible learning options
• Highly regarded qualifications

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Michelle Cabell, and I served as a chief nursing officer at a flagship hospital. Now I own my own business optimizing leadership, coaching and consulting, as well as full-time executive and leadership coaching.

I realized that the higher I rose in the organization, the more I moved away from my authentic passion. My passion was always more around investing in people and developing them individually.

I always thought I was good at seeing the potential in people and helping them to see the potential in themselves so that they can grow and advance.

Coaching seemed to be my natural style. I just lacked the formal training, which is what led me to the Center for Executive Coaching. I started learning more about coaching, I just knew it was authentic to who I was.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

What I initially thought I was going to do was more of a consulting role. However, coaching is different because you do not have to be an expert in the field.

You simply have to be an expert coach, so that you can draw out the expertise, knowledge, abilities, and solutions from other people as opposed to delivering the knowledge.

It was very freeing for me to look at it from this angle because now I can talk with people and have pretty profound insights. I am better able to ask the right questions and empower them to have their own answers.

The highlight of my growth has been recognizing that I could go into any industry, and at any level in the organization and be able to do this really well.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

My practice has taken a little bit of a different spin since taking the program. I do individual coaching, but also a blend of coaching and facilitation, which is where I found my sweet spot.

I use a group coaching style where I give them something to work off of, but the work is done through them. It is not just me telling them how to do it.

I now ask the right questions to get them thinking more deeply and applying tools and models to get them unstuck and moving forward.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

Working with the Center for Executive Coaching is worth your time, energy and investment, for a couple of reasons. The first is the lifetime nature of the investment.

Once you invest in this program, you have access to the members’ site. There are tools, resources, and PowerPoint slides. You have access to unlimited built-for-you resources that you can take and use.

When I am thinking about developing an assessment or a spreadsheet, I just go look and usually there is something there that I do not have to rebuild.

You are also investing in skills you will have for life. The only way you coach well is by practicing coaching and working with the Centre for Executive Coaching made me a better coach.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

For several reasons, I would highly recommend the Center for Executive Coaching. The reason is that it is an ACTP program, which is really important for your ICF credentialing. It gives you that gold standard stamp for coaching that says it is approved training.

Secondly, they are delivering the course in a way that regardless of how you come into it or what your direction is, you will get the skills, practice, and experience necessary to coach with confidence.

Don is an attorney, business coach and entrepreneur who has started over twenty-five businesses in the small business space. He is the author of seven books on personal productivity including “Organizing Your Life”, “The Productivity Handbook” and “Beat the Clock”. Don has made over 3,000 domestic and international presentations to more than 100,000 people from around the world, sharing his unique personal productivity and business growth principles, practices and tools. His coaching practice focuses on serving entrepreneurs in the building trades helping them to significantly increase their businesses. He is known in the building trades as “The Tradesman’s Business Coach” and his website is at http://www.productivity-institute.com

Key Points from Don Wetmore’s Hall of Fame Interview

“My biggest win since graduating from the Center for Executive Coaching is that I have become a much better coach and the marketplace has rewarded me for that very handsomely.”

Don’s Results

• Improved coaching skills
• His revenue has doubled
• Charges fees that are 66% higher
• Client engagements last for much longer

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Don develop his coaching and consulting business

• Proven strategies for effective coaching
• A certified program
• Expert teachers
• Methods for growing and maintaining a sustainable business

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Don Wetmore, and I have been a business coach for 30 years. I had a very successful coaching practice in the small business space, but you get stale doing the same thing after a while.

I was looking for a marketing technique to get more clients. What I got was so much more than that, and it was a very pleasant surprise. I learned more about coaching than I thought I would, and I learned ways to do my job more effectively.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

One of the things that I was doing wrong was not understanding the difference between consulting and coaching. As I was consulting I thought I was really coaching, but I was not.

Now my revenue has doubled. It is not magic, I just changed some simple things. I have become a better and more effective coach, and that has led to greater engagement from my clients.

My typical engagement pre-CEC was about six months, now it is 18 months. I have seen opportunities within the clients’ sphere that I can be of help with as well. My fee also went up by 66% during this time.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

I have really focused my effort in two areas. One group is contractors, and people in the trades. That is part of my background growing up and I really understand them. The other group are people in finance.

I have been taught to be very selective on where I go and how I cultivate working relationships. I love my clients, I really do. I enjoy them and I have mutual respect, whereas maybe I didn’t so much earlier in my career.

Dealing with the clients that I am excited to be with, and having great affection for them as friends, is an amazing way to make a living.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

There is no question about it, joining the Center for Executive Coaching is a real commitment. If you follow the formula and make yourself available to do all of the follow-up things, and take coaching seriously then you will be successful.

It is not all about the money. You need to want to do a good job and have good clients that really enjoy what they are doing. If that sounds like you, then you should consider this kind of program.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I just did recommend them. It was a client that I have been working with on a variety of issues related to executive coaching. He left that position and I coached him in writing a book.

He has reached a point where he is interested in coaching, but I have taken him as far as I can. I want him to go forward, but I was not going to recommend the course until he was really serious about it. He started last week and is already saying his life has been changed.

Karl Pister is an executive coach with over three decades of experience as an executive coach and trusted advisor to C-suite executives and professionals. He is known for his low-dey and unassuming approach, challenging clients to think differently and achieve transformative results. As the founder and president of The Coaching Group, Inc., Karl has worked extensively with executives in various states, guiding them through critical leadership challenges. His impressive background in account management and health care program implementation provides real-life business expertise that enhances his coaching. Karl holds two master’s degrees in behavioral sciences and is certified by respected coaching organizations, including the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching Excellence.

Key Points from Karl Pister’s Hall Of Fame Interview

“My biggest win with the Center for Executive Coaching is having a well-established business model that allows me to serve my clients and develop a long term organizational reputation of integrity, excellence, and inspiration.”

Karl’s Results

• Has a successful consulting practice
• Gained a recognized certification
• Knows how to organize his business
• Has had a massive return on investment

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Karl build and run a successful consulting practice

• Industry leading certification
• Decades of experience
• Proven strategies for success
• Expert teachers

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Karl Pister, and before the program I was doing executive coaching and clinical counseling. Now, 10 years later, I am only doing executive coaching and consulting with organizations.

I had done coaching already for years, however, I knew that I was spending too much time explaining why I was not certified.

I looked at a lot of programs that ICF noted, and the Centre for Executive Coaching came across as the most business-oriented. I did not need life coaching skills. I needed something that taught me the business aspects of coaching.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

Working with the Center for Executive Coaching has been a complete and total game-changer. What they did was teach the business of coaching, how to run a business, price, organize, go after clients, and establish new relationships. These were things that I had no idea how to do.

What has been most impressive is the ongoing support that the Centre for Executive Coaching has provided over a decade. Having your students do what they need to do and then come in with the support they need is teaching at its best.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

It has been over the decade, and this training has contributed high six figures to the business and changed it completely.

The coaching that I provide is for disruptive physicians, and for the physicians that have been identified as being high potential. It is helping them see what leadership is, and acknowledge or identify where their growth areas are.

Through a CEC connection, I have been certified in a certain assessment that helps my clients identify emotional intelligence areas. It has really been helping both parties identify what their leadership strengths and gaps are and helping them focus on that.

What that does, especially with the disruptive physicians, is change their thinking about coaching. They often come into coaching thinking it is going to be a punishment. Once that thinking has changed then behavior changes, because behavior will always follow improved thinking.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

Anytime I can learn something new, it is worth it. You get off a call with the CEC leadership and feel like you can solve any problem that you have.

In just one year, we easily get 500 times return on investment. There is no fluff in the CEC training. It is instantly usable, highly organized, and very pointedly delivered.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I have referred 10 to 12 people to the Centre for Executive Coaching over the last 10 years. They have had similar experiences to myself.

The course nailed every single aspect of running a coaching business that I didn’t even know I needed. They knew I would need those skills and knowledge though, and it has been absolutely worth it. I would recommend it to anybody who wants to be well-trained.

A former C-Suite executive, Stacy leads a team of capacity-building consultants and coaches at Gladegy Consulting who work with diverse organizations to meet their strategic goals. Gladegy Consulting offers a suite of strategic services that include human resources and organizational development consulting, executive and leadership coaching, corporate training, and assessments. Gladegy Consulting, LLC works with clients in diverse industries, including healthcare, government, professional services, small businesses, and nonprofit/community-based organizations. Visit Stacy’s website at www.gladegy.com

Key Points from Stacy Sufka’s Hall of Fame Interview

“My biggest win with the Center for Executive Coaching was developing the credibility that I needed to be an effective coaching practice owner.”

Stacy’s Results

• Gained recognized qualifications in coaching
• Now has increased credibility
• Has a network of other coaches to tap into
• Gets referrals from other coaches

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Stacy build credibility in her consulting practice

• Certified programs
• Industry leading training
• Practical lessons and exercises
• A large and active alumni network

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Stacy Sufka, and I am the founder and CEO of Gladegy Consulting. I had been looking around for a coaching program and wanted to become certified to add credibility to the services that we started providing in my consulting practice.

The industry is saturated with a lot of people who call themselves coaches, so I wanted to make sure that we were known as a reputable coaching practice with qualifications from an institution that is credible and known in the industry.

I looked at many programs, and the Center for Executive Coaching kept bubbling up as one of those reputable programs that had a unique layout of offerings.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

I have been able to tap into a really large community of professionals from all over the world.

There are thousands of alumni from the program, so I have been able to meet former tech executives, hospital administrators, people who are in professional services, and those in the nonprofit industry.

They are all doing coaching now, and their diverse experiences have helped me become a much better coach.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

My career has taken me from being a licensed counselor to an administrator, and now to a business owner. What is interesting about that is that I can lean into my counseling toolbox of skills.

The Center for Executive Coaching really helped me to understand how I can partner with executives to create a real impact even if we don’t have a lot of time.

As a coach, I help leaders with a lot of the issues, whether it’s juggling multiple priorities, or helping them through making big decisions.

Oftentimes those difficult decisions cause us to become somewhat paralyzed or what I call “in the grip”, faced with a lot of stress – more stress than we can cope with.

I also help leaders who want to increase their emotional intelligence. They’re working in a very difficult environment and oftentimes they are trying to determine how they can be the most effective leader for their organization.

I am helping leaders with more self-awareness, so they understand themselves and how to build a bridge to other people effectively.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

I have been through a lot of educational and certification programs and the Center for Executive Coaching is like the Harvard for coaching education. I gained a huge toolkit that I can use to develop my business and become an effective coach.

The toolkit also allows us to leverage the material that is given to us for so many situations. I have also met friends for life. We often refer clients to each other and have developed a relationship and network that is unmatched.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I have referred several people to the Center for Executive Coaching, not only for the education, but also to our coaches. I tell them they are not just getting a program where you read some material and take an exam. This is hands-on, and it’s going to feel like a masterclass or bootcamp.

It might be hard, but you leave the Center for Executive Coaching with a sense of confidence and credibility that you would not have if you went through another program. The Center for Executive Coaching builds and develops consummate professionals in the coaching field.

Samantha Wasserman is the CEO of Growth Curve Consulting & Coaching. She empowers leaders and teams to accelerate business growth and innovation. With over 30 years of experience in strategic change, talent development, and executive coaching, she has delivered proven results across diverse industries, including technology, biotech, healthcare, and consumer goods. Her mission is to help CEOs, executives, and leadership teams achieve their highest potential and performance, while creating a positive impact on their organizations and society. She leverages her three pillars of expertise: succession readiness and transitions, executive coaching and advisory and team/organizational transformation to design and implement customized solutions that address the unique challenges and opportunities of each client. Samantha is passionate about enabling leaders and teams to thrive in a complex and dynamic world. Visit her website at growthcurveconsulting.com

Key Points from Samantha Wasserman’s Hall of Fame Interview

“My biggest win has been my ability to distinguish between the value that I can add to my clients. I can now differentiate between coaching, advisory, and consulting.”

Samantha’s Results 

• A better understanding of how her skills can be applied
• Better at identifying coachable moments
• Can add more value for clients
• Now has a formal certification

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Samantha validate and formalize her coaching skills

• Proven techniques and strategies
• Work towards a recognized certification
• Learn from expert coaches
• Individualized help and support

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Samantha Wasserman. Prior to joining the Center for Executive Coaching, I was an executive coach. I was also doing strategic advisory consulting, leadership consulting, culture work, and organization development work. 

My background is in human capital consulting. I have a lot of strategic advisory skills, and I am an expert in succession, organizational planning, and cultural advisory work. While that includes coaching, I never got my ICF certification. 

I do have other certifications for coaching, but I never went through a substantive program that taught me the differences between coaching as a practice, versus the succession and transition coaching I was trained to do.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

The coaching I received allowed me to differentiate my different skills and offerings. Most importantly, it helped me fulfill the role that I needed to play for my client any particular time

The emphasis was adding value for the client in a different way. I now have a more keenly trained ear to say whether this is a moment for advisory, a moment to interject some expertise, or a coaching moment. 

I can add more value to my clients, and there is a speed or acuteness with which I can do it now. My advice has so much more intention to it

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

I am typically coaching people who are looking to transition into larger roles. What that allows me to do is really differentiate the skills, capabilities and experiences that one needs to have in preparing for those roles. 

Differentiating that to the mindsets and belief systems that people have are the coachable things. The other thing you can coach on is helping people unpack that themselves. That is the deep work that coaching comes in handy for. 

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

I think the return on investment has been amazing. I got paired with, in my opinion, the best person for what I want. She is entertaining, fun, and knows the material really well. 

She has her own experience, having been both internal and external. The people that come through the program are also very qualified with our own experiences, and we add a lot. 

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I would recommend the Center for Executive Coaching to people who need flexibility, and have some experience to share. 

There are other programs that affiliate themselves with universities to be exclusive, and I think this is an incredibly high quality program that does not come with that kind of elitism. It is a very down to earth group of people who know what they are doing.

Dr. Mike Hitchcock is the President and founder of Charles Atwater Group, L.L.C. He is a certified executive coach with over 30 years of leadership, sales, and business development experience. He has worked for the last decade and a half to provide corporate growth strategies to small businesses operating within the U.S. defense sector. Additionally, Mike is a retired Marine Corps Officer and combat veteran who has focused his coaching career on developing future leaders and assisting military members in transiting into corporate leadership positions. Mike holds a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership from Regent University, an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix, and a B.S. in Economics from Western Michigan University.

Visit his LinkedIn Profile

Key Points From Mike Hitchcock’s Hall of Fame Interview

“My biggest win with the Center for Executive Coaching has been having three or four repeatable and reliable customers who provide a consistent source of revenue that allows me to focus and grow my business.”

Mike’s Results

• Has begun to focus on core customers
• Better understands his role as a coach
• Equipped to guide his clients
• Now has reliable repeat customers

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Mike build a successful coaching business

• Proven techniques and strategies
• Assistance in building a successful business
• Access to a wealth of materials
• Individual support and advice

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Michael Hitchcock. I was a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton for a number of years. After I left that position I started my own consulting company supporting federal government contractors, and helping them win federal government contracts.

My initial goals were to be more effective with my clients. One of the challenges I had with the clients was that my advice was not sticking. We needed a better way to understand our client’s problems, and communicate with them.

I thought that coaching was the right avenue to try to help our clients help themselves.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

The Center for Executive Coaching has given me the tools that are required to be effective with clients. I have been in business for a number of years, but the coaching tools helped me to figure out what my niche was.

I had been really hesitant to embrace the niche within the federal contracting space. I thought that was more of a consulting space that I needed to be in. What I soon found through coaching was, I did not have to be the expert going in to help these companies out.

The owners themselves are the experts. So it is about helping those owners work through some of the challenges that they have individually with their businesses. They have the solutions and my job is to help them navigate the solutions that they have already identified.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

What I have learned helps me serve my clients better. It also changed my business model. Previously, my business model was to have a lot of clients.

What I have seen over the last few years is that it is not necessarily the number of clients I have, but rather it is about having a smaller number who I am a trusted advisor for. In essence, you end up getting a lot of repeat business.

I spend less time marketing and more time with my clients. I now receive more referrals through those clients. This has enabled me to spend more time focused on clients, instead of marketing and sales.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

It has absolutely been rewarding for myself, both personally and professionally. I have been able to create a niche for myself without having to work for another company, back in the kind of the corporate grind.

I have seen other folks that I have recommended go through the Center for Executive Coaching who have left their current professions and are now entrepreneurs.

Some of them have gone into coaching, and for some of them it was a self-discovery that they can do other things, and can add value in other places.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I think the experience of going through the Center for Executive Coaching has opened doors not just for myself, but for a number of colleagues that have also gone through the program.

I would absolutely recommend the Center for Executive Coaching to anyone. In fact, I have recommended the Center a number of times to friends and colleagues.

It will change your life both personally and professionally, because the skills that you learn in coaching are not just the skills you use in the workplace. These are skills that you can use in your home, or when you are out with friends and colleagues. They are life-changing skills.

Daiana is a member of our faculty, leading coach training in our Eastern European market. She is an executive coach for leaders, with a Master Certified Coach (MCC) Credential by the International Coach Federation (ICF), Coach Supervisor and a Registered ICF Mentor Coach. She served as a President, Communication Director and Member of the Board of Directors at the ICF Romania Chapter.

As a Master Certified Coach (MCC), she works with leaders-from startup entrepreneurs to C-level executives- who have bold visions and who play for high stakes.

As a Certified Mentor Coach by ICF, she is certified to offer mentor coaching programs for coaches interested in applying or renewing their ACC (Associate Certified Coach), PCC (Professional Certified Coach), or MCC (Master Certified Coach) Credential and need the required 10 hours of mentoring. As a Coach Supervisor she works with leaders and entrepreneurs that take their work seriously enough to set up a reflective space where they can review that work, learn from it and apply that learning when they return to it. She also works with coaches who bring their work to another individual/or group in order to learn how to do that work better.

Daiana is a pioneer in the coaching world in Eastern Europe, both as an executive and leadership coach and in the many coaching professionals she has trained, and who now look to her as their mentor.

Highlights from Daiana Stoicescu’s Hall of Fame Interview

My life is different now because I am free to create my own schedule. I can choose who I work with. I really love what I am doing and I also have time for my family while creating other amazing things and contributing to other people’s lives.”

• Now a full time coach
• Works with a range of high performing clients
• Has the freedom to create her own schedule
• Feels passionate about what she does

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Daiana build her very own coaching business

• A fully certified program
• Proven coaching techniques and strategies
• An active and supportive community
• Advice on how to build a coaching business

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Daiana, and I am a former teacher and a leader in the corporate field. When I was in my 20s, I was always wondering about what comes next and was not content.

Then the Center for Executive Coaching came into my life and I began to love my work, because I am doing coaching as a full-time job.

Before joining the Center for Executive Coaching, I was looking for an executive coaching certification and training that could give me tools and processes to attract great clients. I wanted to have an impact and wanted to love what I do.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

With the Center for Executive Coaching I have found brilliant tools and advanced techniques for developing my own niche. I can say that the foundation they gave me is priceless.

I am really grateful that I chose this program because it has made me who I am today. Everything I have created in my business and my life is because of the tools and frameworks that I read and implemented.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

I have had amazing results from people who want to double their income by changing their position, and opening a new business, or to those who want to have success in a new role as a first-time manager.

I also support some athletes. They are achievers who want to grow fast and I have been able to have an amazing contribution to their goals. I work with a full range of people.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

I go back to the Center for Executive Coaching on a weekly basis. I find value in the member area and I meet with peers to plan together. It is an amazing community.

I can say that absolutely, the investment was worth it for me. It was life changing and I am very grateful that I chose to press that button many years ago.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I will highly recommend the Center for Executive Coaching. You will develop a clear understanding of the coaching profession, and how to create your own services, market yourself, and sell your services. This program really has it all!

Rob Berg is a Principal at the consulting firm Perr&Knight and Director of the firm’s fastest-growing profit center. He is an expert in business process improvement and enterprise-wide project/program/portfolio management. Rob consults to executives at insurance, financial services, private equity, and technology companies who have a strong desire to improve operations, promote greater engagement, and derive better outcomes for the organizations they lead. He is also an Executive Coach to leaders seeking to clarify their visions, effect strategic change, and inspire their team members. Rob is the author of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵: 𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳, which has been called “a must read for professional service providers” and “a wake up call to an industry which badly needs to reconnect with its ‘authentic self.'”

Key Points from Rob Berg’s Hall of Fame Video

“My biggest win with the Center for Executive Coaching is that after 20 years, I finally published a book. It was life-changing and it has set me up with a career that I could pursue into my 80s.”

Rob’s Results

• Gained insight into his own practices
• Has successfully coached others
• Has a better vision of the future
• Wrote and published his own book

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Rob adopt a more coaching oriented approach to management

• Proven coaching strategies
• Support and guidance on the business of coaching
• A large library of useful resources
• Frequent updates in line with best practices

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Rob Berg, and I am a principal of Perr&Knight, a consulting firm headquartered in Santa Monica, California, where I head up the operations and technology consulting practice.

My consulting work has to do with process improvement. We look at large organizations and improve the way they do things.

I always had this notion that we should focus on the technical things, like the technologies that are used, the hiring practices, and compensation.

However, by doing this we lost focus on people. We were losing sight of how we motivate individuals to execute in the new environment that I might be proposing.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

One of the unintended benefits is that I can coach myself. When I am at a particular juncture in my life or career, I know what questions to ask myself to get out of the rut and move forward.

Just by writing and being self reflective I can develop a stronger vision for the future. My approach is way less directive now and more coaching oriented, making me a much better manager.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

One of the great things I have done is working with a young consultant that came into our firm. His first move was backwards. We brought him in at a management level and he took a step back.

I helped with his calendar, and how he could find more time in his week by organizing it differently, while also developing a vision for his career.

Three and a half years ago, he became a partner, and is a director of the fastest growing practice in the firm. I find that extremely gratifying. He has doubled his income at the firm in the last three years, and I played a part in that.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

I graduated from the Center for Executive Coaching five years ago, so it has been a while. I still find myself going back to their library of resources, and tools, as well as all the other content Andrew keeps cranking out. They constantly renew and refresh that material, so five years later, it is still a great resource.

There are many ancillary things available, like marketing, how to contract, handling objections, and other things that are outside a traditional body of knowledge for coaching proper, but are important if you are serious about being a successful coach.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I highly recommend the Center for Executive Coaching, especially for consultants. It was an extraordinary experience! The investment I made has paid for itself many times over, so it is a no-brainer.

The coaching helps you to pull stuff out of your client. This gives you instant buy-in when you present strategies, or devise them collaboratively to help fix their businesses.

Ilana is the Founder and CEO of Werq, an executive coaching and strategic leadership advisory firm serving CEO’s and their teams from around the world. An experienced executive leader and a Certified Executive Coach, Ilana is passionate about combining strategic, systemic, and relational interventions to generate business impact that lasts. Ilana’s clients include C-suite leaders and teams from across industries, ranging from founder-led SMB’s to multi-billion dollar publicly traded enterprises. A lifelong student of “what makes people and organizations tick,” Ilana is an enthusiastic change agent who believes in embracing challenges in pursuit of growth. Through this, she inspires others around her to be equally courageous in their pursuits to lead at their best. Ilana holds a Master’s degree in Social Work, and spends her free time adoring her young children and enjoying living in the vibrant city of Austin, TX.

Website: www.werqpeople.com, Twitter : @werqpeople , Linkedin : Ilana

Key Points from Ilana Zivkovich’s Hall of Fame Interview

• More confident in her own abilities
• Understands the value she can provide
• Started her own coaching firm
• Achieves results for her clients

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Ilana start her own successful coaching business

• Practical advice on starting a coaching business
• Help defining the value you can bring to clients
• A well structured program of study
• Led by industry experts

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Ilana Zivkovich, and before coaching I was a trained social worker. I have translated that into leadership roles within the behavioral healthcare industry, specifically with addictions. It turns out that working with executives is a little easier than working with addicts!

From running treatment centers, I came to find that the only way to have sustainable, and effective outcomes for our customers was to focus on a bunch of things that I did not know what to call it at the time, but what I recognize now as what an executive coach would do.

From a personal perspective, I came out of the womb intending to be an entrepreneur. When I went to the Center for Executive Coaching, it was with the express interest in becoming adept at the skill of coaching and starting a firm.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

The Center for Executive Coaching took all the mystery out of how to partner with top-level executives and quickly understand what is actually keeping them up at night.  It helped me to identify the big problems they had, and partner with them to solve them.

The second thing that the Center for Executive Coaching did was give wonderful context around how to engage with those folks.

From a subject matter expertise as well as a practical perspective, I do not believe that my business would have got off the ground without the Center for Executive Coaching.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

We work with CEOs and their teams. We end up doing a lot of work around strategy, performance, and culture. Those are the three elements that show up the most.

Our differentiator is whether we’re working with a small media business or with an enterprise. We are typically working with the executive leadership team who are dealing with strategic challenges.

We help them tackle those challenges by looking at their purpose, what are they focusing on, what are they actually doing about it, but also how are they working together as a team.

If it is coaching with an individual, we look more at how they are engaging with employees. If it is an executive team, we look at the group dynamics and how they can work together for a sustainable outcome.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

I could have paid ten times what I did and still call it the most valuable investment of my life! The practical application of what they teach, and how it sets you up to go out and provide value is amazing. I swear by the Center for Executive Coaching and would reinvest in it without question.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I have recommended the Center for Executive Coaching 100 times in the last five years!

If you are someone who wants to get in there, and start taking action with real-life humans in the wild and do it exceptionally well, then the Center for Executive Coaching is what you need.

Teri Citterman is the founder and principal of Talonn, an organization that helps good thinkers become great leaders. Teri is known as a thought cultivator and trusted advisor to CEOs and the C-Suite. She is an expert in organizational communications and coaches individuals and executive teams in fast-paced, high-growth organizations. Her coaching centers on executive presence, power, and influence. As a result of Teri’s coaching, executives master leadership scalability and drive their vision through others by asserting their conviction, decisiveness, and equal footing to amplify their impact. www.Talonnllc.com

Key Points from Teri Citterman’s Hall of Fame Interview

“There are a lot of coaching programs out there, but there is nothing like the Center for Executive Coaching. It absolutely changed my life and gave me a path forward in terms of the type of work I do. I have no regrets.”

Teri’s Results

• Built a foundation for her coaching
• Learned strategies she could adapt to her own style
• Has collaborated with other successful coaches
• Has had an impact on those she has coached

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Teri establish herself as a successful executive coach

• Proven coaching strategies
• Expert instruction on how to establish yourself as a coach
• Adaptable tools and techniques
• A strong and supportive alumni network

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Teri Citterman, and prior to joining the Center for Executive Coaching, I was in public relations, corporate communications, and I was a ghost writer. I wrote books for CEOs.

It was through the process of ghost writing that I became curious about coaching. Now, I am an executive performance coach for CEOs and leaders in the C-Suite.

When I first joined the Center for Executive Coaching, I did not really know what executive coaching was. I had friends that were doing it, but I did not have a construct of the process and frameworks in my mind.

I was really looking for a foundation, and for instruction that was flexible so that I could adapt it to suit my own style.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

Joining the Center for Executive Coaching helped me to understand who I am as a coach, and what I was going to bring to the table. I focus on executive presence, power, and influence.

I use a lot of the materials that were created by the Center for Executive Coaching and have adapted them to my style, and my clients.

The alumni network is really strong. It really helped me to understand the type of coach I wanted to be and how to show up as that coach. It gave me a lot of confidence.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

I help leaders really understand the power they have, both true power as well as indirect power. The idea of having to have authority, but not actually having authority.

I help them to understand how to influence people, understand the power they have in their relationships and the types of relationships they need to have in order to get things done.

The way I measure my impact is by the impact the leaders I coach get. I am only as good as they are. Their bosses, boards, or their primary stakeholders recognize the changes that they see and that means I have been successful.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

The Center For Executive Coaching is designed in an efficient way. The real practical tips for coaching are priceless. The Center for Executive Coaching attracts a different level of coaches.

Working and collaborating with other people that have gone through the Center for Executive Coaching is unlike anything else!

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I do recommend the Center for Executive Coaching. In fact, there are a couple of people I know going through the program right now.

Those who thrive in this kind of program are people who are serious. They are not dabbling in coaching, they actually want to go forward with coaching as a career.

Having access to other people, asking questions, and being able to bounce ideas off of each other is so valuable.

When people in the program get to know you, they will share their contacts and best practices with you. It is a unique community that’s willing to share.

Mark Monane is Principal and Chief Medical Officer at Monane Group Clinical Consulting LLC, a firm devoted to providing advice and content to help life science clients with storytelling and strategic positioning to improve their impact and reach. Leadership and executive coaching services further bolster these efforts, including pagingdrcoach directed toward medical executives and Dr x Dr Coaching directed towards residency and chief resident programs. Mark holds A.B. and M.B.A. degrees from Columbia University as well as an M.D. degree from New York University. Mark is a Certified Healthcare Leadership Coach through the Center for Executive Coaching as well as an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation.

Key Points From Mark Monane’s Hall Of Fame Interview

“My biggest win has been the ability to incorporate new information to go beyond mentoring and to move to coaching. It has been a great addition.”

Mark’s Results

• Moved from mentoring to coaching
• Built a network of other coaches
• New ways to structure coaching conversations
• Started a new coaching business

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Mark develop strategies for coaching medical professionals

• Structured programs
• Highly skilled course tutors
• Help building an executive coaching business
• The ability to network with other coaches

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Mark Monane, and I am a physician by training, doing mostly consulting at this time, in both industry and academia.

Since the program, I have been able to add a new skill set and I am spending time with chief medical officers and medical leaders to get them to the next level, in their job or be more productive to the organization.

What I have heard over and over again from the chief medical officers is, they want to be as productive as they were in their previous career now that they are the medical voice in a commercial company.

My goal was to help them make that transition successfully.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

I really like that the Center for Executive Coaching is not just a one-time event. They are building a community. It is like joining a club where you get new knowledge, but you also get to network with other people who are trying to be coaches.

You get to go back again and again to revisit the information, so it is more of a longitudinal experience instead of a one-time event.

After a 20-year corporate career where he enjoyed mentoring team members, and a successful start-up exit, Jack started Levitt Executive Advisors to pursue his passion for coaching full time. His client roster includes a variety of large, mid-sized and entrepreneurial companies, where he has done 1:1 leadership coaching, executive presentation coaching and developed powerful teams. One engagement he had with a partner led them to write C4—Building the Powerful Team. In it, they share their model for taking a work group on a 4-and-a-half year journey to becoming an influential force and the envy of their organization.

Key Points From Jack Levitt’s Hall Of Fame Interview

“I feel like an expert in my field, because I can look any executive in the eye and tell them exactly what I think they need to hear. I can pass a red face test because of the positioning I got during the program, and I love what I do.”

Jack’s Results

• Was able to transition from a corporate career to coaching
• Successfully developed his own model and published it
• Has better work-life balance
• Now feels like an expert in his field

How The Center For Executive Coaching Helped Jack Build A Career As An Executive Coach

• Helps you become a certified executive coach
• Highly experienced course leaders
• More than 20 years of experience training executive coaches
• Personalized support and guidance

What Were Your Goals Before Joining The Center For Executive Coaching?

Before I joined the Center for Executive Coaching, I was a corporate guy working in the telecom field.

I was leaving my corporate job and wanted to become a coach, but I needed some real solid grounding on how to get into the field.

I knew what I wanted to do, but I did not know how to execute on it. I did not feel like I had the gravitas to do it and keep me grounded.

How Has Working With The Center For Executive Coaching Helped Your Career?

I just published a book with a partner of mine, and could not have done that without the Center for Executive Coaching. In fact, I actually give them credit in our acknowledgements for that assistance.

The first thing we did was create a model and build the book around this model. It really gave us a center of focus that gave the project some seriousness.

It made sure that our ideas did not feel ‘fluffy’, or like we were imposters. By the time we finished we felt like real experts who had created a useful model.

Sarah Birdsong Major is a Certified Executive Coach with the Center for Executive Coaching, with 15 years of internal and external executive recruiting experience, most recently as a senior consultant to the office of the CEO for Korn Ferry International. Additionally, she has a background in academia in both Development and Undergraduate Admissions and a deep expertise in human behavior. Her specialties include: Transition; Career mapping; Leadership and Team Building; Conflict Resolution; Assessment; Integrative Health; Mindfulness and Meditation. Her additional qualifications include: MEd Counseling with a specialization in Higher Education, University of Virginia; BA Psychology, University of Virginia, Certified Health Coach, Institute of Integrative Nutrition; and Naam Meditation/Yoga Therapies. Please visit her website.

Key Points from Sarah Birdsong Major’s Hall of Fame Interview

“Not only do I have the coaching credential that I feel is important to have, I also have access to the tools that I need for the assessment work that I do. This course has allowed me to take those tools and fly.”

Sarah’s Results

• Has a coaching credential
• Gained access to valuable tools
• Gave her the means to develop her own business
• Delivers value as a corporate coach

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Sarah develop as a successful coach

• A recognized coaching certification
• Small and personal groups
• Expert instructors
• Proven tools to build credibility with clients

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Sarah Birdsong Major, and before I started with the Center for Executive Coaching, I was working for 10 years at Korn Ferry International. I was working in their New York office and I was a special consultant to the firm working globally.

I already had a master’s degree, and a lot of great experience working at great companies, but I wanted to start my own business.

I felt like it was really important to get a coaching credential, especially if I was going to set up a coaching business. At that time, I really wanted to do a lot of work with assessments.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

The Center for Executive Coaching has allowed me to have greater balance in my life. I am able to work with people all over the world everyday.

It doesn’t matter where I am, or how I do it. I have that one-on-one contact with people. I love that aspect, because it has allowed me to run a really thriving business that people really need.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

There is one part, where I work with people internally in an organization. They are trying to assess them, and figure out how they best fit.

There is a lot of work I do with succession planning, as well as how to coach and mentor. It goes deeper than whether they will be right for the position and looks at whether they are a good cultural fit as well.

A lot of it is working to retain a person that is already with the company, and keeping them happy. Then I do a lot of work with people who are early in their careers.

They may be in college or even in high school and need help to figure out the college they want to go to based on what their interests and abilities are.

It is about empowering them to see the beauty of who they are and where they can go in their lives.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

It was absolutely worth it, because it was a lifeline for me. I needed to figure out a way to get the tools I needed. Just the introduction alone was worth every penny that I spent.

It has been absolutely worth it, and I have been really impressed. I was also very impressed with the people that I met through the program and the resources they were able to share.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I believe the Center for Executive Coaching is a great program for people that already have some life experience, because it helps to come into a program like this with experience.

That doesn’t mean you have to have it, but if you are going to go into a coaching program, you will need that experience to coach effectively.

This course is a great place to share your ideas with others, develop your practice, work on your skills, and find your own style because not everybody coaches the same. It is an intensive program and a very good one.

Dr. Tony Gerth is a Clinical Professor of Information Systems in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business at the University of North Texas. He teaches the strategic management of information technology. His research focuses on the role of the Chief Information Officer. He is co-author of “Taking the Reins as CIO: A Blueprint for Leadership Transitions.” He is also an executive coach and helps IT leaders maximize their impact. Visit his LinkedIn profile here.

Key Points from Tony Gerth’s Hall of Fame Interview

“My biggest win with the Center for Executive Coaching has been engagement with the CIO of a large organization where I provided workshops, and coaching to his direct reports”.

Tony’s Results

• Has new external clients
• Feels more confident as a coach
• Now has a recognized certification
• Has new coaching tools and strategies

How the Center for Executive Coaching helped Tony become more confident as an executive coach

• A recognized coaching qualification
• Help and support during and after the course
• Connect with other coaches
• Learn proven tools and techniques

What were your goals before joining the Center for Executive Coaching?

My name is Tony Gerth, and I am a Clinical Professor at the University of North Texas. I teach strategic management of information technology. I was looking for formal training to distinguish myself as an executive coach.

I had a lot of coaching experience with employees, but I felt like a certification would just add some additional credibility to those skills.

How has working with the Center for Executive Coaching helped your career?

I still have my day job at the university, so right now my coaching is more of a supplement. The key takeaway has been the confidence I now have to work with clients and help them improve.

To go to a training class like the Center for Executive Coaching, the person has to be coachable. I have a lot of experience and I can help people fulfill their goals, which is also fulfilling for me.

How have you been able to serve your clients better?

My niche is coaching senior information technology leaders to grow beyond just technical expertise so that  they have the ability to step into a more senior executive role. It is very fulfilling.

In many organizations, leaders in the IT function tend to hide their impact and contribution. Helping them maximize that impact to the organization, speak in a more ‘businesslike’ language, and develop more productive relationships is so important.

Was the Center for Executive Coaching worth the investment?

Working with the Center for Executive Coaching is absolutely worth the investment. The framework that we use in the CEC is based on what really works.

It is not based on a standalone coaching paradigm like most other coaching training is. They provide a lot of content, tools and templates that are there to support coaches, and help you build your practice as an executive coach.

Would you recommend the Center for Executive Coaching?

I have recommended the Center for Executive Coaching to a number of people. I think it works well for internal coaches.

For experienced external coaches working with the Center for Executive Coaching will be a great experience and they will give you a lot of ongoing support.