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Michael brings a wealth of experience to the field of executive coaching and leadership development having logged thousands of coaching hours working with leaders and high potentials since 2009 in Real Estate, Biotech, Edtech, Healthcare, Retail and High-Tech industries. Areas of specialty for Michael include communication, succeeding in a new role (or preparing for advancement), and leading with emotional intelligence. He also guides leaders to create highly engaged teams.
Michael has a particular interest in organizational health and believes trust and transparent, candid communication are essential elements of a thriving organization. This interest fueled his quest to become certified in Conversational Intelligence (C-IQ), a neuroscience-based approach to communication that builds trust, increases collaboration, and accelerates innovation.
In 2016, Michael earned his Professional Coach Certification (PCC) credential from the International Coaching Federation. This credential requires extensive coaching experience, adherence to a strict code of ethics, and the passing of a rigorous coach knowledge assessment. He will renew his credential once more in 2022, then work his way towards the Master Certified Coach (MCC) credential to be achieved in 2023.
In 2021, Michael became a Certified Mentor Coach (CMC). As such, he now also mentors other coaches on behalf of the Center for Executive Coaching.
Prior to entering the field of professional development, Michael had a successful career at Oracle Corporation where he owned high-stakes marketing projects and programs leading cross-functional teams while developing and strengthening critically important user group and key partner relationships. Michael was recognized by his team as being highly creative, incredibly consistent, and a reliable source of innovative ideas.
During his time at Oracle, Michael enrolled in Dale Carnegie’s signature program and graduated at the top of the class. He returned to coach others taking the program, one of whom graduated at the top of the class. This was the genesis for his passion to work with others in the field of professional development. This also led to him eventually becoming a professional speaker and communication coach.
Michael’s background and experience make him highly suited to working with leaders who are intent on improving their communication skills and unlock ways to increase their contribution to an organization thereby paving the way for advancement and greater success. He’s also adept at helping leaders to enable higher performance from a team that’s good and should be great.
Education and Certifications
Michael earned a BS in Advertising from Arizona State University and is a graduate of the Center for Executive Coaching. He has completed multiple post graduate classes via Heriot-Watt University. He joined the faculty of the Center for Executive Coaching in 2019 to lead participants through their executive coach training and certification program.
Michael is certified to provide these individual and team development assessments: Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, Genos International’s EI assessments, DiSC, and PXT Select.
When not coaching, training, or speaking, Michael loves to teach. He’s a former instructor at both Skyline College and San Francisco State University.
More information on Michael’s career history can be found on LinkedIn.
Dr. Terry Jackson is an Executive Coach with a Ph.D. in Leadership and Organizational Change. He was selected by Marshall Goldsmith for membership in the prestigious Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches. He has served as a Leadership Advisor, Coach and Consultant for the US State Department and has 25 years of progressive leadership development experience in sales, marketing, operations management, and business consulting with Fortune 10 companies. Learn more at www.jcgconsultinggroup.com
“It is different now because I have become a better listener, which enables me to truly understand the challenges clients are facing, and opens up the opportunity to present the right solution.”
My name is Dr. Terry Jackson, and prior to becoming a member of the Centre for Executive Coaching (CEC), I was a Field Sales Director. I did that from 2008 to 2013 and never missed a number!
I wanted to gain those skills, because I understood the importance of being able to coach employees, leaders and managers within the organization as a way to optimize their skillset and results.
Utilizing the tools of the CEC has enabled me to pursue clients at a higher level. I have always wanted to get into the executive coaching and consulting space and this allowed me to do so.
Now I can deal with people and process, whether it is managing change, or creating a system where you take high potential leaders and develop them.
Working with the Center for Executive Coaching has been worth the investment.
For anyone who truly wants to become an executive coach, I recommend going through the process with the CEC. I have actually just recommended someone to go through this process.
Dr. Amy Bladen Shatto is distinguished by a 25-year record, merging scientific rigor with business realities in the application of leadership development, assessment, and coaching. Drawing from culturally diverse internal and external experiences, she partners with organizations and individuals to enhance leadership skills throughout the talent lifecycle. She is sought out for high impact solutions around upskilling high-potential successors; adapting leaders for rapid change (e.g., post-COVID complex technology, multi-generational demands); and fostering high-performance teams. A certified ICF (ACC) and BCC coach, Amy also brings to her practice both leadership and executive coaching. Her clientele spans industries, with prominent names like Johnson & Johnson, Merck, MetLife, NEA, and Merrill Lynch. Website.
“My biggest win with the CEC has been becoming more crisp and clear in the way that I express my offering, and doing it in a way that is more marketable than before.”
My name is Amy Bladen Shatto, and I am a PhD I-O Psychologist, doing leadership development and coaching work. I interviewed a lot of different organizations for my coaching certification.
It was really clear to me that the Center for Executive Coaching was the right fit. My background is in industrial-organizational psychology. I come from a very metrics-oriented perspective so this course was an excellent fit, while still meeting the standards that ICF wants you to have.
My business is different now than it was before I went to the CEC. Mostly because it is now a business! I went in not sure that I was going to make it as an entrepreneur. I really lacked confidence.
I walked out a few months later after getting the tools and having the experiences with much more confidence that I have a business, and confidence that I was going to make it.
Following the course in a very flexible way has allowed me to figure out what my needs are. You can start at any point with the CEC, which means you can get the tools but as you are going along.
If your client brings you something right now and you are not at that point in the program, you can immediately go and watch something on a video that is already recorded.
They can answer questions about marketing your business, getting started, and ramping up. They can help with all the common things entrepreneurs have concerns about. It helps you to not feel alone.
The red thread in my career is leadership development outcomes. You build the strategy, which might include a competency component.
First we figure out the skills that they need to develop. Then we assess against these skills, in some way. I do a lot of assessment work and then we come back and do development, which includes training of some sort.
After training, we come back and measure. I develop measurement processes, as well as strategies to help them get to the next level.
Timewise, this course fits well into your schedule. You can take time at night or during the day when it suits you. It is by far the most flexible offering that I have ever seen.
In terms of the investment, it is actually somewhat less than others, which is pretty outstanding. I feel you are getting more bang for your buck.
One of the things that I did not expect about the CEC, was to grow a very natural network of other professionals. I suddenly have this whole network to reach out to, and who can reach out to me.
One member that has become a dear friend has given me opportunities to present in communities that she is a part of, which has further built my business. We have been able to exchange opportunities with one another.
By the end of my second day in the program, I felt like it was the most incredible thing I have ever seen. I do not say that lightly. The flexibility, the offerings, as well as the tools and processes are very different from what you see elsewhere.
I would recommend this course to anybody who is looking to develop their coaching and is looking to be an entrepreneur.
Stefanie Breyer is founder of Breyer Coaching LLC, a certified executive coach and a former corporate tech executive with over 25 years of experience in leading development teams, product strategy, organizational design, managing P&Ls, and M&A integration. Her clients are purposeful achievers, leaders who want to succeed in alignment with who they are. She uses and teaches a philosophy called genuine-leader impact, which affirms that it is possible to harmonize your own convictions with business and organizational realities to achieve success. With increased confidence, Stefanie’s clients find harmony in the chaos that surrounds them and gain personal and professional clarity to succeed in a way that feels true to themselves. Learn more about Stefanie here:
“For me the big win since joining the Center for Executive Coaching has been gaining confidence around how to approach coaching, how to conduct individual coaching sessions, how to build that into a business, and overall increasing my confidence in my ability to do that.”
My name is Stefanie Breyer, and before my current role, I was a tech executive. I had a big passion for mentoring and coaching.
I had been doing that informally in a volunteer capacity, and decided I wanted to make that my full-time role. So I founded an executive coaching firm called Breyer Coaching, where I am doing one-on-one executive coaching.
I had a gut feel for how to coach. I felt like I knew how to listen, and I felt like I knew how to guide the people I was working with.
If I was going to make a career out of this, I did not want to just hang up my shingle and say I am an executive coach.
I wanted to understand more about the practice of coaching, and I wanted to have some credentials and credibility to bring to my coaching, along with all of the executive work experience that I had.
I feel a lot more confident now that I have a framework to bring to my clients, and some proven approaches. There is also the benefit of the network that I have been able to grow within the Center for Executive Coaching.
There are a lot of impressive people who are part of the program, and everyone is really generous in helping each other.
It has given me a lot more flexibility in my day-to-day life as well. I have teenage children, and I wanted to have more time to spend with them.
I help executives who are newly enrolled and when they are newly promoted. That role looks really different from the role that I had before. It is about helping those new executives accelerate their impact, and also accelerate their confidence in that role.
I definitely think that joining the CEC was a fantastic investment of my time, energy, and money. It is such a flexible program. There are multiple instructors, so you can find someone who is a good fit for you.
There are lots of different sessions at different times, so I could adapt it to my schedule, which I really appreciated. Then there is the wealth of information that I have gotten from the sessions. There are still things that I continue to go back to.
I would definitely recommend the Center for Executive Coaching to others. I think the right person for this course is someone who has had a successful career in business, has a passion for coaching, and wants some training to give them a good grounding before they start that business themselves.
Dr. Peter Bath’s 45-year career has consistently centered on helping individuals and organizations develop insight and realize agency in responding to their future opportunities. Through his continuing education and multiple certifications in team and personality assessment, he has been able to help individuals and teams overcome what seem to be impossible challenges and be able to find successful, working relationships. As an executive and systemic team coach, he facilitates insight and ensures the experience is engaging, safe and inspiring. You can reach out to Dr. Bath via his LinkedIn
“My biggest win since joining the Center for Executive Coaching has been both clarity and connection. Clarity for myself and my coaching model, plus connection with people that I have continued to work with two or three years later.”
My name is Peter Bath, and prior to joining the Center for Executive Coaching, I had retired from a career as an executive in healthcare and a college president and a pastor. I have been around people all my life. My primary goal was to get a clear model of interacting with people.
I found myself in search of the perfect question, because having questions to clarify and to put the issue back in the client’s lap is the real work of coaching. It is a very common process across all the other domains and so that is what I was looking for.
Being on this course has been a remarkable experience, because it has introduced me to an excellent model for coaching and interacting, and it has also connected me with people from all over the world.
Currently I am coaching hospital executives in Asia, physicians here in the US, and executives in education. I have unlocked so many remarkable opportunities.
The networking that one can affect through professional contact, through word of mouth, and through just being present is remarkable. I have achieved all that I really want to.
The key results that I help people achieve are, clarity of options, brainstorming, and helping them identify options and courses of action before considering how those steps need to be implemented.
The hospital executives I am coaching are looking at a major initiative in physician leadership education. I am coaching them through that process by looking at how to deal with the change, and how to introduce new initiatives.
When I was figuring out what the next chapter was going to be after retirement, the Center for Executive Coaching came highly recommended.
Just within the first three months, I can say I have got my money’s worth. It has been well worth my investment. The biggest part of that investment has been the introductions to people around the world.
I have been able to introduce and refer people to the program with the utmost of confidence, knowing they will experience something that will be as meaningful for them as it has been for me.
I have recommended the Center for Executive Coaching to many people, and have told them that it will be a lot of hard work, but will result in a lot of focused self-awareness.
Coaching is not about learning a skill as much as it is about internalizing that skill within yourself and adjusting who you are to that whole process. Being able to do that is a wonderful opportunity.
If you are willing to invest your time and to do work, this program will take you wherever your heart might desire. You will be surprised where you end up.
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
“My biggest win with the Center for Executive Coaching was developing the credibility that I needed to be an effective coaching practice owner.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
“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.”
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.
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
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.
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.
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
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.'”
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
