If you have a question that you don’t see answered below, feel free to email me or schedule a Discovery Call!
No. My previous roles as a Chief Product Officer, first Head of Product at a Series A startup, and Vice President of Brand and head all Creative for a Series C startup give me a breadth of experience to effectively coach senior product managers and heads of product, non-founder executives, creative leadership, and ambitious high-performing individuals working within organizations large and small.
My flexible approach allows me to customize the coaching relationship to each individual’s situation and goals, while my background as an employee, manager, sole proprietor, founder, and executive; spanning art, design, retail, production, hospitality, real-estate development, construction, logistics and everything in-between allows me to add mentorship value and insight across a variety of industries and professions.
To learn more, see my page on Coaching for Companies and Individuals.
Read more about my style and why I coach as well as my philosophy and approach.
I combine thoughtful question asking and reflection (coaching) with experience based guidance and feedback (mentorship). I have you challenge yourself through introspection, increase your self-awareness and surface lasting change from within, at the same time I allow structured opportunities for sharing empirical, strategic learnings and insights from industry experts and my own experience. Such an approach is critical for comprehensively growing both your soft and hard skills. This blend is also reflected in the homework I give to my clients on an as-needed basis, which may range from personal journaling exercises, to readings and watching videos, to creating targeted key business deliverables.
Read more about my style and why I coach as well as my philosophy and approach.
My approach is based on a modality I’ve developed called Mentorship Coaching. Generally speaking, Coaching and Mentorship live on opposite ends of the “structure” spectrum. All the way on the mentorship side is typically less structured, and has more flow to it. Whatever the client brings to the session that day is what we work on. I may offer insights and feedback or use coaching tools to help them, but we don’t necessarily define a full framework around the problem. This could also be seen as a sounding board or co-pilot approach. On the other end, a “strict” coaching approach will usually be defined around a specific breakdown or goal the client wants to work on. For this, I will create a custom structured curriculum, or Coaching Program, complete with specific exercises, practices and other assignments. From there we will work through the program together over a number of weeks. We will review and revise along the way if needed, and continue the program until we have decided that it has accomplished what we set out to do. From there, we may define something new to work on, creating a new structured coaching program, or default to a more flow-based approach. In reality, most relationships end up being a mix of the two and part of my skill is helping clients weave between the two sides of the spectrum and keep challenging themselves.
Lots. I’m tool and modality agnostic, building curriculum around each client’s actual situation rather than forcing them through one method. Over years of practice and continuous study, I’ve assembled a working toolkit that lets me reach for the right approach in the moment.
The frameworks and lineages I draw from most often include the Mochary Method (Matt Mochary), How To Operate (Keith Rabois), and High Output Management (Andy Grove) for tactical CEO operating, Process Communication Model (Taibi Kahler) for personality dynamics and cofounder communication, the Trust Equation (Maister, Galford, Green) for diagnosing trust breakdowns, Conscious Leadership (Dethmer, Chapman, Klemp) for self-awareness in leadership, Crucial Conversations (Patterson, Grenny) for high-stakes communication, Tactical Empathy (Chris Voss) for negotiation and difficult conversations, The Work (Byron Katie) for examining the beliefs and stories that hold founders back, and Soto Zen meditation in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki for the mindfulness practices I share with clients. My ICF coaching foundation draws from Co-Active Coaching, New Ventures West (Integral Coaching), and Symbiosis.
I also pull from adjacent operator and leadership work by various other founders and established coaches, the body of writing on interpersonal conflict and trust repair, my own experience as a multiple-time founder, cofounder, and leader, and the pattern and resource library I’ve built coaching 100+ founding teams through real situations.
I’ve witnessed clients have breakthroughs in our very first session. Nearly all of my clients have said they’ve felt substantial value by the end of our first week together. Coaching can begin to work immediately, if you let it ;) Coaching and mentorship are partnerships, how much you get out of them and how quickly it starts working will rely on you and how much you put into it. The more you come to the session prepared, have an open mind, complete assignments, and are honest with yourself and your coach, the more quickly you can get into “the work”.
As covered directly above, the time to start feeling the impact and gaining perspective can be quick, where it goes from there, and for how long is an ongoing conversation between you and your coach. I value working with clients who have an intent to work together on a long-term basis because I’ve found that allows the relationship to build organically over time, leading to more efficient and a deeper work. This approach also gives my clients a feeling of confidence and stability in having a consistent, trusted third party who is already up to speed with them and their business, ready to help.
The minimum engagement I offer is six consecutive months of once-per-week sessions. The typical breakdown of that time starts with the first 2 to 3 sessions open for inquiry, building the relationship, defining breakdowns, openings, and goals, and setting up goals and the best approach for that particular client. The next 4-6 weeks are spent working through the coaching program, tracking, and discussing progress. That cycle typically repeats for the duration of the relationship. From there, the relationship becomes a quarter-to-quarter engagement where we continue to work on what comes up and define subsequent coaching programs and new goals.
Weekly*. I have found through experimentation, feedback from my clients, and talking to other experienced helping professionals that a weekly frequency is the most effective cadance for most relationships and provides the highest value to the client. This is because a weekly interval helps keep the relationship top-of-mind for both parties and is enough time for work to happen but without so much happening that the following session is consumed with catching-up vs progressive discussion.
Typically, yes. As the relationship matures and client is demonstrating consistent assignment completion and steady progress, a bi-weekly frequency may be discussed if deemed appropriate.
When working with organizations/companies and groups, curriculum and frequency are sometimes different.
A normal session is a “clinical hour,” 50 minutes. I also offer deep-dive double sessions, but find a single session is usually enough, and even if two sessions are needed to cover the issue, the time between sessions is helpful for the client.
Yes! In most cases I will take a pair of co-founders on a call together, though I will typically recommend each co-founder also seeks individual support as well. The best way to find out the best fit for you and your co-founder is to Schedule a Discovery Call.
Are you an executive team or a large team inside of an organization? See “Do you work with groups?” below.
Yes. I work with groups such as a teams or designated cohorts within organizations, VC investment portfolios, a founding/executive team larger than two, and most other professional group configurations. For more info on how I approach working with companies, portfolios and groups, visit my page on Coaching for Companies and Individuals.
For 1:1 coaching I offer a sliding scale based on company and/or personal financials. In very select cases I am also open to discussing equity. I am passionate about working with early-stage founders and want to remain accessible. If there is a need for additional financial support or budget consideration, I can often find ways to work with most founders in their budget and I encourage you to reach out. For information on rates specific to you, schedule a free Discovery Call
Yes! I believe the earlier you get involved with coaching, the more valuable the coaching can be, especially if you’re a first-time founder. Schedule a Discovery Call to tell me about what you’re building, I’d love to help!.