“You can’t lead anyone else further than you have gone yourself.”
– Gene Mauch
"As a senior product manager at Google, I chose Colleen as my management coach to help me identify and pursue improvements in my leadership style and upwards management skills, as well as to refocus my career goals and strategy after a decade at Google. Colleen went beyond simple communications coaching to understand my motivations, frustrations and needs so that I could gain insight into what works for me in terms of work and career. Additionally, she helped me consider if I could bring more of myself to my job and supplement my logical process with a better understanding of my intuition ability. She was able to leverage a deep understanding of interpersonal dynamics and a willingness to listen to me but also challenge my viewpoints and push me to reconsider some fairly long-established views I had about myself and my professional intentions. I came to a greater understanding of the underlying motivations and biases they might have when engaging in a discussion or conflict. This provides me with a much wider tool kit I can access when working with my own team as well as peer teams to make forward progress on complex and potentially contentious issues. Overall, the sessions led to my having a much more holistic view of my own goals and role within the workplace, and a more nuanced understanding of how they overlap and interact with others."
- Tom Karlo, Google Product Management Lead, P2020 Monitoring Platform London, United Kingdom
"Been thinking about you and the sessions we had a lot lately. Just wanted you to know that it has been essential to the process I am in right now. It’s one of the toughest public service jobs there is right now. And I feel very well grounded in the steps I am taking and why I am doing it. I would never have applied or been considered if I did not have the strong – why. Thanks for being part of that!"
-Elisabeth
"I started a 6-month coaching journey with Colleen with the objective of improving my productivity and my sense of leadership. But working with Colleen has brought me so much more. From Day 1, Colleen helped me to understand how to identify my intentions and to focus on them with enough resolve, while also letting go of what the outcome looks like (a tall order for a Planner and a Perfectionist like me who easily gets in the way of my own ambitions 😉). Probably the biggest thing Colleen taught me was how to be more in tune with my values, and to step into living from the inside out – which has allowed me to be able to exceed my original coaching goals. After all, in approaching my leaderships, my choices and my life according to what matters most to me, my whole outlook – and the results I have been able to achieve – have transformed beyond what I had thought could be possible. I discovered a deeper sense of self-love, worthiness and purpose and I feel ready for the next step (one step at a time) in my personal and professional journey. Funny how throwing away my own rule book made a difference there – wonder where I got that idea from…"
- Xavier Vaissière, Growth Insights Manager – Personal Care, Home Care & Agile Tools – Basel, Switzerland
"I went on a 4-month coaching journey with Colleen and, three years later, am still reaping the benefits from it. Just a few weeks ago, I was awarded yet another promotion at senior leadership level – the second promotion at senior level since I worked with Colleen! Probably her biggest impact on me, however, has been a shift in my mindset, in the way I keep developing my leadership approaches and style through all its facets, exploring new entry points. I was able to move from a rather limiting belief (which I was not fully conscious of, or from which I did not know how to evolve) to a more empowering one, better allowing me to live my purpose and positively influencing those parts of the system (personal and professional) around me I wasn’t comfortable with in the first place. The clarity and freedom I have experienced since my time with Colleen are qualities I could not have achieved without her particular approach and the deep care and competence she brings."
- Jean-Noel Gentile, Country Director & Representative at World Food Programme, Niger, United Nations
"Working with Colleen was a pleasure and a great moment for my career. Originally, I chose her to be my Coach for her love of yoga and because I knew she could help me to achieve my career goal of shifting my performance in two major areas. What I received back from her was a continual reminder to remember the “why”and “how” of everything I do and everything I say I want. As a result, I have not only achieved the vision I set for myself while starting my work with Colleen, I have exceeded it and reached a higher level of responsibility within my organization. And now I approach everything in my life with the added dimension of being in alignment with my purpose. Merci, Colleen!"
- Koffi Akakpo, Deputy Country Director, Direction Division at World Food Programme Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
"Thanks Colleen! Wonderful speaking with you today. I appreciate and value your perspective, definitely making a difference in my growth as a leader/person. I’m always wiser after we talk. We always have great conversation that moves me to action afterward."
- Edward Perry, Chief Master Sergeant/Senior Enlisted Leader United States Department of the Air Force Rome, Italy
"The 1/2 year I spent working with Colleen brought me many things. Chief among them are re-assurance, clarity and inspiration. Re-assurance of several major life choices I had made in the recent past – and for which some other people thought I was crazy. Re-assurance also in my ability to trust myself and my own Knowing – that I really can sense what is best for me and I really do have the courage to act on that awareness. Clarity in my larger role in life, in my values and in my “why?” has helped me to be more focused and peaceful when things outside me are less than clear: I am less worried about all the I’s being dotted and the T’s being crossed because now I prioritize my own priorities and well being. I also feel inspired because as I begin living and working more and more from the inside-out, I see with increasing clarity where I am energized and where I can make the biggest difference in the world. Colleen has a special way of drawing out my own awareness about who I really am, what drives me and what makes me passionate – all of which has made my life in and out of work richer and more rewarding."
- Pascale Crapouse, Regional Head of Administration at World Food Programme RBD – Dakar/Senegal
"Dear Colleen, As I look back, the aspect of my work that I loved the most was working with people and you are one of them. You will probably never know how much I have learned and been inspired over the months. How I loved the conversations we had and the ideas we shared. Our exchanges reinforced my strong belief that each of us can evolve, be a better version of oneself and help to contribute to a better place."
- Catherine Bédat Gervais, Director People & Culture EMEA Senior HRBP Sales & Marketing and Global IT at Logitech Lausanne, Switzerland
"Mon choix d’un(e) coach s’est porté sur Colleen, même si d’emblée son approche du coaching allait me tirer hors de ma zone de confort. Notre travail s’est focalisé sur mes valeurs, le sens que je cherche à donner à mes actions et mes relations, ainsi que sur ma capacité à répondre à mes besoins par moi-même. Aborder mon leadership et mes choix de cette manière, a représenté un vrai changement, qui s’est traduit par une présence plus forte, plus de charisme et de joie au travail. Mes relations professionnelles l’ont bien perçu. Je suis ravi d’avoir fait confiance à Colleen et d’avoir emprunté ce chemin qui continue à me transformer."
-Christian Balzer, Senior Director at Equinix – Paris, France
"I loved working with Colleen. We always had a laugh and I always left each conversation with at least one insight. A valuable use of my time! The biggest thing I learned during my coaching with Colleen was to trust myself, In fact, I was able to turn down other offers I may have accepted in the past out of fear or not believing in myself, to “stay the course” and to get offered an even bigger role – my dream one – as Director of Product Recruiting. I am so glad I learned to believe in my own value so that I could hold out for what I truly wanted and deserved."
- Amy Schultz, Director of Product Recruiting at LinkedIn (Formerly: Director of Talent Acquisition South East Asia, North Asia, China and Australia at LinkedIn Singapore) San Francisco, CA, USA
"Working with Colleen has been a fantastic human adventure: a true personal connection, laughs, progress. Colleen has been my compass during this journey. And I know she’ll tell me that I’m the one who did the walk and made a difference, but all of this wouldn’t have been possible without her. It was immediately clear to me that Colleen would be the best fit for me because we are so different (what’s the point of trying to change if you pick a mentor who thinks exactly the same as yourself?). With Colleen as a coach, the journey has always been exciting. Progress has been made, week after week, and she was always encouraging me to keep moving forward while remaining patient. After this personal journey, I decided to continue our collaboration and organized some workshops for my team which Colleen facilitated… Again, everyone found it fantastic working with her! All this great coaching happened during COVID, so we have actually not yet had the opportunity to meet in real life. Crazy, no? I am definitively recommending Colleen has a Coach: for yourself or for your team."
- Frank Druet End User Computing Director, ADP Paris, France
"Première expérience ; je ne savais pas exactement a quoi m’attendre dans le coaching avec Colleen, mais j’ai tout de suite eu le sentiment qu’elle me proposait une approche différente en adéquation avec ce que je recherchais ; plus profond que celui des autres coaches. Ces raisons m’ont poussé à travailler avec Colleen, pour changer dans la direction que j’avais visé depuis un moment. Je n’ai pas été déçu pendant toute cette période, mes attentes ont été même surpassées. Avant de travailler avec Colleen, j’avais une idée de ce qui manquait dans ma vie. Mais je n’avais aucune idée que de rajouter des petites actions régulièrement dans ma vie – et surtout de transformer la perspective que j’avais de moi-même – pouvaient me rendre plus joyeux et plus connecté avec moi-même et avec les autres. Un surpassement pas évident pour moi compte tenu de mon activité professionnelle exercée depuis plus de 25 années dans des environnements difficiles de conflits ou de catastrophes naturelles en Afrique ou au Moyen Orient. J’ai appris beaucoup, je remercie Colleen d’avoir su comprendre, me soutenir et me donner des clefs nécessaires pour progresser dans ma vie personnelle et professionnelle."
-Christian Fortier, Head of Supply Chain – Iraq United Nations, World Food Program
"In one of our early sessions, when Colleen first suggested I celebrate myself, I thought she was crazy and I had definitely chosen the wrong Coach
. But fortunately for me, something in me also recognized a truth to what she was saying: I had not been giving myself enough credit throughout most of my career. And it was time I did so. "
-Sara Pagura, Environment Health Safety Services Site Lead The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson - Latina Area, Italy
"My coaching with Colleen exceeded my expectations. My biggest learning was that I was already a leader 🙂 inspired from the inside and with a need to have a strong purpose to perform and bring the maximum impact. I originally chose Colleen in light of her devotion to yoga and meditation – two practices that have enhanced my life and my leadership greatly. And Colleen not only carries out these practices regularly, she also embodies the higher-level values and awarenesses which these traditions teach – a refreshing perspective and way of being for the business world! And this aspect – thinking out of the box , bringing different perspectives outside the corporate world – was my favorite part of our time together. In fact, it’s thanks to Colleen’s encouragement and nurturing of this similar seed in me that I have been able to take my leadership to the next level. Just this past month, I was able to have two conversations with senior leaders and thanks to Colleen guidance, was able to create a scene in which each of us could show up authentically, without fear and with greater presence and connection to each other. This was the biggest thing I took from my time with Colleen: Understanding what was important to me as a leader, and how to show up in an authentic way, in line with who I am. I am so grateful for this new way of relating, leading and inspiring – which I know will become more of a way of life with all of my stakeholders. And I am doing so with less self-doubt, more confidence and more purpose – probably the greatest gift I could have received from this time with Colleen. Now my personal and professional aspirations are in alignment and I am a much more powerful leader with bigger impact."
-Sanae Mousannif, Head of Market Access & Public Affairs MOTUWA Morocco, Tunisia and French speaking Africa; Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
"Colleen, I wanted to let you know that I just found out I passed my promotion review! it really is an important confirmation of the organization’s confidence in me and recognition that I have the potential to do more. I’ve had a lot of good feedback from management and requests to apply for various posts ….Thanks so much to you for your support this past year and the encouragement. I feel very lucky to have had your time and coaching – our discussions always made me see things from a different perspective and made me really sort through my own priorities and perceptions. I hope I’ll be able to pass some of that wisdom on! Thanks again to you and best wishes."
- A United Nations Leader
"Even after several years, I am still referencing the coaching Colleen and I did together. It has spring-boarded me into a new mindset. Since then, I have used the “Brand of Pam” (the greatest version of me: all my talents and competencies) to land a whole new role at a new company – a professional situation which is beyond anything I could hope for in a working environment. And, getting rid of the old thinking feels wonderful!"
- Pam P., Program Manager Durham, NC USA
"When I heard Colleen’s coaching goal for me – ‘seeing my own magnificence’ – I balked: what had I signed up for? But, through the process, I was able to recognize Colleen’s approach was unique and valuable toward identifying and expressing my unique vision in founding Vireo Advisers. I took a gamble on coaching with Colleen, and it was a positive and worthwhile learning experience. Very much worth carving this time out for myself!"
- Jo Anne Shatkin, Ph.D., President at Vireo Advisors LLC Boston, MA USA