I'm Sandra, certified executive coach

I was drawn to the coaching profession through personal experience in a situation where I had to make a major decision concerning a troubling problem in my business.  I was fortunate at the time to be working with an extraordinary coach (who later became a friend and a mentor).  He was able to work with me to discover my own capacity to challenge and change my circumstances by identifying  personal obstacles, helping me to reflect sufficiently to create new insights, and providing guidance in taking appropriate action. While it sounds simple in the telling, this journey to discover the interface between myself and my work, between me and the people I worked with, between the desired outcome and the actual path, was illuminating and life changing.

My coaching practice evolved after years of working to help people succeed.  I’ve been a business owner, a management consultant, a leader, a coach, a facilitator and a writer.  I’ve lived a lifetime of getting tough things done and I’ve learned that the best way to do that is to treat the journey as a continuous learning project so that we and those around us are all working in the same direction.

I moved from New York City to the Canadian prairies and had to adjust to a new culture, a new work environment and new challenges.  I learned to adapt and stretch and shift my parameters. I successfully developed the resilience that later became the cornerstone of my capacity to work effectively with others.  While I came with vision and imagination, I had to grow my ability to think strategically. While I knew how to write and articulate ideas, I still had to learn how to turn that into the ability to effectively communicate, persuade, and build trust.

What I find most gratifying in coaching is to similarly bring new perspectives to help others to reframe and re-evaluate their path as I found mine.