Coaching

In a nutshell

What is it? Professional leadership coaching is an opportunity to develop and maximize your talents and potential in a thought-provoking creative process. As a professional coach, I partner with you to create a mental and emotionally safe space for the development of leadership, diversity, and inclusion skills. As an expert certified coach, I use specific techniques, tools, methods, and models to support you in figuring out insightful answers, gaining clarity quickly, and making learning sticky, for lasting equitable change.

Appointments: A free preliminary telephone consultation is requested. Coaching on-site and off-site in my coaching office or yours. Click here to make your free first appointment.

Digital or Virtual: Sure. I can offer Zoom, MS Teams, other platforms, coaching in virtual reality (VR).

For whom: Executives, Individuals, Team coaching, Peer group coaching.

Give me the scoop on professional coaching

In the business world, professional leadership coaching is a form of collaboration that helps leaders become more effective and self-aware, skills that often create a clear career path and impact performance.

When done right, professional coaching is one of the best, long-lasting ways for L&D managers and HR business partners to develop key talent, engage and retain high achievers and managers. These leaders then have the communicative strengths and competencies to cascade out to develop high-performing teams. Or to help others transition to a new role.

Professional coaching is not therapy – even the accredited coach, unlike a therapist, is not there to prescribe anything, but instead, to help facilitate the process of working and accomplishing objectives in an individual, relevant, more empowering and fulfilling way.

Supporting leaders to make courageous decisions as they create a culture of empowered team players where diversity thrives, and people want to collaborate. These are leadership capabilities that impact the bottom line and are needed today!

Schedule your free 20-minute session

It is a hot topic these days, for many good reasons.

This form of group coaching sparks the creative power of the team and the individual.

Peer coaching is a relatively inexpensive way to boost self-organization, constructive conversations and support ongoing learning and development.

There is no one method or way to carry out peer coaching.

Here is one example.

A small group of open, curious, and motivated folks teams up with a professional coach several times a month and they commit to learning how to coach each other. This is done by practicing coaching basics, a coaching approach, and non-judgmental behaviors like active listening, giving appreciative feedback, and using short participative interventions like Liberating Structures.

Being coached also provides the other individual with a first-hand view of someone engaging in “people building” — a critical leadership ability.

Here are some of the advantages of using peer coaching:

• Opens and widens people’s skill horizons
• Develops the ability to work across disciplines and functional silos.
• Supports team building and bonding.
• Increases capacity to self-organize.
• Helps people to learn how to formulate problems and challenges clearly.
• Builds trust within a group through mutual support.

A U.S. leader in online professional coaching has rolled out a new initiative called Coaching Circles. This is a group developmental journey that integrates coaching basics, evidence-based learning, peer coaching, and group discussions led by a professional coach.

This offering is meant to complement one-on-one coaching and cascade the scaling and integration of coaching benefits to more people and wider company sectors. This initiative at Chevron has shown so far better cross-silo social connection and an increase of trust amongst colleagues.

These skill sets are vital to engendering change processes and creating a happier and more productive working community.

94% of these leaders at Chevron say, “coaching makes them more effective at their job.”

By creating a clearer picture of the strengths and challenges of an individual, peer coaching uncovers the areas where people might improve. And it can motivate professionals to get down to business and to start taking “soft” upskilling seriously.

I’d be happy to talk with you about peer coaching!

Make your appointment here

Treat your mind as your friend!

One of the things that the science of mindfulness has shown us over the last decade is the routine of a focused breathing practice provides positive cognitive benefits. Just by making regular time to focus on breathing, people can strengthen their perception, let go of tension, feel calmer – all of which can lead to a more balanced state of mental health and well-being.

Mindfulness can also increase our emotional intelligence, openness to new things, and resilience. It can help us to distance ourselves from judgmental thought patterns so that past events and future projections can be let go of more easily. We can step back and respond in a more skillful way.

You are invited to step out of the busyness and gain more focus and clarity. Experience a time-out in a safe, comforting mental space and expand your relationship with yourself.

This relationship can be developed through:

• Mindfulness techniques like Bodyscan
• Guided conscious breathing techniques
• Associative picture language and visualization
• Self-Management practices

In the mindfulness coaching sessions, you will be introduced to "everyday hacks" or tips that can be used right away. Everyone can develop the ability to zoom out and witness thoughts as they happen. This is nothing but self-awareness and it is a useful skill to practice and apply.

There is no such thing as one size fits all coaching.

Book a free telephone or video conference. I look forward to getting to know you!

Book here

The Professional Certified Coach (PCC)™ certificate is Karla Schlaepfer’s second coaching diploma. Her first accreditation was earned in 2013 when she was awarded the credential as a Systemic Coaching and in Change Management from the INeKO (Institute at the University of Cologne for the Development of Personal and Interpersonal Competencies). In April 2022, Karla completed a further 60 online training hours part of a ACTP, SF Master Coaching Class with the Solutions Academy.

Professional Certified Coach (PCC)™

ICF Credential-holders are part of a self-regulating group of elite coaches who provide accountability to clients and the coaching profession. They pursue and complete rigorous education and practice requirements that demonstrate their commitment to excellence in coaching and coaching education.

The ICF Code of Ethics is designed to provide appropriate guidelines, accountability, and standards of conduct for all ICF Members and ICF Credential-holders.

What are the requirements? This is what I completed!

At least 125 hours of coach-specific education. As an applicant, you will be required to demonstrate that you have completed a comprehensive education or training program that includes the ICF definition of coaching, Code of Ethics, and Core competencies and is organized in a scope and sequence that encourages your growth as a coach.

• 10 hours of Mentor Coaching over a minimum of three months to be documented.
• A minimum of 500 hours (450 paid) of coaching experience with at least 25 clients following the start of your coach-specific education or training.
• Performance evaluation two audio recordings and written transcripts of coaching sessions.
• Completion of the Coach Knowledge Assessment – a 2-hour exam with 155 questions.

*International Coaching Foundation (ICF)

• Leadership
• Role Change
• Women in Business
• Diversity
• Intercultural Teams
• Change Management and Transformation
• Virtual Reality (VR) coaching and training.