My Coaching MethodsHow I work and why it works
Coaching is not one-size-fits-all. Neither is my approach.
With over 3,000 hours of coaching experience, I offer you an adaptive, evidence-based process that fits your goals, your learning style, and your current leadership situation.
The rhythm of every session
Every coaching session follows a clear four-phase structure.
Arrive. We start with what is present right now. What is on your mind today? What has shifted since we last spoke? This ensures every session begins with presence and relevance.
Set an intention. What is your goal for today? What would a meaningful outcome look like? This keeps the session focused on what matters most right now.
Do the work. The heart of the session. This is where change happens. Depending on your situation, I draw from a broad range of methods, always practical, always grounded in your real leadership challenges.
Take something with you. We close with reflection: What was most valuable today? What has shifted? You leave with a clear next step, whether that is a coaching experiment, a new conversation strategy, or a journaling prompt. Between sessions, your 24/7 AI coaching bot MirandAI is there to support you when it is helpful.
Methods that fit your situation
I do not work from a script. I choose from a broad toolkit whatever will move you forward most right now.
When you need clear decisions
You are facing complex decisions about AI, strategy, or team direction, and notice that inner clarity is missing. Here we work with solution-focused techniques that cut quickly to the core. Executive sparring, where I challenge you directly to test your assumptions. And scenario stress-tests that help you plan robustly rather than optimistically. You leave the session with a clear position, not just an idea.
When your team is not coming with you
Your direction is clear, but your team responds with resistance, silence, or uncertainty. Together we develop conversation strategies for difficult stakeholder situations, including how to frame AI as a partner rather than a threat. You learn to give feedback that lands rather than bounces off, and to receive feedback in a way that strengthens rather than unsettles you. We design safe experiments: small, low-risk pilots your team can run themselves, showing tangible progress. We may also work with the Inner Team model to surface the different voices and perspectives inside your team and inside yourself that shape how people respond to change. This builds psychological safety, where questions are welcome, anxiety eases, and confidence grows.
When pressure makes you lose perspective
You are performing at a high level, but you notice yourself becoming narrower, more task-driven, less relationship-oriented. Here we work on your presence and emotional range, with stress management strategies, mindfulness, and breathing techniques that are not a wellness program but neuroscience-based tools. This includes brain-healthy strategies: how to structure sleep, recovery, and cognitive routines so your brain stays sharp and clear under sustained pressure. We may use the Wheel of Life to map where your energy is flowing freely and where it is quietly draining away, often the first step toward making meaningful change. You learn to stay connected even under stress, in the meeting room and at home.
When you sense there is more in you
You are successful, but something no longer feels right. The role feels tight, self-doubt surfaces, or you wonder whether you are just functioning rather than truly leading. Here we go deeper: values work to understand what really drives you. Work on imposter syndrome, which many experienced leaders know well but rarely name. We may draw on the Hero’s Journey to reframe a difficult transition, a restructuring, a role change, a crisis of confidence, as a meaningful arc with direction and purpose rather than just disruption. And art-inspired methods that trigger unexpected shifts in perspective and open access to insights that a spreadsheet cannot deliver.
What connects all the methods
Whatever situation brings you to me, my coaching always combines strategic sharpness with human depth. The skills that make a real difference in an AI-shaped working world are deeply human: critical judgment, clarity, genuine connection, and courage. My 4Cs Compass, Clarity, Connection, Curiosity, Courage, runs as a common thread through every piece of work we do together.
You are not just solving today’s challenges. You are becoming the leader who shapes what comes next.
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Karla Schlaepfer