Project Kairos

When I first met Helen, she was recovering from the burnout and frustration of a couple of decades of corporate life. She was the former Vice President of a $1B healthcare company who had become a professional coach because she dreamed of making a real impact on people’s lives.

But she was exhausted.

You see, she had all the skills needed to be a successful coach but she was struggling to get clients. She’d tried all the online marketing ideas that screamed at her from every Facebook ad. But they drained her of energy. Because they never seemed to work – despite all the promises.

Life was really lonely. She’d be at home, with tears running down her face – still in her pajamas at noon – wondering where on earth her next client would come from. And there was no one she could speak to. She had never met a successful coach (every coaching event she attended seemed to be full of struggling coaches, who’d never earned what she’d earned at the height of her career). And how could she talk to her old friends? After all, they were jealous she’d escaped the corporate world; they were busy with work; and the only response she’d likely hear was, “I wish I had your problems…”

I love working with coaches who have a track record of success behind them in another career. And I know I will have to begin by messing with their thinking!

I quickly help them see that they are not a ‘new’ coach. In fact, they have years of learnings and insights behind them. They’ve often built decades of career capital and sweat equity from a previous career. And that shouldn’t be dismissed.

I often remind them of a short story about Picasso…

Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a woman approached him.

“It’s you, Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

“It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied.

“But, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

Helen became one of my clients and joined my community. She began to reclaim the power, audacity and confidence that she’d had most of her life. And within two years, she was making $500K a year as a coach. She’s teaching women the skills they need to navigate corporate life with power and grace, in companies that include American Express, GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson. And her first book, The Unwritten Rules of Women’s Leadership, has just been published.”