Do you feel like you're in a career rut? Your goals (if any) seem unreachable, or you can't pin down exactly what you want to do with your job or life. A coach could help you prioritize, provide advice and support, and point you in the right direction. Kimberly Gleason experienced the benefits of a coach firsthand and was able to form a major business goal—to open a coaching business of her own. Now, Kimberly Gleason Coaching exists to help your life "flourish and grow."
Formerly an English teacher, Kimberly dedicates her days to helping others discover their inner passion and put it to work. "Essentially, coaching is about helping people and teams get from where they are to where they want to be, through self-awareness, goal-setting and strategizing, overcoming obstacles, and receiving feedback, insight, and accountability from an unbiased, honest coach." She works to develop careers, businesses, and executive leadership skills for individuals and groups.
Kimberly coached a local woman who was let go from her nonprofit job of twenty years. At that point, the woman wanted to find a new position outside of the nonprofit realm, but didn't know where to start. With Kimberly's help, the woman was coached and assessed, and completed homework that ultimately helped her decide to go into professional speaking; since then, she has also written a book.
"I recently coached the chief operations officer of a mid-sized company. Because the company is growing quickly, she wanted to get her staff ready to move into leadership positions," Kimberly said. "However, based on feedback I received from staff, she didn't communicate enough with them, nor was she willing to let go of certain responsibilities to them, so they could grow into those leadership roles. So, her coaching goals were to help her become a more effective communicator and delegator, goals that she achieved based on the measurements we put in place."
These are just two of the fifty-some success stories in the nearly five years Kimberly has been coaching.
Kimberly sees her business as a value-added benefit to those looking to fast-track their careers. Lack of clarity and direction, vision and strategy, busyness, communication, teamwork, time management, retention, and employee engagement are major obstacles facing most employees in the workforce. "I empower my clients to deal with their obstacles and goals in a supportive, collaborative way," Kimberly said.
Do you want to:
- Increase self-awareness?
- Utilize strengths?
- Uncover motivators?
- Align values with goals?
- Tackle challenges and obstacles?
- Find resources for further support?
- Incorporate strategies?
- Plan for success?
- Expand opportunities?
- Take some risk?
- Learn from experience?
- Review results?
A coach can help you get there. And to do so, Kimberly uses "strategies in my coaching (as appropriate), such as powerful questioning, action learning, role playing, exercises, self-assessments, and monitoring progress."
Women in particular could benefit from the support system a coach provides, Kimberly said. "Coaching helps women to discover careers that are meaningful and impactful, helps them create successful and fulfilling businesses, and helps them become effective leaders in their organizations."
Click here to learn more about coaching.
Written by: Erika Rose is West Michigan Woman magazine's staff writer.
