Methodology & Approach

My solutions are as unique as my clients …

I create customized coaching engagements, working with multiple modalities in order to deliver maximum value for clients. There truly is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach - I will partner with you to identify & define clear objectives and to drive a process to deliver real results . I have a deep foundation on which to work, but the tools and path chosen will be unique to you.

… built on a deep foundation of education and experience.

By combining deep psychoanalytic insight with front-line business experience I am able to quickly coach clients to uncover the hidden barriers to their success and to implement lasting change. While business leaders increasingly work with both psychologists and business coaches, it is rare to be able to combine both in a single individual. I have a clinical doctorate in psychoanalysis as well as twenty years of experience as a coach and extensive global experience in the developing and developed world. In addition I have held many roles across the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds, including time as a CEO, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Regardless of your unique circumstance, it is rare that I do not have relevant experience!

My role is not to ‘correct’…

I truly believe that a coach’s role is not to ‘correct’ an individual - none of us are ‘ broken.’ Rather, I believe that deep self-understanding and self-acceptance are the key to making intentional choices which support our true objectives. That is not to say this work is easy! Knowing thyself and the hidden inner workings that drive unconscious behavior takes commitment and skilled coaching - but the benefits are significant. By observing and coming to understand our own hidden patterns, we are able to recognize automatic responses, pause in the moment and come to a place of choosing. A place where we can decide how to proceed, how to change (if desired) and how to lead, rather than being unconsciously led by our own hidden patterns. An examined life is a prerequisite for excellence.

… but to diagnose and to guide…

I see myself as a diagnostician who uses insight to precisely target our work in order to create actionable plans for change. By delving into the unconscious we are able to target the root cause of behaviors or patterns that may no longer serve us and approach change from a place of acceptance that provides a foundation for lasting change. By working with the Power of the Hidden we are working with the unconscious which holds information that:

allows growth to be fast & seismic
unlocks people’s potential
provides a treasure trove of opportunity most people leave on the table
ensures change is lasting
… working in the strictest confidentiality.
I do not list all the companies or clients that I have worked with because I believe that it is up to my clients to reveal our work together. I work in the strictest confidentiality for each client, which is the only way to be able to access the Power of the Hidden.

Going Deeper

I have extensive education and experience to support accessing the Power of the Hidden

The roots of helping clients with understanding the hidden unconscious run deep. I wrote my dissertation on ‘Self-Generated Limits to Success’ when completing my clinical doctorate in psychoanalysis. In addition, I have been coaching for twenty years using my deep-coaching techniques focusing on the Power of the Hidden . I am also a coach of coaches - regularly being asked to help other professional coaches learn how to go deeper with their clients. I was one of the first coaches hired at Harvard Business School and continue to coach there leading groups of MBA students, alumni, and executive education students across topics including leadership, team dynamics and personal growth.

What is the Hidden?

I first became a coach because I believed that lasting change is not what people were being given. I believed it was possible but would take more than traditional means - hence my work on my dissertation. Our conscious mind is the mind that we most easily associate with - it holds our rationalizations, will power, critical thinking and our short term memories. However, I quickly came to see that the conscious mind alone was insufficient to transform already successful individuals.

In contrast, the hidden unconscious mind holds the emotions, thoughts and patterns that we all have; that we are not aware of but that affect our attitudes, behaviors and relationships. Unfortunately when this hidden unconscious remains unexplored it can sabotage us - leading us to act in ways that are against our own best interests.

Why the Power of the Hidden?

Determination and grit allows us to change behaviors using our conscious mind – but patterns often repeat in multiple different types of behaviors and habits, driven by issues hidden in our unconscious mind. What we do may have worked for us in the past and become an ingrained habit - however it may no longer serve us - it is not bad or unsuccessful, it is simply a pattern that is no longer helpful. We can learn to explore and harness the hidden unconscious, turning it from self-sabotage to an asset. If we don’t access the Power of the Hidden we can be destined to perpetually try to change behavior after behavior, incident after incident, rather than getting to the root cause.

In contrast, small changes from the Hidden (unconscious) have seismic impact in the conscious mind. Our resulting actions unlock even greater performance and purposeful living. By understanding and creating change from the unconscious we are able to create lasting understanding and change.

I use a number of unique tools & frameworks I have built based on my extensive experience:

For example I have found the simplicity of my Delegation Map helpful in coaching clients in how to grow leaders through delegation. In essence we can think of four levels of delegation - from heavy oversight on the left to full autonomy on the right. For different individuals and at different stages of development a different level of supervision is required - but in order to truly grow the next generation of leaders, finding ways to increase autonomy is critical.

Enneagram adapted by Dr. Fristrom. 1989.

I often use the Enneagram to accelerate understanding of the hidden blocks to leadership success

The Enneagram is gaining more visibility but is still fairly nascent in business contexts. I find it can be helpful to speed up the process of understanding unconscious patterns and when it resonates it can be transformative for clients. I do not take the Enneagram as gospel, but rather as a helpful tool.

In essence, the Enneagram is an assessment tool that provides a way of describing and thinking about unconscious motivations, patterns, and repetitions by considering nine basic personality types. For many people, it can provide a shortcut to the self-awareness needed to unlock the Power of the Hidden.

I am also well-versed in most traditional frameworks, which I use as appropriate to the context

I have worked with many existing tools, assessments, and frameworks at clients and am happy to work with you to best suit your needs. I often conduct 360 feedback reports ‘crafted and in context’ - bespoke to the needs of individual team members.

I will meet you where you are and work with you to deliver impact

whether you need a custom solution, a combination of tools or would like me to work with your own systems.