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How did you get into coaching?

Cylient, our company, is actually a combination of two companies. The first was my company, a coaching practice, which I started in 1994. I started in coaching when it really was just evolving and it was a pretty natural extension of my background as a change management consultant. My company has evolved over time from an individual practice to really looking at how to instill coaching capabilities in teams and in organizations and how to train people in coaching skills. The other part of the company originally was my husband’s company, which started as MetrixGlobal, with a focus really looking more at the systems side of business. Back in ’95, we wrote a book together called “Coaching That Counts,” and that was really the impetus to bring the companies together.

Did you go right into change management consulting when you graduated?

I did my master of business administration in Canada, and when I graduated from there, I was hired by an American consulting firm. In fact, my husband worked there, which is how we connected.

How did you end up in Des Moines?

We’ve lived in a lot of different places, but we came here about eight years ago. It was a transfer for my husband, who was still working with an organization that brought us here, and he established his own business after that.

What inspired you to write the book?

My husband did many of the initial ROI (return on investment) studies on how leadership coaching was adding value in organizations. At the same time, I was really focused on distilling coaching down to its essence so we could develop training programs to teach people coaching approaches in their day-to-day activities. So both of us were developing models of coaching, me based on my experience and he based on the data from the ROI study. One day, he showed me his model of coaching, and I said, “That’s my model of coaching.” So we used that as a basis to write “Coaching That Counts.”

Are you working on another book?

I’m writing another one right now called “Coaching in the Moment.” It’s based on the workshop. I’m hoping by the end of the year to have the first draft done.

What’s your main focus now?

What we’re finding is that while individual coaching is still very important, the real question people are asking right now is how do we get these coaching capabilities instilled in the organization so that our leaders are coaches, not just getting coaching, but they’re actually coaches in developing their people on a day-to-day basis.

What motivates you?

It is just deeply satisfying to watch individuals, teams and organizations really evolve to realize more of their potential.

Is this a growing business for you?

“Coaching in the Moment” is an extremely popular workshop and we just ran our first certification in August to certify other coaches to deliver this workshop. We’re doing our first open-enrollment workshop on Nov. 6 in Chicago to allow companies that are interested in exploring this as a possibility to come and try it out.

Do you do workshops in Des Moines?

We’re actually looking at others later in the year, probably down in (Washington,) D.C., and then a few months later in New York. We find that because we work nationally and sometimes internationally, companies like to go to a place they can get in and out of easily.

What do you do to escape the office?

We walk our dog, Max, a couple of times a day. He’s an Akita, 125 pounds of love. I enjoy cooking. And honestly, any spare time I have right now I’m writing.