Executive Coach - Leadership Transition | Team Effectiveness
Everyone assumes senior leaders already know how to navigate difficult conversations, manage complex stakeholder dynamics, and lead without being in the details. But most don't—they just got good at looking like they do.
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And the ones who do didn't magically know how to do it from day one. They had great role models, mentors, development opportunities, and probably a coach. Chances are, a combination of all of those things.
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You're here because what worked before isn't working anymore. The team won't align. The conversation keeps getting postponed. The stakeholder dynamics feel impossible. The role demands more than the leadership approach that got you here.
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This is where the work happens—helping you figure out how to lead when the old patterns stop working. It's not just skill development. It's not just tools and frameworks. It's knowing how and when to apply them. It's practice, reflection, refinement. It's an identity shift.
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I work with senior leaders like you to help you become the leader you would follow. And I partner with coaching and consulting firms who need experienced practitioners for coaching engagements.
Advisory and Leadership Coaching
Leadership Transitions & Executive Readiness
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You've been promoted, the organization restructured, or your role quietly outgrew what it used to be. The leadership approach that made you successful doesn't fit anymore. Together we work on building the identity and capabilities your role actually requires—not the role you had, but the one you're in now.
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Difficult Conversations & Stakeholder Management
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You know the conversation needs to happen. You've thought through what to say. But something keeps you from starting it. Or you're navigating stakeholder dynamics that feel impossible to untangle—people who don't report to you, competing priorities, relationships you can't afford to damage. We prepare you for the conversations and dynamics that matter most.
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Executive Presence & Cross-Functional Influence
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You need to influence people who don't report to you, build credibility across functions, and show up as the leader your role requires. The challenge isn't technical—it's about presence, positioning, and the ability to bring people along. We work on developing the influence that makes people want to follow your lead.
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Moving from Technical Expert to Organizational Leader
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You've always been successful by being in the details, solving problems, delivering results. Now the role requires something different—strategic thinking, leading through others, organizational perspective. The shift isn't just behavioral. It's an identity shift. We work on making that transition without losing what made you effective in the first place.
Results
Chief Nursing Executive, Multi-Hospital Health System
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A senior nursing leader was promoted to Chief Nursing Executive across a five-hospital system. The role required leading across multiple sites, building a leadership team, managing peer executive relationships, and shifting from operational firefighting to strategic organizational leadership.
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Over 2.5 years of coaching, we focused on leadership identity across a complex system, building and developing a distributed team, resolving conflict with peer executives, and clarifying nursing's strategic role in organizational decision-making.
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The result: Successfully transitioned from reactive operational management to strategic system-wide leadership, built effective peer relationships with other C-suite executives, and established a functioning leadership team across multiple sites.
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"Carolyn helped me move from reactive firefighting to strategic organizational leadership across five hospitals."
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CEO, Regional Construction Company
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The CEO was managing rapid company growth while dealing with leadership team dysfunction, unclear organizational structure, and complex succession planning. The company had grown from $10M to $30M in revenue, and the leadership approach that worked at $10M wasn't scaling.
Over 2 years of coaching, we addressed leadership team conflict resolution, strategic decision-making during high-growth periods, organizational design for scalability, and succession planning.
The result: Successfully restructured the organization for continued growth, resolved long-standing leadership team conflicts, and navigated succession planning. The company scaled effectively with clearer roles, better decision-making processes, and a more aligned leadership team.
"Carolyn became a trusted business advisor—helping me restructure our organization for growth and resolve leadership-team conflicts."
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About Me
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I'm an ICF-PCC certified executive coach with 20 years of leadership development experience. I've led marketing teams at publicly traded tech companies, designed board leadership programs at the New York Stock Exchange, led learning and development for global tech firms, and coached executives full-time since 2020.
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I bring a practical, grounded approach to leadership development—helping leaders build the capabilities they need without the buzzwords or theoretical frameworks that don't translate to real work.
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Ready to Get Started?
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Whether you're navigating a transition, managing difficult stakeholder dynamics, or building the leadership presence your role requires, let's talk.
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Schedule a call
We'll create a plan
You'll lead with calm, clarity & confidence