about katy

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about katy

1.How did you end up as an Executive Coach focusing on digital solutions to create results for your clients?

I never thought I would leave corporate. Not until I returned from vacation in the summer of 2007 and got the unbelievable news that my colleague, only a couple of years older than me, had passed away in his mid 40ies. He had a wife and 2 small kids, almost the same age as mine. We had spent endless hours managing big, complex assignments, talking about what we would like to contribute to in the future when we weren’t up to our ears in downsizing activities. I decided to take a full year sabbatical, rediscovered friends, went to see new places and studied cognitive behavioral therapy.

Not because I was aiming to leave corporate, but because I knew there just had to be something else I could contribute to beyond what I was currently doing. However, I was not aware of what I had undone in my professional life. Back from my sabbatical, I still believed I eventually could find my sweet spot in the corporation, but the sabbatical had sparked something in me: The pursuit of mastery, flexibility and a stronger sense of contribution to others based upon my strengths, not the internal ad hoc requirements.When I left the corporate world, I knew that I wanted to become a Business Coach. What I didn’t realize from the beginning was that I could use my interest and skills within digital areas to support people who were resistant to using digital media for many different reasons. Leaving corporate and starting my own business meant that I had to step up and become more visible on my own, not hiding behind corporate support functions and generic guidelines.

I was acting very carefully, almost cowardly, as a business owner because I lacked the courage of stating clearly what I could do for my clients and which key messages I wanted to promote. I was suffering from the classical Law of Jante also known as the Tall Puppy Syndrome. This syndrome let me stay small and vague to the world. It took me 9 months to get my website up and running, not because of my technical skills, but because I was anxious about what other professionals, not at least my former colleagues, would say and think about my messages.

This experience, along with my journey of getting bolder in social media, told me that I could use my own journey to help my clients save significant time and money to address the challenges in a structured way and have more fun at it! The technical skills are easy to learn, the trick is to address some of our basic beliefs and mindset around worthiness, unique contributions and our big WHY in business.

2.What is it that you bring from your background that makes you and your offerings different to others?

I love working with ambitious leaders, no matter if they are managers or not. My strong belief is that anyone can become a leader and contribute to something of importance. I meet many professionals who are stuck in jobs and patterns loosing their inner motivation on more mastery, flexibility and a bigger sense of contribution as part of a greater community or context. As a former Consultant, Project Manager, People Manager and HR Manager, I know a lot about what managers and leaders are facing in terms of challenges, how they are incented and how they struggle to attract, motivate and retain employees and customers.

This knowledge, combined with my portfolio of new services to help them excel as leaders, makes me different to other service providers. I have teamed up with some of the most inspiring coaches and mentors in the world, allowing my clients to get results from unique tools helping them excel as leaders through applied and customized Branding, Professional Reputation and gamified coaching solutions. The tools and methods I use help my clients save significant time and money on their mission and make the journey both challenging and fun!

3.Who are your clients and customers?

This is an interesting question – it’s not a traditional customer segment specified by gender, age nor location or industry. My ideal clients and customers are ambitious leaders, male or female, who are looking to create a competitive advantage for their team and themselves by using a combination of digital solutions, and they want to be seen as cutting-edge among their peers in attracting exciting business opportunities.

I work with large organizations to enable teams to become bolder and attract more opportunities via social media. I help organizations level up their education-based marketing via webinars. I help leaders leaving corporate avoid the big mistakes and save time and money when positioning themselves online effectively in building their own business. I help ambitious small business owners think bigger and make themselves available for their ideal customers no matter where they are located in the world.

My ideal clients and customers are just like me: The way I used to be, the way I recently was, and the way I’m becoming as part of my own mission.

4.What happens if you haven’t yet worked with people in a specific niche or industry?

My long consultant background has proven very helpful to quickly partner up with people in a new niche or industry. I’m not the expert of their niche nor industry, and I don’t intend to become one. I bring new ideas, perspectives and challenges to help them address what is stopping them from getting the results they want and help them advance quickly in a fun and challenging way. My promise is to enable leadership, i e analyze, coach, train, challenge and make sure they celebrate their results for their clients and customers.

5.What do you expect of me as a potential client or customer?

As my client, you are responsible for defining your objectives at the start of our engagement. I also expect you to allocate the time required in-between coaching sessions for training, practice and reflection. We will agree a time schedule to which you are expected to adhere.

It is vital that you understand that the value of your coaching and training corresponds directly with the effort you put into it. Working with me is all about co-creation and partnership, and I will bring observation, provocation, brainstorming, skills development, roleplaying, mindfulness and insight breakthroughs on your journey to results. And, as a vital component of our partnership, I will hold you accountable for your progress on a frequent basis. This alone is a critical success factor in our partnership. I help you capture your tangible and intangible results in a structured way.

6.For whom are your services and programs not going to work?

As my mission is to enable leadership, I’m not the right coach nor consultant for anyone looking to get the work done for them. My key motivational driver is to help my client or customer get the insights and skills they need to implement and bring it further on their own. I will be the coaching and enabling partner, not the implementer of the solutions coming out of the partnership.

7.What exactly do your programs include?

I always co-create and customize my programs and services.

My programs may include one or more of the following components: Professional Reputation Analysis, Social Media Training, Webinar Training, Professional Opportunity Coaching, Executive Coaching, Digital Strategist Consulting and Gamified Coach Training.

8.How do I know that your program really works?

My client agreements are always adhering to ICF confidentiality standards, though I am thrilled to have a significant list of clients and previous colleagues who have agreed to share their testimonial in public. The best way to build your opinion quickly is to take part of my public recommendations and endorsements on LinkedIn.

9.Which results can I expect from working with you?

When you work with me, you can expect to get new insights to your own values, limiting beliefs and behavioral patterns. Your mindset discoveries will make it easier for you to make the decisions you need in order to move from thoughts to actions and get the results you are looking for.

Along the way, you will get the training, practice and challenges you need to bring you from inspiration to implementation long term. Last, but not at least, you can expect to have fun during our journey!

10.Whom can I contact to learn more about what it’s like working with you?

I suggest you contact someone who already worked with me via my lists of recommendations on LinkedIn.

11.How can I be sure to get the results you are promising?

Working with me is like entering a partnership to explore, test and build skills in a safe environment. There is a direct correlation to the results you will achieve and the effort and focus you put into it. The clients who are getting the best results with me are the ones who prepare themselves upon our meetings, who set aside time on a frequent basis to explore, learn and implement, and finally, who make working with me one of their key priorities for the agreed period.

12.What do I have to do to recover my investment in your program?

There is no “quick fix” to any program including mindset challenges, so you should be prepared to accept that some of your results will only emerge when you make progress on vital mindset issues. Pure skills development and training efforts will help you recover more quickly. I will keep you accountable for your progress and this has contributed significantly to reduce the payback time for previous clients.

13.Which options do I have to start working with you and how can we get started?

I suggest you sign up for one of my free of charge “Get Acquainted Calls” so we can explore the options more in detail based on your specific situation.

14.How can I get in touch with you to discuss some of my other questions?

You are welcome to contact me via any of my social media channels or mail