Client Journeys

Personal Leadership Development Through Executive Coaching

Our client had been leading a successful non-profit for several years when she engaged Harmony. As CEO of an organization that reported to a board of directors, she wanted an executive coach who could help enhance her strategic leadership and communication skills so she could more effectively manage the board. What she discovered was that she already had the internal resources she needed.

“Kira really helped me understand and accept that the discomfort and the disconnect I felt in working with my board wasn’t about me as leader,” the client said. “It was about the fact that the board’s culture didn’t enable me to lead effectively or authentically.”

For four months, we met with our client every two weeks, using tools such as the Leadership Circle Profile and the Integrative Enneagram Assessment to clearly identify which personal strengths she could leverage and what areas had room for development. We also focused on foundational work, including values and visioning exercises to ensure alignment from the inside out.

Our coaching sessions greatly improved the client’s confidence and self-awareness. They also gave her a deeper understanding of her leadership capabilities. “It’s not that I didn’t think I was a good leader (before being coached),” she said. “But when we really focused bi-weekly on my leadership development, I became clear and focused in a way that I hadn’t before working with Kira.”

Harmony’s leadership coaching had a transformational impact on our client: it empowered her to become a more authentically courageous leader. Ultimately, she decided to leave her position as CEO and take a position consulting for a thriving start-up company. She plans to lead another non-profit one day, and when she does, she’ll be sure to choose a progressive organization that aligns with her values and embraces conscious, effective leadership.

Wherever she lands next, she’s adamant that Harmony be part of the deal. “Executive coaching really validated my leadership effectiveness and highlighted areas to continue developing, in work and in life. I can’t wait to have the opportunity again to work with Kira—someone who understands me, whom I trust, and who is supporting me with the goal of also supporting the growth of my organization.”

Executive Coaching for Health and Organizational Transformation

After many years building a unique corporate culture within her organization, our client faced a daunting challenge when the company was acquired. The added demands on her time and energy, combined with the distress of seeing her own team disintegrate as a result of the buyout, left her with a significant case of burnout. Then, the global pandemic hit. It was more than she was prepared to manage on her own. “I was struggling personally and I did not want to bring that into the workplace,” she said.

Having been through previous acquisitions, she knew how disruptive it could be to integrate two organizations—and how important it was that she be able to “show up really well, for the company and for my team.” So, she turned to Harmony to provide the external perspective she needed to help her be her best.

Meeting twice per month, we began by enlisting assessment tools to help our client identify her values and priorities. “The tools Kira uses help you get really clear on who you are, what’s important to you and what you want to accomplish,” she said. “I loved the Integrative Enneagram because it gave us a common language to describe my strengths and barriers.” From there, Harmony provided a custom development plan framework, which lay the groundwork for our client as she navigated the corporate integration.

Our executive coaching had a transformational impact. Over the next year, our client became not only a more effective leader but also a more purposeful leader. By prioritizing her own needs, she was able to process her feelings and identify what she wanted to bring to the job, so that when she showed up for her team, she was ready and able to help them—and to deliver on her vision for an engaged and efficient workplace.

That success is the reason our client continues to use Harmony’s services. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have had Kira help me through the corporate integration, particularly during the pandemic. Most people I talk to who work in Human Resources are extremely burned out from having gone through COVID, to the point where they actually want to get out of the function. Thanks to Kira, I can say the opposite about myself: she greatly improved my job satisfaction. It was fantastic to have a safe space to work through my struggles, and to have someone who was solely focused on helping me be my best. Her coaching empowered me to do my best for my organization, and provided a huge value-add to the business and our employees.”

A Lasting Approach to Successful Leadership

Our client, a Partner at a creative agency, wanted to grow his business in a scalable and responsible way. He wasn’t sure how to proceed—or that he was cut out to be a leader. “I hadn’t planned on this as a career,” he said. “But Kira has a sixth sense about what is needed at different points, and explores people’s unique potential, using tools like the Enneagram and others that have helped me get to the next stage of my own leadership journey. She helped me stop seeing limits to what I’m capable of achieving.”

Working together, Harmony helped create a leadership plan for our client that identified specific, quantitative goals on company size, revenue, profitability and new client wins. “With Kira’s help, all these goals were met and more, which speaks to Kira’s business acumen in addition to her coaching expertise,” he said. “Our company also became more purposeful in terms of our business development process, and more purposeful in terms of team values. The insights I received from my employees through the Leadership Circle Profile, assessment were essential in terms of creating the current environment, which has impacted staff retention and team growth.”

For our client, it was important that he meet his challenges head-on so he could become the leader he was meant to be. What initially appeared to him as a hurdle was actually a stepping stone to unlocking his potential. All that was required was personalized, targeted coaching. “Working with Harmony has been the key to reaching my potential and exceeding what I thought I was capable of,” he said. “Now, my business partner and I believe we have the team we need for our future. I am happier and more content, and feel at peace with my choices.”

The benefits of coaching have even extended to his personal life. “Every time I leave a session, I feel energized and connected to whatever commitments I am trying to make. If I ever feel overwhelmed, my wife tells me to re-engage Kira, and she’s right! Coaching will always be part of my life.”

Balance and Confidence Through Leadership Coaching

A female CFO in a male-centric technology company was looking to increase her influence in executive meetings by adopting a more confident and effective communication style. She also wanted to achieve a better work-life balance. She was interested in engaging a leadership coach, but first wanted to ensure trust and compatibility. So, we made sure to establish that immediately. “I felt my connection with Kira at a molecular level,” our client said.

With that strong foundation in place, Harmony worked closely with the CFO to determine her core values, which helped reinforce her message during executive meetings by bringing greater clarity and conviction to her voice. We also identified any behaviours that were limiting her effectiveness as a leader. For example, she noted that she often spoke faster and in a higher tone when she was stressed, which distracted people and undermined what she was saying. Awareness through coaching helped her manage this trait, empowering her to be a more efficient and compelling communicator. “The team understands my point of view faster,” she said. “They have given me direct feedback on how they can see me growing in confidence.” As well, she and her CEO now meet every two weeks and enjoy a more trusting relationship. “We communicate without the emotional load and fear that feedback will lead to conflict.”

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for our client was to overcome the imbalance between her professional and personal lives. “I care so deeply about work that I did not separate it from my home life,” she said. “I was not even fully present at mealtimes with my family. I knew it was wrong but I could not stop doing it.” She also had trouble asking colleagues not to email or call her while on vacation or after hours.

Harmony used coaching exercises to help her learn how to set boundaries and how to steer her associates toward healthier habits. By being consistent and practicing these new approaches, she has not only improved her well-being, but has also seen her company’s overall culture shift from being constantly “on” to being more considerate and balanced.

Our client’s overwhelmingly positive experience with Harmony has made her a life-long believer in the power of leadership coaching. “Coaching should be maintained and revisited,” she said. “It’s a cycle; your coach plants the seeds and empowers you to grow again. I would want to return to it every two years or so for a tune-up.”

Coaching for Leadership Growth and Foundational Change

As an executive in a national healthcare organization, our client had experience working with large teams under demanding circumstances. But when he took on a high-stakes project that would change how physicians are assessed, he was unable to create alignment with his team and found himself questioning whether he should walk away from his position. Faced with what he called “mutiny” from his direct reports, he discussed his future with his boss and proposed that he seek coaching. “I felt my only option was to assess my skills and learning, and see if I was able to stay in this role, or if I should pack things in and leave,” he said.

Our client found it challenging to share personal information with a coach. So initial coaching sessions focused on open and frank conversations to build mutual understanding, trust and respect. “Kira created a safe environment for me,” he said. “Her approach is always that we are on this journey together.”

After Harmony’s first assessment, the Leadership Circle Profile, our client understood how revealing and beneficial coaching was, and became fully open to the journey. “I went from being skeptical about the process to being somewhat addicted to it,” he said, noting that it changed his overall goals and outlook. “After the 360° assessment, my focus was about how to become a more effective leader in my existing environment and how to change the culture to be more receptive of the iterative change required for the current project to succeed.”

We encouraged our client to set up a series of face-to-face meetings with his 360°-profile participants. Not only would this help progress his leadership capability by exploring and potentially changing his relationships with team members, but it would set an example of openness and compassion. “As a physician, you ask people a lot of uncomfortable questions, but this was very different,” he said. “I sat with my team and promised to really listen to their honest feedback.” He credits Harmony for empowering him with the tools he needed to facilitate those meetings. “Kira’s innate ability to help people navigate difficult conversations, to assess what is needed in a very person-specific way, and to laugh and make it fun, are unique to her coaching style.”

Ultimately, talking with his team members deepened his understanding of how he could transform himself—as a leader and a human being. Our client’s colleagues now acknowledge him as a collaborative and open-minded leader who creates the opportunity for dialogue that was not previously possible. In addition, those who were skeptical about coaching are now curious about their own leadership development. “The coaching experience has taken me from questioning my ability and being on the brink of leaving a role, to successfully leading an organization and laying the foundation for cultural change,” our client said. “It has been a journey of exploration and purposeful action—one I plan to continue throughout my career.”

Leading with Strong Values

As part of a company-wide initiative to develop leadership capacity, the IT Manager for a technology firm was invited to work with a coach to further progress his leadership. He felt unsure of the value that coaching would provide, but was open to having someone focus on him as an individual.

Harmony met with the client every two weeks, and guided him through three assessments. He found the Leadership Circle Profile to be particularly helpful because it empowered him to look at leadership across dimensions he hadn’t considered before and to clearly articulate his values. “Kira helped me understand how I see myself as a leader, how others see me, what my strengths and weaknesses are, and just how powerful it can be to lead with my values,” he said.

Throughout coaching, our client developed a greater sense of his own potential and how to transform as a leader, using his personal insights to become even more effective. Direct feedback from his team and supervisor confirm that he is emerging as a strong leader in the company. “By better understanding myself, I am better able to understand others,” he said. “Coaching has helped in all of my relationships. I am more aware and empathetic. My emotional intelligence has increased as part of this experience.”

Our client began the coaching process with apprehension, but he now actively encourages others to try it. In fact, due to Harmony’s positive impact on his leadership capacity and his company’s overall growth, the technology firm plans to apply the Leadership Circle Profile assessment for all team members. When it comes to coaching, “go for it,” he said. “Having someone help you discover your values, reframe challenges and situations, and—most importantly—hold you accountable, sets you up for success.”

Breaking Patterns to Build Leadership Success

When the Change Advisor at a healthcare institution was lacking confidence, and feeling lost and unsure about the future of her career, she engaged Harmony to help determine whether she was still a fit for her professional environment. She didn’t know exactly what needed to change but she was certain that she needed clarity before she could move forward in her work. A coach herself, she understood the rewards of taking a personal deep-dive and “saw coaching as part of my job search.”

Our client had worked with other coaches before approaching Harmony, but none had helped her uncover long-standing beliefs and associated behaviours that were hampering her leadership development. By focusing on the root causes of her limiting assumptions, we empowered her to be more confident and influential. “Kira encouraged me to think about my vision and my purpose in the world,” she said. “Her development plan was actually life-changing.”

Once the client was able to stop holding herself back and start viewing herself as a true leader, she saw a significant shift in her relationships. “The people that I was struggling with—those who wouldn’t attend my coaching sessions—are now seeking me out,” she said. “In the past, I had a particularly difficult relationship with one of the senior leaders. He thought my style was weak and he would openly criticize me in front of the team. He now calls me a trusted advisor, a partner, and in meetings he regularly turns to me to make sense of conflict.”

Since completing her initial work with us, our client is regularly asked by the healthcare education institution to lead projects in which participants and stakeholders disagree, and to bring about the necessary conversations for successful resolution. “I have seen significant ROI from an innovation perspective,” she said. “I have been able to embed change concepts into our mindset and culture. Harmony’s coaching has ultimately resulted in improved performance for the organization as a whole and for its productivity.”

She encourages anyone who is struggling in their career to consider engaging a leadership coach—and Harmony in particular. “Kira’s approach is very safe and client-driven,” the client said. “She is the most transformational coach I have ever met—and bear in mind that I am also a coach.”

Leadership Coaching as Team Development

Facing a changing market and the impending collapse of his IT company, our client sought coaching to help him and his management team navigate a transformation that would keep them in business. “The industry had shifted substantially, and the leadership capacity of the executive team was not what it needed to be to make us relevant again,” he said. Although some of the leadership team was skeptical of coaching and declined to participate, the vast majority of executives welcomed the opportunity.

Harmony understood that our client’s coaching goals were individual but also business-driven. For all participants, we began with the Leadership Circle Profile, assessment and then moved into a cycle of one-on-one coaching. The outcome has been significant. “As a team, we now have genuine, courageous conversations, and the individuals being coached have added a voice and a perspective that was missing before,” our client said. He also noted that the executives who refrained from the coaching process have regularly commented on the positive changes in those who were part of the program. “Without coaching, I believe our business would not have survived.”

Our client and his team now have the tools to thrive in the current technology landscape—something he attributes to having a coach with a proven business background. “Kira recognizes that while I am being coached, business still has to happen,” he said. “She is able to sense when to switch to a more consultative approach. There is huge value in having her provide a fresh perspective, or simply to be able to bounce ideas around in a trusted space. It would not be possible for us to connect in this way had she not owned her own consultancy in the past.”

Coaching can be a challenging journey—one that requires time, commitment and personal investment. But its benefits make everything worthwhile. “Coaching has had a lasting impact,” the client said. “I still continue all the relationship-based and meditative work. The end results are really worth it, particularly if you are a values-driven organization. I’ll return to coaching again and again.”

Personal Reflection for Transformational Leadership

Our client, a Director for a national healthcare organization, was already leading a team of professionals. But he and his superiors felt that he could benefit from six months of leadership coaching to “close some gaps” in his approach and enable him to move into the next level of leadership.

Harmony ensured a collaborative process for setting objectives. Kira met with the client and his immediate supervisor to discuss the most pressing areas for development. Together, we decided on a commitment of three hours per month, with goals being set, reviewed and adjusted every two weeks, to continuously progress our client’s leadership capabilities.

As part of the initial coaching process, Harmony relied on assessment tools to help discover the client’s strengths, as well as areas that needed attention. “Kira helped me interpret the results to determine what I needed and wanted to change,” he said. “I had completed assessments in the past, but now believe that, unless you have a coach who can walk you through the outputs of the assessments, all you have is data. A coach helps you decipher the results.”

Our client was looking for opportunities, techniques or approaches that would enable him to become a truly transformational leader. One of his biggest challenges was his nervous energy. Rather than trying to eliminate that trait, we worked on converting it into a strength by finding alternate ways of managing the nervousness. Through grounding, mindfulness and other techniques, he is now able to facilitate consensus and healthy discussion in meetings. “I am starting to become the calming influence in contentious meetings,” he said.

Another obstacle he had to overcome was his emotional wounds from the past, which created fears and biases that negatively impacted his leadership. For example, triggers from his youth caused him to perceive one colleague as a competitor rather than a collaborator. Through his work with Harmony, our client was able to learn how to recognize those triggers, catch them in real time, and mindfully choose a different way of responding. “I can now recognize my colleague as a collaborator,” he said. “She told me, ‘I don’t know what has happened with you, but whatever it is, keep doing it. I now like and look forward to working with you.’”

The ROI of coaching has impacted all aspects of his life. “I have better relationships with my team members at all levels, and we reach better decisions quickly, with fewer errors and more collaboration,” he said. “I have created a safe environment where people are not scared to test new approaches and make mistakes. Also, at home, with two boys over 20, I am now able to make space for myself without guilt, which is better for everyone.”

As a result, our client plans to revisit coaching in the future, for himself and his team. “It would be a great exercise to be part of an organization-wide 360° assessment,” he said. “Coaching is very important to success.”

Leadership Coaching for Personal Development and Organizational Growth

For more than a decade, our client had been running a successful—and ever-expanding—charitable organization. What began as an idea between the client and her co-founders evolved into an award-winning initiative with dozens of teachers and volunteers, and hundreds of participants. From the outside, everything appeared to be going smoothly. But our client had a different perspective.

“The reality is that when you start an organization, you end up doing everything,” she said. “Gradually you add more people to come in and help, but although things change, evolve and expand, it still feels like you are doing everything. Inevitably, no one’s role is focused enough.” As both CEO and Artistic Director, her role was particularly overwhelming. “I was so busy creating and building the organization that I wasn’t taking proper care of myself. I realized I needed to find a better life balance, because if you’re not healthy, you can’t lead as effectively.”

In addition, our client’s organization was developing a long-term expansion plan, and she wanted support in learning how to detach from day-to-day operations and identifying what her future involvement should be. To that end, she engaged Harmony for approximately one year, meeting with Kira every two weeks. We incorporated various assessment tools, including the Leadership Circle Profile and the Integrative Enneagram, and worked on her values, purpose and vision. Then we drew on that foundation to create her custom development plan.

Through coaching to that plan, Kira empowered the client to bring better clarity, structure and focus to her organization, and to better define each person’s role within it. “A lot of what I’ve learned from coaching, including understanding my own value, is that what’s best for me is to focus on doing what I’m best at—and it works the same way for everybody else,” she said. “Now I’m working to make sure everybody feels that their time and expertise are valued. And that we build on our strengths rather than just focusing on what needs to get done next—that we respond rather than react.”

Our client has greater confidence in her leadership and is no longer afraid to ask challenging questions, of her board and herself—“really healthy, creative, forward-looking questions,” she said. Coaching also equipped her with the tools and awareness she needed to practice better self-advocacy. “I’ve learned so much on a personal level that I feel much wiser and calmer and happier. I now realize that how you show up as a leader is the same as how you show up as a person. You’ve got to invest in yourself so you can keep growing and give your best, as a person and a leader.”

As our client continues to streamline her role and develop her organization’s strategic plan, she’s working to instill the knowledge she gained from Harmony, within her organization. “Kira is such a role model. Her coaching has made a huge impact on the value I see for the role of a coach-leader in the world. I now see the world through a different lens and have experienced an invaluable paradigm shift in key areas of life, both personally and professionally.”

Finding Purpose for Transformational Results

Our client was coming off a longstanding position as a senior legal advisor in a national security organization, and transitioning into a role as a senior executive in the public service. She wanted a coach to help her navigate her changing professional landscape. But she quickly realized how much more Harmony had to offer. “With Kira, you go deep,” the client said.

Beginning with several sessions over a three-month period, we incorporated assessment tools, including the Leadership Circle Profile, to help our client identify her strengths and weaknesses, as well as her blind spots. For example, she said, “I did better than I thought I would on the 360° assessment. To see that there was a discrepancy between my own perception of myself and how others saw me revealed a self-confidence issue that I had to deal with.”

Following our initial commitment, the client engaged Harmony for several more months so she could further explore her personal values and long-term purpose. That work, she said, was life-changing. “I had been thinking in terms of goals, and I think that’s why I was a bit lost when I entered the public sector. I had a prestigious job but it didn’t fulfill me. Kira helped bring about a paradigm shift in me. I now see that there’s nothing wrong with having goals, but the better way to look at things is in how they align with your purpose.”

Our client’s purpose is to make a difference; in her words, “to use my power for good.” That recognition has empowered her to be clear on the decisions she makes, both in adjudicating and advising on policy. “Understanding my purpose helps me to stop thinking just in terms of my immediate next steps, but also in terms of the bigger picture. It’s given me a compass; I’ve learned how to operate well within the public service without losing myself or my values.”

Harmony also worked with the client on improving the way she expressed herself—with her managers as well as her subordinates. “Talking with Kira and understanding how to communicate better was a bit of a breakthrough,” she said. Our client knew she was a strong leader but wasn’t used to managing up. Through coaching, she learned to be comfortable having “radically honest” conversations with her superiors, which led to them more fully recognizing her leadership capabilities and ultimately coming to her for solutions to their own challenges.

The client sees coaching as an invaluable part of her work transition and recommends it to anyone who is committed to ongoing success. “I will definitely touch base with Kira again at different times in my career. Coaching has made me very, very clear about my values and my purpose. And that irrigates everything I do, professionally and in my personal life.”

Developing Assertiveness to Deliver Better Value

When our client approached Harmony, he was primarily interested in professional development; as President at a creative agency, he wanted to ensure that his clients received the best possible services. But he also had a feeling that he could be doing more with his personal potential. “There was a lingering, bigger-picture desire to identify my role in the world and to make sure that my professional work is aligned with my values,” he said.

Through coaching, our client developed the internal resources he needed to provide greater value through his business, and to achieve greater clarity about his overall purpose and vision. The solution lay in focusing on two key areas: confidence and communication.

Over a six-month period, our client met with Harmony every few weeks. We began with foundational work, which incorporated assessment tools such as the Leadership Circle Profile and the Integrative Enneagram Assessment, as well as work on values, vision and purpose. From there, we created a custom development plan and coached to that plan, ensuring accountability, action and results.

“Coaching gave me perspective on the ways I participate in my relationships,” he said. “I think I made a lot of assumptions about the ways in which I needed to show up. Coaching allowed me to step back, understand some patterns, and see that I had a lot more choice available, and then to build the will and the courage to actually enact those choices.” Specifically, it empowered him to be more direct and assertive.

The results have been significant. His creative agency is now able to engage clients on a more strategic level, going beyond just support for final products, to work with their leadership on overarching questions about their long-term goals and vision. Coaching also helped improve his personal relationships. “I’ve become more in touch with being honest and truthful, even if it’s uncomfortable. Coaching contributed to that shift in my life.”

Our client now views coaching as an ongoing journey that is essential for personal growth as well as professional development. “A commitment to coaching, for me, is a commitment to my integrity,” he said. “Coaching is helping me train my own capacity to act more ambitiously and thoughtfully about what matters to me and what I bring into the world.”

A Coach Approach for Better Team Engagement

After a prolonged experience dealing with a challenging employee, our client consulted with his Human Resources department and agreed that he could benefit from an external coach—someone to provide an outside perspective on handling complicated internal matters. He was also looking for someone to help evolve his overall leadership skills, and identify strengths and weaknesses in his day-to-day management approach.

The client engaged Harmony for one year, meeting approximately twice each month. We used a 360° assessment as part of our work in identifying his personality, his leadership style and how others perceived him. “Kira and I spent a lot of time exploring what I believed in, what my motivations were, how I wanted to be seen and how I wanted to talk to people,” he said. We also worked on cultivating authenticity—specifically, the ability to express vulnerability in the workplace, thereby creating an environment in which direct reports are encouraged to do the same.

“Since I started coaching with Harmony, I’ve embraced a coaching style,” our client said. “Instead of telling them how I think they should do something, I ask them what they think, how they would want to approach it. Coaching has really changed my leadership with my employees and in turn grown their leadership capacity, individually and collectively.”

As a result, he now has a better understanding of what motivates each of his six direct reports and is able to spend less time overseeing their everyday work. “We’ve created a relationship where they’re not afraid of asking me questions when they’re unsure, because I do the same to them when I’m unsure. We have a deeper relationship, which has ultimately led to greater productivity.”

In addition to improved engagement and communication in the workplace, our client has seen the benefits extend to his home life. “Coaching definitely made my relationship with my wife better,” he said. “It has allowed me to grow my emotional intelligence… and to take context into consideration instead of jumping to conclusions. That really helps in any relationship, and with communication at any level.”

With that in mind, our client plans to return to coaching as part of his ongoing commitment to leadership development and personal growth. “I’m really big on continuously improving myself and I think having a coach provides an accountability partner to do that with.”

Authentic Leadership for Stronger Relationships

As a high-level executive in a busy federal government department, our client had a strong work ethic and the drive to get things done. She also had a fun-loving, social dimension. But after taking part in a leadership development program through her job, which included a 360° assessment and debriefing session with Kira, she realized that those two sides of her were disconnected at the office—and that she wasn’t always coming across in the way she thought she was. She engaged Harmony to provide longer-term coaching services that would help her adopt a more authentic leadership style.

Initially, we committed to monthly meetings spread over two years. As part of our foundational work, Harmony used various assessment tools, including the Integrative Enneagram, which our client found to be especially helpful. “It gave me a sense of understanding other people and their differences, and how to relate to and appreciate their differences,” she said. “It also helped me de-personalize conflicts and recognize that there is growth within all Enneagram types.”

Throughout the coaching journey, our client improved her self-awareness and became more conscious of her impact on others. Ultimately, she developed a better understanding of how people perceive her in the workplace. “In recognizing that there’s a disconnect with how I was thinking and how I was operating… I was able to find a way to allow myself to be both driven and social at certain times—to show a more integrated version of myself.”

Harmony also empowered her to adopt a coach approach—of actively listening, and encouraging people to answer their own questions, rather than immediately providing answers.

The benefits of embracing an authentic, coaching leadership style prompted our client to continue her work with Harmony beyond the initial two years—and to recommend our services to her colleagues and direct reports, many of whom went on to be coached by us. “Kira is phenomenal,” she said. “I have her on retainer for other emerging issues. I can say without any qualifiers that coaching with her has been an exceptional experience. She’s a very strong, kind and insightful coach—non-judgmental, warm, intuitive—who can really help bring people to where they’re looking to go.”

Coaching for Improved Performance and Productivity

When our client’s organization went through a massive transformation, he knew that his leadership team required coaching to ensure success. “We were going from 60 people to 260 people, building a $400 million program and transforming the whole company,” he said. “I needed our leaders to build a culture and an organization that represented the future.”

The client engaged Harmony to provide the necessary support. Over a period of two years, we delivered one-on-one coaching to senior managers and executives at our client’s organization. Using various assessment tools, and by working on personal values, vision and purpose, we helped each person develop the skills and awareness they needed to lead their team in the right direction.

As a result of Harmony’s coaching, our client reported a significant increase in productivity and saw business performance improve “by an order of magnitude. The managers and executives were more cogent in their thinking and strategy, and were more direct and inspiring to their team. They had a greater sense of accountability and demonstrated improved results.”

Our client attributes these gains to the in-depth work we did with his leadership staff, focusing on improving their self-awareness and interpersonal skills. “Better people make better managers. You can’t have a better performing business leader and not improve the person. (My executives) became more aware of who they wanted to be and who they were, as expressed as a leader… Through that, they got better at building relationships, both internally at the peer level, as well as externally.”

After seeing such positive outcomes, the client is keen to recommend our coaching services. “There are coaches who run a process,” he said, “and there are coaches who meet you where you are and help you to progress who you want to be—and they do that because they’re mature, experienced and insightful. Kira is the latter. She has seen a lot and done a lot, and she can help a lot.”

Coaching for Accountability and Wellness

In work, and in life, it’s easy to get stuck on the treadmill of everyday demands—especially for business owners. That was the position our client found herself in when she decided to engage Harmony for leadership coaching. “I wanted to change the direction of my company, but I was so busy doing my job that I didn’t have time to focus on the longer term,” she said. “I needed a coaching partner who would help make me more accountable; accountability makes you step back and prioritize.”

Harmony began with weekly meetings to clarify our client’s objectives and establish a trusted relationship. Her prior experience with coaching had been “disastrous,” she said, so it was important to build a strong connection upfront. “After meeting Kira and getting to know her personality, I knew it would be a great coaching relationship. She’s such a trusting person.”

Following our initial consultations, we progressed to meeting every few weeks over several months. During that time, we supported our client in developing the tools to refocus her business and make space for her own needs. We introduced meditation practices to help her focus on daily goals. “I was able to begin each day knowing what I was going to do, what I wanted to accomplish,” she said. We also empowered her to be able to identify professional relationships that weren’t a good fit; for example, ruthless clients and unreliable suppliers. “By re-evaluating my business relationships and supplier arrangements, it brought my stress level and my anxiety level way down. It’s made me a much calmer person.”

Through her coaching journey, our client was able to achieve the accountability she was looking for. In addition, she’s seen benefits that extend beyond her work, into her personal life. “If you’re more content, you’re more in control of your business and you’re also more in control of other relationships,” she said.

As our client continues to redirect her business, she plans to use coaching on an as-needed basis to keep her moving along the right path. “There are people who run successful businesses, who don’t get coaching, but I think it’s a fast-track to achieving your goals and defining what success means to you. If you’re looking to expand your business, to change how you do business, or to have a more harmonious work environment, I definitely recommend coaching. And I definitely recommend Kira—because of her approach, her kindness and her extensive training.”

Leadership Coaching for Business Growth and Transformation

Three years after launching an innovative IT consulting firm, our client decided it was time to engage a coach. His company had expanded from an initial five partners to a team of 12. As President, he found that his leadership skills were being tested in a way they never had before. “My prior experience was as an entrepreneur running my own business,” he said. “My mistakes were my mistakes; my wins were my wins… I hadn’t needed to rely on my leadership abilities.”

The client engaged Harmony for one year, meeting twice per month. At first, he wasn’t sure of his exact goals but he knew that he wanted someone who could help him maximize his potential as President and navigate his evolving leadership role. “A coach was an outlet for me to be able to share some of my challenges, in a confidential setting. Kira always gave me something to reflect on—something powerful, centred around my own growth and where I wanted to be as a leader.”

Our work included various assessment tools, such as the Leadership Circle Profile and the Integrative Enneagram, which the client found to be eye opening. We also explored his values. “The values exercise had a massive impact on our business and the way I live my life every day,” he said. “Resilience at work and in life has a lot to do with understanding your values and recognizing whether you’re in conflict or aligned with those values. Being able to extract that with Kira in a fun, efficient way was extremely beneficial.”

That exploration empowered him with the knowledge and resources he needed to help guide his partners through their own values exercises. As a result, the team was able to have open, courageous conversations about their corporate values—and to identify misalignments within the partnerships. Ultimately, they removed the people whose values weren’t a fit for the company, reducing the total number of partners to nine. “Within three years of making that decision, we’ve doubled the size of our business,” our client said. “Getting rid of those individuals, which came about through understanding our values, was absolutely key. It allowed us to move together as a group in harmony rather than having chaos drive our meetings. Coaching was definitely the starting point of that transformation.”

Our client has also seen the benefits of coaching extend to his home life. He’s more in tune with his personal relationships and is better able to process everyday challenges in a healthy way. “I’ve developed increased awareness, and I now understand how to carve out time for myself—and how to change my perspective. Sometimes people can get lost in their own point of view. Kira equipped me with the tools to be able to see beyond that.”

Coaching for Greater Confidence and Communication

Our client was going through a period of upheaval in both her personal and professional lives. After more than a decade as a Director in the federal government, she was facing a role change and wasn’t sure how to navigate the last few years of her career in a way that would remain fulfilling and challenging. She was also separating from her life partner. “I was looking for leadership and life direction,” she said. The client reached out to us after being referred by a co-worker. “My colleague found Kira to be supremely helpful when she needed support. She thought I should give Harmony a try.”

Initially, we agreed to meet approximately once a month for a year. As part of our foundational work, we incorporated assessment tools such as the Leadership Circle Profile and the Integrative Enneagram Assessment. “The Enneagram was extremely helpful in establishing my baseline traits,” the client said. “For example, how I react to things and what that looks like on the job and at home. It helped me conduct a self-evaluation in my own life and in my work life.” We also focused on identifying her vision and values. “I knew I was a good leader but coaching gave me the empirical data to be able to understand why I lead the way I do—to recognize my values, what I care about and how that links to my leadership style. Because how you are as a leader really evolves from who you are as a person, and if you don’t know who you are it’s very hard to know what your leadership style is.”

Our client was so pleased with Harmony that she engaged Kira for a second year of coaching. As a result of our ongoing work, the client has renewed confidence in herself, as a person and a leader. “When I was really struggling personally, I’d always feel so much better after meeting with her.” In addition, she’s better able to understand and empathize with her direct reports and to see all manner of situations from a wider perspective. “It’s easy to get stuck in a particular way of looking at things. Kira gives you the tools you need to challenge those thoughts, to explore different points of view and to look at other, better ways of dealing with situations. She’s able to bring things out that I probably wouldn’t have gotten to on my own.”

Going forward, the client plans to continue coaching with Harmony for as long as possible. It has brought her increased self-awareness and “confidence that I had lost,” and she sees how that enables her to more clearly understand her vision and communicate it to her team. “I was lucky in finding the right coach right away. I get so much value from coaching with Kira. Having those interactions with her has made a huge difference in my ability to cope all around. It’s been transformational.”

Empowerment Through Transformational Coaching

After many years in human resource management, our client had fallen into a pattern of putting others’ needs before her own. So, when her supervisor at the technology company where she worked recommended coaching for her personal development, it was a new experience. Over several months, Harmony worked closely with the client to help her gain confidence, become more outspoken and discover her true worth. Together, we identified where she wanted to take her career—and her life—and unpacked the childhood issues that were holding her back from reaching her full potential.

“It was easy for me to open up and talk to Kira,” our client said. “I’d go into our sessions thinking I had nothing to talk about, and she had a way of changing my ‘nothing’ into something. She has a gift for connecting with people.”

From that initial coaching engagement, our client saw personal growth and increased self-awareness, which had a direct impact on her professional life. “Kira helped me find my value. She empowered me to embrace self-care and to recognize that I shouldn’t be afraid to challenge the status quo—or the CEO or the COO.”

Based on that positive experience, our client engaged Harmony the following year to provide leadership coaching for her entire management team. Working one-on-one with all nine professionals, we incorporated a variety of assessment tools, including the Leadership Circle Profile and Integrative Enneagram Assessment, to help identify strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement.

As a result of our coaching, the client saw positive changes in each of her colleagues. “The leadership team started to feel better about themselves,” she said. “They saw that we had invested in them and that they got value from it—in their work and their personal lives. I definitely feel that there was renewed commitment (to our company) because of coaching.”

Our client also benefited directly from the second coaching engagement with Harmony. Prior to our work, she would delegate and give orders rather than engage in conversations with her employees. Now, her approach has completely changed. “I’m not managing them; I’m leading them,” she said. “As I transformed, I became more interested in talking to them about what they want to do, what drives them, what makes them passionate. I engaged them more, sought their opinions on anything and everything, and became their biggest cheerleader… I also transformed to be comfortable having uncomfortable discussions, and to be more open about my own struggles. I’m not afraid to ask my team to help me.”

Having reaped the rewards, our client plans to return to coaching “again and again and again.” And she recommends that others do the same. “I think everybody should have a coach, no matter where you are in life. A good coach—like Kira—pulls things out of you that you didn’t even know existed and helps you look within yourself for your own answers.”