1-on-1 Executive Coaching
For the leader who knows what needs to change but needs the right support
You built something real, and now it's outgrowing what got you here. I work with founders and leaders to close the gap between the leader you are and the one your business needs next.
Free, 45 minutes — no pressure, no pitch.
Individual services
Executive Coaching for Difficult Conversations
“The Conversation You've Been Avoiding”
Most leaders don't lack the words. They lack the confidence that the conversation won't make things worse. This coaching is for the leader who knows what needs to be said but keeps finding reasons to wait. Ironically, the longer you wait, the harder things get.
Through focused 1:1 work, I help you build the clarity, composure, and communication skills to handle high-stakes conversations with honesty and care. The goal isn't one better conversation. It's a fundamentally different relationship with the ones that matter most.
New Leader Transition Program
“Nobody Taught You This”
You were promoted because you were exceptional at your work. Nobody told you that leading people is an entirely different skill set.
This coaching meets new leaders exactly where they are — navigating authority, building trust, giving feedback, and making decisions that affect real people. I bring decades of experience working with leaders at this exact inflection point.
Ready to Take a Step?
The first conversation is just that. A conversation. No pressure, no pitch. Just an honest discussion about where you are, where you want to be, and whether working together makes sense.
Free, 45 minutes — no pressure, no pitch.
Family business support
The same skills that make individual coaching work — listening first, creating safety for hard conversations — apply differently when the people in the room are family.
Family Business Alignment Engagement
“When the Business is Family”
Most family businesses rely on relationships never designed to carry the weight of ownership, leadership, and succession all at once. I work with these organizations as a skilled facilitator and coach, creating the structure and safety needed to have difficult conversations — whether around succession planning, governance, next-generation readiness, compensation, or the unspoken expectations that quietly drive internal conflict.
Your family and your business can work together.
How the Program Actually Works
The First Conversation
That free 45-minute call isn't just scheduling — it's real work. We get to know each other, I see how our styles connect, and I share what I'm noticing and how I'd approach what you're describing. Somewhere in this process — before the call as a starting point, live during it, or as a quick follow-up right after — we work through a 10-point leadership assessment, the same one available as a free download on our resources page. Whenever it happens to land for you, it becomes the real foundation for the plan we build together.
Understanding Your WorldOptional
Some clients choose to do a round of 360 interviews — conversations with the people you work with and near, so I understand the world you're actually operating in, not just your side of it. This can meaningfully speed up the work, but it's never required.
The Engagement
Three months minimum, six is ideal — twice a month, 90 minutes a session, working directly with me. Usually virtual, in person if logistics allow; the results don't really differ, it's a matter of preference. Throughout, you'll get real notes and findings from our sessions, plus progress reports measured against objective goals we set together.
This isn't as fixed as our three-session training programs, and that's intentional. Coaching is built around your specific goals, not a template — and exactly how the engagement is shaped gets decided together, in that first conversation, once we know it's the right fit.
Outcomes
You will leave better prepared for the conversation in front of you. More importantly, you will leave permanently better equipped for every difficult conversation that follows.
Most people walk away from coaching with better words. My clients walk away with better instincts. You will develop the self-awareness to recognize what is actually happening in a high-stakes moment, the composure to stay present when it gets uncomfortable, and the language to say the hard thing without damaging the relationship.
The conversations don't get easier. You get more comfortable in them. There is a significant difference.
“If you are an executive — regardless of the size of your business, number of people you manage, or industry — you need to work with Karen. She uses her experience as a leadership and relationship coach to break down any walls you may have had or thought about coaching.”
— Kevin Lyons, Executive & Strategist
About me
I bring over 10,000 hours with individuals and groups — enough time to know quickly when a situation is out of alignment, what's actually available, and how to get to the best outcome for everyone in the room.
I help leaders say the hard thing without damaging the relationship. That's built on real clinical training, not a weekend certification — twenty years as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, plus certified executive coaching, give me a working knowledge of how people actually change, not just how they say they want to.
My approach blends the candor of my East Coast roots with the respect and tact of my Midwest influence. Working with me means direct, one-on-one sessions tailored to your specific situation — not a cookie-cutter framework or a theoretical exercise.
Flexible and Co-Creative
We collaborate to create an experience that works for you, with no fixed time commitments.
Comprehensive
Professional growth often yields benefits in your personal life — reduced stress, better sleep, healthier habits.
Results-Oriented
We regularly track progress toward your goals, doing less of what holds you back and more of what moves you forward.
My approach draws on family systems theory, emotional intelligence research, and trauma-informed practice, among other frameworks — whatever the moment actually calls for.
I've lived and worked in Minneapolis, Austin, Los Angeles, Buffalo, and Washington, D.C.
Ready to Take a Step?
The first conversation is just that. A conversation. No pressure, no pitch. Just an honest discussion about where you are, where you want to be, and whether working together makes sense.
Free, 45 minutes — no pressure, no pitch.