Testimonials
Lella Rafferty
VP Brand Marketing
Noom
“Coaching with Kate has really helped me build as a leader, allowing me to work through current challenges as well as to think about my broader growth and development, in different ways than I would with a supervisor or colleague. Kate provides a safe neutral space where I could bring in my baggage, set it down and be messy. Through her questions and observations, I could structure my thought process around really tough decisions, tweak my perspective, and be clear on a path that I could navigate forward. Checking in every few weeks, I had the support to make adjustments and address new challenges that emerged. I gained tools and rigor, reducing impulsiveness, and boosting my confidence for approaching decisions that impact myself and those around me. I feel clearer about what I am good at and stronger in my role as a senior leader.”
“In sports, your coach takes you to a higher level by knowing where you can push and making sure you go the distance. Professional challenges are infinitely more complicated, so you need a coach who understands the psychological and organizational complexity. Kate is that coach who brings a knowledgeable, non-judgmental ear to help get perspective. She is someone I can trust and get honest with. I participated in her REAL Leadership program and then hired her for some individual coaching to take the time to look more deeply at the nuance and complexity of my challenges at work. Just a few sessions with Kate helped me apply the learning and shift my mindset. She had a very balanced approach, listening and exploring issues in a very effective way. She gets in there with smart questions and observations at the right time and has fun with it too. Kate delivers, stays focused, and keeps it positive. Our coaching conversations made a difference. They allowed me to be better prepared and gave me the self-confidence and clarity to work the plan I designed.”
Ted Gooden
Partner, Head of Private Market Investment Manager M&A Advisory Practice
Berkshire Global Advisors
Wendy Pan
Associate Product Manager
Braze
“Kate was my coach during my 2nd year as an MBA at Wharton. I came in with a set of goals in mind and was looking for guidance tailored to my challenges and my strengths. Every session, she would help me focus in on a topic and dig deeper to consider different angles and reframe problems. She would ask really good questions that would take each topic to a layer beyond how I was looking at it, and open up perspective on myself and others. Her straight-forward approach and insightful observations could help me connect ideas and themes between sessions that made it feel like I was working on a core set of things for my personal and professional development.
Kate is easy-going and easy to talk to. I definitely feel better at the areas I was hoping to address, and was able to apply them in tangible ways both at Wharton and now in my new job. Going forward I feel more confident and self-aware, with greater clarity about my strengths as well as openness to continue to develop myself.”
“A friend of mine recommended coaching with Kate when I was feeling stuck in my career. I didn’t even know how to think about what I wanted to do and hoped the coaching would give me a roadmap to break into a new space. I found it super valuable. It created the sense of urgency to propel myself forward. Kate really helped me organize my thinking. She was really good at asking interesting questions and reframing my thoughts in insightful ways. Her frameworks and tools helped me think about things in a different way and to check my assumptions. I appreciated how she could help me expand my thinking while honouring my boundaries. I gained a lot of insight into myself as well as good guidance on how to hone my search and reach out effectively to connect to new opportunities.
Once I successfully made the career change, she continued to coach me while I was finding my footing in the new organization. I found Kate’s insights to be very valuable for figuring out how to navigate new working relationships and getting perspective. Getting coached by Kate to help me transition was one of the best investments I’ve made.”
Lilian Knorr, Director
Digital Experience Strategy
Royal Bank of Canada
Joshua Krieger
Program Manager
Idea Entity
“I was coached by Kate while doing the Executive MBA at Wharton and taking on a new job in a new organization. I was interested in challenging my thinking, getting a reality check, and identifying potential blind spots. She was great at listening and keying in on aspects of my approach to managing my team that were worth examining. She brought useful frameworks for reflection and helped me convert my observations into a better understanding of myself. I especially appreciated Kate's informal style and personable approach, which made it easy to talk honestly. She helped me find tangible approaches to address specific workplace challenges, and she also helped me pull back and think about my approach to my career in a more strategic way, which was very helpful. Kate really helped me work through the key areas that I wanted to address and rethink my assumptions to get to root causes.”
“Kate was my first experience with an executive coach and I had no idea what to expect upon beginning our sessions. I had just started as the third hire at an early stage startup company and was struggling to find my voice. Kate not only acted as my soundboard, but challenged me in ways that nobody in my personal or professional life had ever done. Having had experience with startups in the past, Kate helped me navigate the uncharted terrain and encouraged me to speak my truth. As a people-pleaser, I have always avoided confrontation in order to alleviate potentially stressful situations. Kate helped me become comfortable with discomfort, and gave me a new, fresh perspective on what it means to be a valuable colleague and true leader. With the support of Kate, I was able to grow into a stronger version of myself and truly establish myself as a key player at my company. I believe that Kate's teachings have helped in my personal relationships as well :)”
Sarah Steinle
Head of Strategic Partnerships
Legacy
Luca Verre
Co-Founder and CEO
Prophesee
“I brought Kate in to work with our leadership team as our company was facing the challenges of scaling. Our company had grown quite quickly from a group of 10 to 15 people to almost 100 in less than a year and a half. As the organization stretched, I was feeling that we lost connection to the original values that were shared and understood. There were challenges in communication as we added in management layers, and people were becoming team leaders who had not had previous experience managing. I invited Kate to work with our wider leadership team to build their skills to work together and to deal with change.
The process involved one-third of the people in the company. Kate conducted group interviews to collect their perceptions of the company mandate, as well as their observations of what was working and what needed to be addressed. We had never really had this type of discussion with the team – to reflect on how we were working and whether it was effective or not. Our management time is spent fighting fires, talking about issues and reflecting on strategic choices. It was valuable to step back to think about how we were working together and find a common focus on what to address.
After the interviews, we took the time to debrief the information that was collected. Kate invited people to share further input in writing on a confidential platform which was useful, and provided an alternative way for the more introverted people to participate in the process. Kate helped us diagnose the issues together, rather than telling us what was working and what wasn’t. That approach helped us develop a stronger awareness of the situation, identify the things we wanted to improve, and have more motivation to try.
Kate and her team facilitated a two-day retreat with our leadership team to work on our performance together. Most of the leadership team is comprised of engineers with very technical, academic backgrounds. Working on developing soft skills with this group of skeptical engineers was a challenge. Kate and her team were very good at working with their discomfort in a constructive way, opening people up with different approaches and with humour. The exercises gave the team an opportunity to think about their roles and skillsets as well as provided tools and methods to use as managers and leaders. The experience brought up key issues and engaged the team in defining how to structure the next steps. The feedback was very positive.
Throughout the process, I appreciated how Kate had a deep understanding of the different personalities and the organizational dynamics. I also loved how she could push me out of my comfort zone to think about my own leadership style and to reflect more deeply about my strengths and approaches. She was always listening, and I was impressed by her insightful assessments and feedback.”