CLIENT STORY:
Getting Organized

Meet Leslie Berryman,
Ad Agency Manager and "budding" Coach:

Q: Why did you hire a coach? What did you want to see happen in your life at that time?

A: I hired a coach because I wanted to have balance between my work and personal life.

My main goals were to:

• Develop balance.
• Completely declutter and organize my home.
• Eliminate all the little things that irritated me.

Q: What was memorable or meaningful about your coaching experience with Kristin?

A: Every time we spoke, she started the call with a very upbeat salutation using my name, and I knew she was really looking forward to my call. I loved this. Whether I had only done a little bit of my homework or a lot of it, she was always positive and encouraging. I also admired how Kristin's life had changed and it really made the idea of creating my own wonderful life seem possible. Kristin is a good role model.

Q: What are the tangible results of your coaching experience?

A: During the time I worked with Kristin, I was able to change from a cramped, small house into a perfect sized home with a spectacular view. And the change has made very little impact on my financial life -- I actually seem to have more money than ever!

I am able to step back from all the craziness at work -- building my new life is much more important to me than all the politics and discouragement that is a daily part of my work life. I am now studying to be a coach so that I can help people make important changes in their life.

Q: What are the intangible results of your coaching experience?

A: I feel like I've made a lot of shifts:

• Eliminating things that irritate me or drain my energy.
• Focusing on my future in a way that can't be altered by others' opinions.
• Taking charge of my personal environment without waiting for permission from others.
• I'm more confident and believe in my ability to overcome all obstacles.
• I do my best to encourage everyone I know since I know how helpful that's been for me.

Q: Why do you think coaching works? What about it works for you?

A: Coaching worked for me because of the encouragement, accountability, and the totally new ideas that Kristin brought to the subject. I can't thank Kristin enough for all of her support and encouragement. She really opened my eyes so that I can see myself living in the best possible life I can imagine. Kristin is phenomenal.

Q: What are Kristin's strengths as a coach?

A: Kristin is super positive with the perfect mix of fun and high expectations.

Q: Do you think your coaching dollars were worth it? Why or why not?

A: Coaching changed my life and continues to change it -- that's worth so much more than money. I'll admit that the money was a little tight in the beginning because my life was such a mess; however, as coaching cleared up problem areas and raised my personal standards, I never gave a thought to the money I spent for the coaching.

Coach's Comments

I'm a firm believer that a client's "outer" world reflects their "inner" world...in other words, if your home, car, finances, feel messy to you, chances are there's something out of balance in your life. It's not just about clutter. It never is.

So, when Leslie initially contacted me for coaching with the desire to organize and declutter her home, I knew there was much more in store for her. As a coach, I always look at the symptoms that clients present to me. What's right on the surface? For Leslie it was quite simple -- she wanted to organize her life and her house. However, to create lasting change with my clients, I always dig a little deeper and I look for the source underneath the symptoms.

In other words, why did Leslie allow her home and life to get out of whack? We talked about that first.

Leslie is a super loving, supportive, get-it-done type of person. For example, she's a very loyal friend and I was always impressed with how many people came to Leslie for advice. Leslie's loyalty and drive started to get in the way of her dream of living a balanced life. Working for an advertising agency requires long hours and last minute changes to serve clients' needs. Being a hero at work and "saving the day" was actually an energy source for Leslie. However, she discovered it was an unhealthy one. Realizing that was the catalyst for Leslie's transformation.

Leslie found it very difficult to unplug from work and focus on other areas of her life. As a result, the non-work portion of her life started to deteriorate. I remember during one of our first conversations I asked Leslie this question: "When did DOING a great job at work become more important than BEING truly happy?" That was a moment of truth for Leslie and she made the choice to make some serious changes.

With that level of committment, I was able to coach Leslie to create the balance she sorely lacked. It was actually a breeze once the committment was made. One assignment we created was to set an alarm clock at work to signal the end of the day. When that buzzer went off, it was her cue to wrap up and go home. This is a very easy way to create a boundary at work...and we all need those boundaries!

Leslie was incredibly dedicated and spent at least one hour every single evening working on her home. She knocked down walls and did a major overhaul. Eventually she realized she'd like to move. Fortunately, her home was now in great shape and sold very quickly.

Along the way, we focused on fitness, relationships, finances, self care and all of the important topics related to balance. Now, with her life and home in great order, Leslie feels much more energized and efficient at work and is ready to tackle a new goal...she's currently enrolled in coaching training so she can learn to help others.

Click HERE for next client story