"When I started my journey with Executive Coaching I was lost as a leader. My values were no longer aligned with the organization I have been a part of for over 10 years. I struggled with being inspired and this meant struggling to inspire others.

After completing the program I rediscovered what my core values are and how alignment to those values meant not having to worry about inspiration or making the tough decisions because alignment existed. My biggest take away from all this coaching was the rediscovering my values and their importance to who I am as a leader. I came from a very toxic working environment. I remember having my first phone call with Kristina and being somewhat reserved. I held back a bit but I knew why. I was not ready to open up but here I was ready to start a new program and thinking I wanted to get as much value out of it as possible.

So one day I thought I would leave a message but Kristina answered the phone to tell her the honest truth of what I had gone through. It was a tough conversation to have but I got through it. Even though I had already decided I wanted to be part of the program, it was not realizing until much later that I really had to open up to make it work. It was the day we had this tough conversation that I gave myself permission to heal and move on so that I could work effectively with Kristina. The one on one conversations regarding strategies and plans to further my growth as a professional. It is a changing world and networking is more prominent than when I first started out my career. I know in theory what networking meant but getting the coaching to see the tools in action really helped me to further my understanding of its importance. The realization that competency does not necessarily translate to confidence was a big for me. I was always competent but I often lacked the confidence I needed be a better advocate for myself. Since then I have worked on building my confidence, finding and using language tools that can help in displaying my assertiveness without me tipping towards being aggressive.

I am much more comfortable in my own skin and this has translated to improve confidence and better leadership. Forming meaningful working relationships. I know how to form relationships but what I lacked was the ability to have them result in opportunities for myself. I struggled with being able to close that gap. Being part of the cohort I got individuals who also at times struggled with the same issues and therefore, we were all able to bounce ideas on how to overcome our obstacles. "

— Eliza, Suncor

Thank you for all of your kindness and coaching support of me over the last year and a half, particularly in the context of me recovering my career since I returned from Australia. The good news is that this week I accepted a Senior Executive role across North America with a multinational energy services company. It’s a great opportunity for me to learn and grow and I am looking forward to getting started soon.

I appreciate so much your willingness to spend time with me over the last while. You generously shared your expertise and experience with me, and I truly appreciate the support, the suggestions and the networking contacts you gave me during this time. I wanted you to know that whether it was a quick call to discuss an opportunity or a meeting or lunch or a coffee, all of it made a huge difference in helping me to heal from a very hard time in my life and my career and to find the resilience that is necessary to continue the search for that next leadership opportunity. You were there for me in my hardest time and I want you to know I am grateful. I’m a different person as a result of this experience and for sure a better one. Your kindness was a part of that and for that, from the bottom of my heart, I say: thank you.

As a Chief Financial Officer, I chose to work with Kristina for her direct style, structured approach and negotiating skills.  Having worked with her over several months, what I most appreciate is her insight – she’s able to pick up on underlying issues by listening carefully to what I say and the words I use as well as watching my follow-up actions, observing where I dive in with enthusiasm and where I hesitate.   I’m a natural at spotting patterns in numbers, data and even relationships, but spotting patterns in myself is more of challenge so Kristina’s insights have really served as a mirror, helping me identify my values and show up as my true self.

While I initially engaged Kristina to work on developing a career strategy as I contemplated some key choices, I’ve continued to work with her as an executive coach.  We’ve worked to develop approaches for solving difficult problems and she helps me to see things from other angles I may not have originally considered.  This has helped me engage in senior level conversations with executive presence.  We consistently address the problems at hand and at the same time, I come away with at least 2-3 new insights on my executive development journey.  

Kristina brings a breadth of knowledge that positions her to approach coaching from a holistic perspective, addressing issues from the technical to the introspective.  Her coaching has helped me move to the next level.

— L Cook