SeattleCoach! "Connection. Curiosity. Challenge."


​​Coaching for Leaders (CFL)

Executive Coaching Education for Veteran Leaders


​"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."  Plutarch
"This program has reconnected me to my mission with both my team and my customers."  A coaching leader at Microsoft
​"I'm beginning to recongnize the signal through the noise."  A coaching leader at MIcrosoft

Patricia Burgin, MA MCC
Founder and Head Coach
"This has been an amazing journey and I am thankful you were at the helm."   A coaching leader at Vulcan
"We are making our jobs less hard."   A coaching leader at Vulcan
​"Undoubtedly, the most valuable experience that any company ever invested in."  A coaching leader at a human services company

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As a leader, you have some options with SeattleCoach . . .

Door #1

Door #2


In the spring of 2008, Patty Burgin began to train small cohorts of mid-career professionals. In their own ways, each person had asked her some version of, “How do I learn to do what you do?” And each person was seeking certification in this emerging old/new profession of coaching. That same year SeattleCoach became a credentialed training provider of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Since then, hundreds of  SeattleCoaches have pursued the rigorous preparation required for professional certification. These small cohorts of allies have become known as SeattleCoach   Flagship Cohorts.
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Then in 2015, leaders and their organizations began to ask us for executive coaching education for their veteran leaders. This track could be briefer and more customized. In response, we co-created rich cohort experiences for organizational leaders and their teams. Rather than focusing on professional credentialing, these  veteran leaders and their sponsors are aiming to increase their leadership effectiveness. They too are SeattleCoaches. And they are building  world-class coaching cultures.

Door #2 is "Coaching for Leaders" (CFL), and through the years, SeattleCoach has developed hundreds of  coaching leaders in tech, healthcare, real estate, government,
and other sectors.

​And we've trained a   team of world-class CFL Facilitators that is meeting the growing demand.

"A Coaching Culture"


You've probably heard those words--and that aspiration--a lot lately. ​ In coaching cultures, leaders  increase their effectiveness in delivering their subject matter expertise,  along with their ability to give direction, mentor, inspire, and teach. They are more curious, unhurried, and connected.
And they reverse  a trend that we've all observed  ("people join great companies and leave bad bosses").

 We've noticed that  coaching cultures are built and grow on the foundation of three essentials:
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  1. Enthusiastic sponsors who understand the ROI of bringing coach training and development to their leaders and people managers.
  2. Leaders and people managers who raise their hands to participate. 
  3. ​And the strategic use of external coaches to coach, train, and facilitate.


​Far more than a brief "tips, techniques, and tools" workshop, SeattleCoach's Coaching for Leaders (CFL) is helping companies to change the ways they lead, develop, and train their best people.
​The magic is in the trust a leader creates ​(rather than in any flashy formulas or quick fixes).

Some nice feedback for CFL


​"Undoubtedly, the most valuable experience that any company ever invested  in."              A coaching leader in Boise
"This program has reconnected me to my mission with both my team and my customers."     A coaching leader at Microsoft
"I'm beginning to recognize the signal through the noise."     A coaching leader at Microsoft
“Coaching is the pro-biotic in the belly of the beast."       Jennifer Winick
"This is the first ever training where I wish we'd gone longer than ten months! More please."   
​A coaching leader at Microsoft
​"I’ve found that this Coaching for Leaders program has not only helped me to be a more effective and in-tune leader,  ​but is also helping me bring a deeper sense of soul and purpose to my work at Microsoft.
Thank you for guiding us through an incredible learning journey."
​
Picture
Photo by Mark Meadows
(Click on the photo for Patty's bio)

To find out more about bringing Coaching for leaders to your
company or organization--or to join a CFL Cohort,
​click on that "Contact us" button.
We'll set up  time to ask each other questions.
​
And we'll send you a copy of the SeattleCoach white paper,
"What Happens When Your Leaders Learn to Coach?"

"The book that helps great people managers
​become great coaching leaders"
The Coaching for Leaders Playbook
The Second Edition will be available in October 2023.


The On-Ramps

​1
​Executive Coaching for Leaders. We begin with several coaching sessions with a team leader to work on their personal, tactical and strategic outcomes. This initial collaboration with the team leader uncovers the next steps in the process and development of both the leader and their team.

2
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​3
Team Meetings. The leader shares his or her vision for the coming period of growth, and the team works together with the leader and the coach to process both key agreed-upon content along with ground-rules and expectations. Everyone leaves with enthusiasm, a next step and some shared accountability. On-ramp #2 is often repeated quarterly as the team attends to their process and to their shared deliverables. Some examples: Ground rules for new and renewing teams; managing conflict; coaching skills to improve feedback; meeting strategies; consistently getting everyone's best; working with accountability; performance improvement and career development; a leader's personal presence. What does your team need more of? less of? 

​Introduction to Coaching for Leaders. As clarity grows about the nature and payoffs of coaching skills and presence, this on-ramp brings a fast-paced and interactive 4-hour workshop for up to 50 key leaders and people managers. In this day together, we introduce everyone to the key concepts and vocabulary of coaching as a people manager. Everyone leaves with some enthusiasm, a next step and some shared accountability. Every time we teach one of these workshops, a handful of leaders ask for more.​
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4
Coaching for Leaders, aka, CFL. We select up to thirty-five seasoned volunteers and invite them to meet for ten ninety-minute sessions, usually once a month. And between each of our sessions, these leaders join small groups of fellow participants, led by a veteran SeattleCoach, for practice and mentoring. The result is a little magic.
 More Word of mouth . . .
"Patty is one of the best. High integrity, compassion, spirituality, smarts and keen sense of humor makes her the best coach trainer I’ve ever had the honor to meet. I highly recommend her."

​"I'm becoming a better version of myself."

"Thank you for answering your calling--and for helping us answer ours."

"Thank you for your leadership and influence in coaching and providing strong support, guidance and encouragement!  It has made a significant difference in my life, my family and relationships with others."

"It's a trick! They have you coach others and you end up coaching yourself!"

"You turn people into coaches! How do you do that?!"

"What continues to present itself is the wisdom of how you’ve designed this coursework. I didn’t expect to discover and learn what I am. More than the rules and ways of coaching, it is heart and soul +  science and framework. I love this mix."

"Your style is perfect for me, your wisdom and experience helpful, and you are fun. What more could a student ask?"

"As I finish Module II, I think I'm a better coach. I know I'm a better person."

"If it weren't for you and your kindness I would not be a coach today. You were the very first person to take the time to explain to me how my talents could be used as a coach."

"I see opportunities for the application of my new skills every day." 
"This is so much more than training. I've learned from listening to everyone else in this cohort how to listen to myself better. It's a juicy growth opportunity."

"This training has been a chrysalis. We've all become more than we thought we could be via community."

"This work has quietly seeped into all parts of my life."

"I love what I do in a way I never imagined was possible."

"Thank you, Patty, so much for following your vocation. You've opened up a world of opportunity for other people to find their path. You have created magic."

"There are juicy bits to your much layered instruction that usually dawn on me as I drive home. One of the latest was the use of a song to get prepped and in the flow for a coaching session. There’s science behind why this works. You don’t regale us with some of the whys and wherefores but are willing to go down the road when asked. Subtle genius . . . Coaching training with you makes me a better person."

"My coaching comes into play daily, as I recognize how I can have better presence, ask better questions and help to make the world a brighter place."

"The entire program has been a gift and I will be forever grateful for our thoughtful and quietly transformative sessions. You have dug deep to create something that the world so desperately needs and found ways to empower and encourage more and more of it. What a blessing to have found you and to take part!"

"Just got my first coaching contract. I am SO excited and nervous. And so well prepared, thanks to you."
The members of our company who have completed the program are showing up differently with their teams. They are both 'coaching leaders' and 'coaching team players.'"

"Here's what turns me on:  People of compassion acting with courage, connected with their life calling (purpose). One person or team living this way can cascade into their families, friends, colleagues, congregations, neighbors, and fellow citizens."

​"This has benefitted my entire life."

​"I have a closer relationship with my teenager."

"You can take this stuff and make it your profession. You can also make it your way of living. Date night is better. Parenting is better."

"This is so much more than training. I've learned from listening to everyone else in this cohort how to listen to myself better. It's a juicy growth opportunity."

"I see opportunities for the application of my new skills every day."

"I love what I do in a way I never imagined was possible. It has become aspirational, and I have a sense of calling to it."

"Expect as many changes in you as in those you coach! Welcome to this unique practice."

I have been thinking lately about how coaching is touching so many parts of my life, and how it makes me better at whatever I do when I show up like a coach. I am truly humbled by the gift of coaching, and I am truly grateful for your guidance and acceptance of me.

I love SeattleCoach and I am deeply grateful for your guidance, teaching, coaching and mentoring.

Additional resources

"Coaching has a proven impact: add coaching to an initiative and people will focus on that initiative more. Add coaching to training and people learn more, up to 6 times as much in some cases. Coaches are like midwives for change: they know when change is coming, when it’s here, when it needs a nudge, and when it’s happening too fast. As change catalysts, coaches assist with managing the speed of change and smooth transition through change. With our understanding of how the brain works - there is an inbuilt resistance to change, and minimising the stress response, and error detection of the amygdala through actions like naming and normalising – we can make this process less painful. Change can be deeply challenging and emotional change required in organizational transition requires hardwiring of new learning through insight and action. Coaches are the perfect people to have around to facilitate this process."  David Rock, Driving Organizational Change with Internal Coaching Programs