Offerings

Coaching Engagements

  • Leadership is first and foremost an internal game.

    Executive Coaching engagements from Initiate blend the experience and wisdom that help clients dig deep to uncover their blind spots and the root causes of obstacles. A steady cadence of interactions gives clients time and space to practice new mindsets and behaviors.

  • Clients learn that internal progress fuels external results. This allows them to clear their own path and become the leader they envision.

  • Coaching engagements with Initiate are a multi-month relationship. At a high-level, Initiate engagements unfold in the following way:

    Phase 0: Ensure Coach and Client are a Match

    Phase 1: Assess Starting Point and Desired End Point (Gather Data and Set Goals)

    Phase 2: Observe Self and Practice New Behaviors (Coaching!)

    Phase 2a: Conduct Midpoint Check-Ins (Coach, Client and Stakeholders)

    Phase 3: Confirm Future Success (Evaluations and Wrap-up)

  • “My experience having Joanie as my executive coach could not have been more fulfilling. She has amazing instincts. She was always prepared and insightful, and challenged me to reconsider certain habits that I had formed — many of which were blind spots that Joanie helped me uncover. This, coupled with her expertise as a coach, allowed me to emerge as a more effective leader and executive. I would highly recommend Joanie to anyone who wants to improve their career and overall well-being.”
    - Chief Marketing Officer, Allianz Global Assistance

    “Coaching was the main reason I was able to completely change my dialogue with the executive team. Today, I am more respectful, more influential and more likable. I also believe my coaching engagement helped me get my latest promotion and better position me for the next level.”
    - Chief Executive Officer, The Americas, Global Technology Company

How do you ensure you lead in ways that move you and your organization forward?

Team Development

Today’s work environments need high-performing teams to meet goals. How do you ensure people know how to work well together?

  • Organizations often develop workarounds to avoid addressing team dynamics that aren’t working. Initiate offers a blend of assessments, education, team coaching and facilitation to help teams uncover and address the obstacles that are hindering team performance.

  • People learn to work together by addressing the skills, emotions and motivations of one another. They clear obstacles, build relationships and create shared development goals and accountability.

  • “Joanie took the time to get to know us and adjusted her style to make sure her message reached each of us in an effective way. She is a person with integrity and strong values who truly understood the DNA of our company as well as our needs. She advised us but also allowed us to have a personal and team journey in a way that fit our style. Joanie challenged our ways of working; she served as an advisor and a sounding board to all of us. We truly became a stronger team.”
    - General Manager, Americas, Global Technology Company

    “As the executive sponsor of a development initiative, I retained Joanie to foster a more positive team environment among our SVP level executives. This assignment was a combination of individual coaching and group team building. Her work in both areas was outstanding. She used creative half and full day sessions that had the team go from a group of individuals pulling in different directions to a team that communicated and worked together to achieve corporate goals. They also learned to support each other's individual growth. Joanie showed the team how to get along professionally; how to disagree productively, come to a conclusion and march toward the same goal.”
    - Steve Schwartz, (former) Executive Vice President, Intersections, Inc.

    “We were looking for a resource to help us conduct 360s for our executive team as well as lead us through an exploration on what works well and what could be improved within our C-level dynamic. Joanie was able to help us identify items and lead us through a discovery process to both be aware of them and to address them. As a group, we were able to openly discuss our challenges and collective thoughts on what we could be doing better. We are more aware about how we could be working more efficiently and productively together.”

    - CEO, high-technology company (Forbes “America's Most Promising Companies”)

Leadership Programs

Your organization is constantly evolving. How do you empower leaders at all levels to adapt and lead well?

  • When leadership priorities are established, clear and demonstrated at the top, people at all levels throughout the organization can lead. Initiate’s Leadership Programs are group learning experiences that build leadership skills and awareness while creating relationships and accountability across an organization.

  • Companies see deeper, more sustained behavior changes from Leadership Programs than from leadership “training.” They develop an intentional leadership culture that aligns with strategic goals, and then layer that culture throughout the organization.

  • As individuals learn about leadership, they also learn about themselves and each other. Bonds are formed and cross-organizational collaboration is strengthened.

  • “The program exceeded my expectations. One of the things that surprised us was that by selecting partners to participate from different offices how closely bonded they became. That’s had a tremendous residual affect for our firm. Many of the participants have told me the program has not only been career altering but that it’s been life altering, and that’s been readily apparent. Some of them have completely different attitudes and different levels of self-esteem – it’s been fantastic to watch.”
    - Joel Cooperman, Executive Chairman, Citrin Cooperman

    “It was the best learning experience of my life.”
    - Partner, Top 25 Public Accounting Firm