In the fifth instalment of our Women Empowerment Series, I wanted to introduce you to Lynn Fisher, Founder of Aspire and Executive Coach. I encountered Lynn’s coaching practice through my Royal Roads University MBA mentee Cheryl-Lee Cosgrove. Lynn came into my life when I was both ready for coaching and needed a coach. We started our engagement in January of this year, and she helped me work through career considerations and how to reframe my wins. While many executive coaches are highly qualified and exceptional at what they do, Lynn had the right personality and approach that I needed in my leadership toolbox. I will admit I needed to be ready for the support of an executive coach. Unfortunately for those other executive coaches, I missed out on the excellent work that executive coaches in my past were willing and able to offer. I am sharing Lynn’s Power of & Questions to help you learn about Lynn and her approach. If you are interested in an Executive Coach, I recommend scheduling a consult with Lynn to see if the pairing is right for you; you won’t be disappointed in meeting her. Check out my blog post on “Your Personal Support System: Coaches” to know more about how coached like Lynn can be part of your career support system.
1. What are you most passionate about?
I love partnering with individuals to help them get clarity on their next steps to achieving their idea of success. I most often find that individuals feel stuck simply because they lack clarity. Without this clarity, they lack direction and hence don’t know which actions to take. Clarity also often brings about confidence to move them to take further action. I love being part of this process – meeting people when they are most overwhelmed or stuck in the messy unknown and helping them design their ideal future, then creating a process around this clear vision so that they can take charge of their “luck” and thrive both at work and at home.
2. Who is your greatest role model?
I really don’t have a single role model. In general, I have great admiration for individuals who:
- have the courage to stand out from the rest;
- have the courage to be in a leadership position to make a positive difference for those in the workplace;
- have the strength, determination and persistence to follow through with their dreams and aspirations;
- earn their place in roles they never believed possible;
- break through their own perceived limitations;
- have the courage to take action towards their desired future;
- face adversity and challenges with grace and poise;
- push through when the going gets tough;
- know what they want and go for it.
3. What is your greatest accomplishment in your career trajectory?
Taking the leap from a teaching career to going back to university to become an Executive Coach and building my own business. I am most proud of taking charge of my future by making such a drastic career and lifestyle change in order to live more aligned with my priorities and values. I never dreamed of having the courage to do such a thing. A massive transformation and shift in mindset had to occur for me to take that leap of faith. It was an extremely humbling and emotional process.
4. What would you say is your leadership approach?
I blend the participative and servant leadership approaches. I think this is a result of my teaching days. I love to see others succeed! Just as I did with my students, I see where each individual is in their development, and together we create goals around their vision for their future and figure out an action plan to help them achieve it. As a leader, I then stand back and support their growth.
5. What advice would you give a new or emerging leader who is building their career
- You won’t know what’s possible for yourself until you immerse yourself in a world that inspires you. Go out of your way to find that place and the people that will spark your imagination around your career aspiration.
- Create a clear idea of what type of leader you want to be. Think about the leaders you admire. What makes them a good leader? What do you appreciate most about their leadership? How do they make you feel? How do you want to be perceived – and what actions/habits will it take to make that vision a reality? Which of your strengths will you lean on to help you in your leadership role?
- Go out and grow your network. Mingle with different social circles. Each will help broaden your perspective.
- You don’t have to wait to have a leadership title to start behaving like one. Start honing your leadership skills before stepping into a leadership role. When that next promotion opportunity comes up, assume that all candidates will be equally highly technically qualified. Your soft skills are what will help you stand out from the rest.
- Find opportunities to practice your leadership skills. Join a committee at work, volunteer on a Board of Directors, ask to take on increasingly difficult projects. Put yourself in situations that will allow you to expand on and demonstrate your skills. Don’t sit back and wait for opportunities to come to you.
- Surround yourself with individuals who will support you in your pursuit of greatness and who will celebrate your achievements with you.
- Limit your contact with individuals who make you feel less than great.
- Read leadership books and listen to podcasts that discuss various leadership topics.
- Find a mentor who has been through the journey before you within the industry.
- Find a sponsor who will speak up for you within the organization.
Let’s talk about Aspire, your Executive Coaching Practice
6a. You as an Executive/Leadership Coach
High potential individuals are often thrust into leadership positions based on their technical ability, with little to no training or the support they need to nurture their growth as a leader. I feel like I am the resource I wish I had access to before becoming a coach. I take a holistic approach when I partner with my coachees to help them focus their energy on habits that matter most so that they can confidently and effectively step into their leadership role, while supporting a work/life balance that works for them.
6b. What made you decide to become a coach?
It’s very much been inspired by a sequence of events – a real evolution of my life experiences, leaning into my values and allowing myself to dream bigger.
A few years ago, I needed a change but wasn’t sure where to turn. I consulted with a career coach. The question that resonated the most from that experience was “Forget the job titles! What do you want your days to look like?” I couldn’t answer my coach’s question. For my entire career I had been on autopilot. I sort of “backed” into teaching having come from a remote town in Northern Ontario, where at the time, women very much worked the stereotypical female-held jobs, such as nurses, teachers, administrative assistants. I didn’t know there was a whole other world out there until I left for the “big city” and figured out that I was able to carve out a career path that was more aligned to my personality and values. Finally, all my life experiences, values, strengths started meshing to shape me into the coach I am. I also now get to witness similar amazing transformations in my coachees.
6c. You run your company focused on leadership coaching, what brings you joy in being a coach?
My work allows me to be surrounded by so many individuals I have great admiration for. It’s such a fun and wild ride to get to have such a close-up look at many amazing journeys. It’s incredibly inspiring to be in the presence of my amazing coachees every day!
6d. You support leaders in growing, but what do you do to continue to grow yourself?
I would say I spend as much time learning and growing my skills as I do coaching. I have a tremendous network of coaches I meet with regularly to share insights and discuss various coaching-related topics. I take many different classes and courses to constantly improve my skills. But I find I learn the most from my coachees. Through their experiences, I get a good pulse on what trends are currently shaping the workplace and how it affects leaders’ well-being and habits. I am also a sucker for a good business or self-help book – I always have a couple on the go.
7a. What does an Executive Coach work on with leaders?
In general, an Executive Coach helps leaders with their so-called “soft skills”, though the type of soft skill varies depending on the leader’s rank – and which stage they are at in their lives. It also depends on their team’s current perceived needs.
For example, an individual in their first leadership role tends to struggle most with shifting from a do-er to leader. While mid-level leaders have been successful leading teams for a while, which is why they were promoted to a higher-level of leadership role, though they often adapted to their leadership role by settling into some habits that limit further career advancement. Most senior leaders on the other hand tend to more heavily focus on succession planning, ensuring their teams or organizations are in a solid state that will become their legacy.
I tend to work with the more novice to mid-level leaders. I love the idea of setting them up for leadership success right out of the gate so that they can continue to thrive throughout their long leadership journey ahead.
7b. Who can benefit from an Executive Coach?
Everyone can benefit from an Executive Coach. Unfortunately, few actually do either because they don’t see how it could apply to them or because they don’t have the resources/access through their employer to pay to work with one.
I also don’t think we, as executive coaches, do a very good job at using plain language to explain what we do, and how it directly translates into concrete results, so it’s often seen as something that is “nice to have”, a luxury reserved for C-suite individuals. Though this may have been the case in the past, there is very much a shift in trying to shape leaders earlier in their journeys.
For example, individuals tend to reach out to me when they are completely overwhelmed by:
- little to no progress being made on initiatives;
- high staff turn-over on their team;
- getting passed up for promotions;
- time management;
- performance management issues;
- communicating/advocating for themselves with upper management;
- communicating/advocating for themselves with upper management;
- holding others/themselves accountable.
If an individual was hesitant to experience coaching, I would suggest they “dip their toe” by trying out a few sessions. I know post-secondary institutions are always looking for coachees for their graduate Executive Coaching program evaluations. You can also reach out to your local International Coaching Federation chapter. There are many new and experienced coaches looking to help individuals and gain coaching hours to achieve various certification levels. I would also recommend speaking with and getting to know different coaches, as you will get best results by partnering with a coach you click with, that uses an approach that appeals to you.
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