People leave… but not who you think

I was talking with my team this week about my past job experiences as well as theirs, and what caused them to leave their last jobs. I was curious because I was thinking about what led me to my coaching work (whatever that may be - individual, family, or parent).

Most of our conversations boiled down to one sentiment: people leave people - not the organization.

Personally, I left my job years ago because I could not deal with the stagnation and the politics.

My employees have shared similar sentiments - one of my team members spoke about her experience working a sales job right out of college. She loved her colleagues and had a lot of fun networking and doing all the things that come with sales jobs, but her manager really rubbed her the wrong way. Her manager was nitpicky, unclear about her expectations of the team, and constantly blamed the group for her oversights. After about a year, she quit, and was devastated to leave her team - but she was so fed up with the management and the company's response that as soon as she secured another job, she left.

It made me realize how much this mindset applies to coaching too. People don’t leave coaching - they leave coaches.

I’ve lost count of how many clients have told me they were hesitant to try coaching again because they had a terrible experience with a previous coach, and it made them wary about trying again. I am proud to say I have been able to shift many views and show them that coaching isn’t something to be feared. It’s bad coaches that are the problem.

Knowing that people don’t leave companies/coaching they leave people has made me think about my values, both as an employer and as a coach. The value I hold closest to my heart is the value of care.

I care about my clients.

I care about my employees.

And I care about the things I produce.

My care is my priority - because I know that when my clients, employees, and collaborators feel my care, it changes everything. I’ve had speaking events where I went in and they were hesitant to pay me - but after seeing how much I care and the effort I put in, they paid me more than I negotiated for. I’ve had employees who were nervous to contract with me because they were uncertain about my supervision in a remote setting - only for them to come to me a month later wanting to sign on for full-time work because they felt supported by me. I offer free consultations for a reason! When potential clients feel my care, they’re much more open to signing up for my coaching services.

Care is the core of what I do. And I feel so blessed to share that with you all.

If you know someone who needs a little more care in their life, send them my way - you never know what a little extra care could do.