Leadership Coaching
With Babs Kelly
Being courageous is what moves us from getting life done as though it is a bullet point on a to-do list to meeting each moment with the attention it deserves. Honest and generous attention.
When we are courageous, we create healthy environments in which we and the people around us are invited in and given space to show up with the best of human qualities such as curiosity, kindness, compassion, creativity, generosity, inventiveness, honesty, respect, wisdom, and even more courage. We show up with commitment to a purpose that is bigger than ourselves. We show up for the success of others and the impact of the organization.
Being courageous at work humanizes our conversations, decisions, and actions as well as our skills and practices such as strategic planning, business and service initiatives, change management, and leading and supporting people. When we are courageous, the work we do is more enriching and effective for everyone — for us, the people we work with, and the communities we serve.
This project is for courageous leaders. Courageous leaders who are taking the first steps on their leadership journey, courageous leaders who are exploring and transitioning to what is next, and courageous leaders who are looking back on a long road and want to keep going.
My whole-person coaching method is about discovering or reconnecting with what is important to you and how you want to show up in the world.
Whether you are thinking about preparing for your next position, retirement, or big changes at work for yourself or for the team, you don't have to do it alone, I am here for you.
Join me in one-on-one sessions where we will get curious about your priorities, values, goals, needs, wants, and the next steps on your leadership journey.
My coaching expertise includes:
Just for You sessions are via the Courageous Leaders Project Zoom account.
I coach leadership teams that want to make a difference with why and how they do their work. If your team is ready to go big and beautiful (and really isn't this why we get up in the morning?), then let's talk.
My team coaching expertise includes:
Team Coaching sessions are hosted as in-person gatherings or retreats with optional check-ins via the Courageous Leaders Project Zoom account.
How a board works together and works with the CEO or executive director (ED) sets the culture for and shapes the success of not-for-profits, community-based organizations, and public libraries.
This is too important to leave to chance.
My board coaching expertise includes:
Board Coaching sessions are hosted as in-person gatherings or retreats.
Individual board chair coaching sessions are available via the Courageous Leaders Project Zoom account.
Imagine you and four to six of your colleagues and friends joining me, your guide and coach, in a confidential online group experience devoted to:
You set the pace and the schedule (one to ten 90 minute sessions) and I'll be there for you.
Cohort Coaching sessions are via the Courageous Leaders Project Zoom account.
Whatever it is that you, alone or with others, are ready to explore in your leadership journey, my role as a coach is to hold a safe and confidential space, to respond professionally and wisely to needs and goals, and to generously support accountability and success.
I approach my work with friendship and positive regard and have developed what I call whole person coaching. As a whole person each of us has experiences, strengths, hurts, resiliency, and beauty that we bring to our courageous leadership.
As said by the Zen monk and teacher Shunryu Suzuki,
Each of you is perfect the way you are . . . and you can use a little improvement.
Through committed study and practice, my approach to coaching is aligned with the ICF Core Competencies.
I offer a complimentary 30-minute consultation, via Zoom, to answer your questions and map out some ideas for how we might begin working together.
Ask me about the 10 session Leadership Journey coaching package!
My life includes two kind-hearted, wildly smart, and good-humoured adult sons, a beautiful and loving husband, and a variety of cats and dogs that give me daily reminders that walks, play, paying attention to the little things, and just sitting doing nothing are part of the good life.
Some of my details include that I have been a successful public sector senior manager and not-for-profit executive director. I have an MLIS and an MBA. The MLIS makes me a librarian and information seeker — I can't help but seek out, make sense of, and share information relevant to my work. The MBA experience honed my skills and smarts for forging creative and innovative paths for healthy, wise, and successful leadership and work dynamics. In addition to coaching, I have pursued training and certification in skills and knowledge areas that bring depth and meaning to my work.
I'm always exploring and learning, and I share my thoughts on what I encounter at the weekly Courageous Leaders Project newsletter.
Brené Brown. Brené's gift of the words “strong backs, soft fronts and wild hearts” and her compendium of emotions and experiences in Atlas of the Heart re-energized my work in leadership and organizational development. Work with me, and you will most likely hear me giving a nod to Brené as I ask, “what is the story we are telling ourselves?”.
Christina Feldman. Christina's teachings at Bodhi College on recognizing patterns and the suffering they cause has led me to evaluate and better understand my own life and have provided an additional generous and kind lens for supporting leaders, teams, and organizations with their own growth.
Simon Sinek. Thanks to Simon and his The Optimism Company, my work always starts with “why?”.
Margaret Wheatley. Margaret first caught my interest in the early 2000s when a colleague recommended her work on complex problems and deep inquiry. I don't know exactly when or where I encountered her wisdom on giving preference to curiosity over certitude, but it is now one of my guiding principles.
“I'd like to have Babs sit in the corner of my office where I could turn to her anytime I
want for an uplifting chat, wise counsel, and mentorship.”
L., Public Sector CEO
“Our weekend retreat with Babs was magical. We had been through a tough time and
were struggling with trust and safety. Babs held space and guided us through the
conversations and healing in a way that was more than we could have imagined and
exactly what we needed.”
G., Executive Director and D., Board Chair, Non-profit Organization
“As a long-time city councillor, I have attended many governance workshops and retreats
and this one with Babs was by far the most enjoyable, time-worthy, and inspiring. She
has energy and calmness, knows how to read and manage the room, and expertly
facilitates ideas, participation, and respect. In my experience, this is a rare combination
and Babs is a rare being.”
M., City Councillor, Metro Vancouver
“Babs is extraordinarily skilled. My coaching sessions with her are the best investment in
my career and in my self-care.”
N., Tech Industry Executive
“Many of our board members were familiar with strategic planning at their own
organizations and were feeling a little jaded and uncertain about being part of planning
process that felt empty or performative. As well, our staff and community members were
hesitant and nervous about how they might participate and if they would feel out of
place. Working with, by, and for community is critical to how we do our work. Babs
immediately understood what that would mean for our strategic planning and worked
with us on designing an inclusive and relaxed process. Her way of holding space and
connecting people and ideas resulted in a freaking awesome gathering and strategic
plan. She's freaking awesome.”
T., Board Chair, and B., Executive Director, Non-profit Organization
“Babs doesn't tell you what to do, she asks questions and gives homework that you do
or don't do according to how committed you are to yourself. If you are ready to take
responsibility for how you show up as a leader, to reach higher and to go deeper, I
highly recommend working with her.”
L., Forestry Executive
“We knew that Babs was who we wanted to guide our retreat when she asked us how
we wanted to feel at our retreat and what difference it would make to us afterwards. The
time together felt uniquely ours and reenergized our clarity and purpose in our
teamwork. We love Babs!”
P., CEO and D., Executive Team Member, Public Sector
“She's like a fairy godmother of sparkling energy, deep wisdom, boundless warmth, and
wicked smarts. I attended a conference session that she was facilitating a few years
ago, that was different than anything I had ever experienced at a library conference.
Another library director who had dragged me to the session, just said ‘told you’. Since
then I have kept Babs close and so should you.”
B., Public Library Director
“Babs is the quiet voice I carry with me that opens up spaces for my bravery. She
validated the idea that leadership doesn't have to be at the front of the room, and that
bravery coupled with compassion is where the magic happens. In every role I embody, I
carry the courage that Babs stoked inside of me.”
T., Metro Vancouver Business and Community Leader
“My coaching sessions with Babs are the highlight of my work schedule. They are
actually fun, even when I arrive frustrated or feeling overwhelmed with work. I believe
she calls it ‘whole person’ coaching, and it really is different and more fruitful from other
coaching approaches that I have experienced. If you have an opportunity to grow and
learn professionally and personally with Babs, grab it!”
R., Public Library Director
I offer a complimentary 30-minute consultation, via Zoom, to answer your questions and map out some next steps for how we might begin working together.
