By Jonathan Palombo
Marketing ManagerIn honor of Women’s History Month, TLG is taking a new approach to our monthly Coach Spotlight. We’re highlighting a number of our female coach practitioners who are trailblazers in the leadership development industry. You’ll hear leadership wisdom and stories about the impact that our coaches have on the clients they serve.
Anne Quiello, PCC
Anne Quiello is a passionate certified executive coach and the Director of TLG’s Women in Leadership program. Anne has an extensive background in business with over twenty years of experience in operations, customer service, and organizational effectiveness. For Anne, coaching was her next chapter, and through it, she continues to bring others, particularly women, to the table.
“It wasn’t until the end of my corporate leadership career, that I was first exposed to coaching. A super-intuitive, insightful woman, who was a former Coca-Cola exec turned coach, came to support our leadership team. She created a safe and caring place where each of us could get off the hamster wheel and reflect on what was keeping us from maximizing our leadership impact and potential. I learned for the first time how valuable self-exploration and accelerated development through coaching can be. I was hooked (and still am)!”
Barb Reilly, Ph.D.
Dr. Barb Reilly has been affiliated with TLG for almost half her life. She champions the Leadership Character Model, TLG’s proprietary framework for leadership. It’s clear in Barb’s work that she has been greatly influenced by the model. She shares that it’s even become a part of her DNA.
“I’ve grown up with leadership character to the point it’s a part of my DNA and how I think about leadership. So much so, It’s like a second language to me. You might say I speak another language like German or French; I speak leadership. The specific dialect I speak is leadership character. When people say the values that are important to them as a leader like accountability, integrity, or kindness – I will immediately dissect that and place it into the Leadership Character Model. It’s the way I frame the world as people talk about leadership and how they show up as a leader. The Leadership Character Model is a grounding framework in my life.”
Nicole Harp, Ph.D.
Nicole Collier Harp, Ph.D. is a management consultant, author, and coach. Her work is grounded in curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. Dr. Harp works with her clients to unleash their full potential through a human-centered approach called Design Thinking that encourages collaborative, transparent, and iterative partnerships.
“We spend a lot of time uncovering their “why” and tapping into their motivation. Honesty is the key here. I want clients to tell themselves the truth about where they want to be and how they want to show up, so we can work together to remove barriers to change. Beyond that, I’m a creative and a scientist, and I really lean into those roles with clients. I encourage them to adopt a spirit of play and experimentation so they can relax and try new behaviors, new thoughts, and new paradigms.”
Patricia Thompson, Ph.D.
Dr. Patricia Thompson is an executive coach and organizational psychologist. Working alongside TLG since 2015, Dr. Thompson has leveraged her psychology and business backgrounds to create a dynamic blend of coaching that helps her clients succeed at work. For those seeking to become strong leaders, Dr. Thompson has an idea of where to start.
“I think a good place to start would be self-reflection and deepening your self-awareness. This helps you know the areas that you are strong in so you can learn a little more, as well as the areas in which you can grow. I think for any leader, understanding and seeing yourself as an instrument of change and understanding the levers to facilitate that change is a critical first step. I’ve found that the best leaders are more self-aware, and as a result, they have fewer blind spots that create issues or have unintended consequences. They are also better able to lean into their strengths and lead in a way that is authentic to them, but also effective. Just start with trying to know yourself as Socrates would say.”
Jennifer Torres, MCC
Why do coaches do what they do? For many coaches, it’s the joy of helping their clients succeed in life and work. For Jennifer Torres, her motivation is helping her clients discover what’s inside that leads to greater personal and professional fulfillment.
“Personal transformation and expanded leadership capacity are what coaching is really about. I love partnering with clients who are experiencing greater joy in their lives and work because they have made some internal shifts that empower them to be more effective. What clients often tell me is something along the lines of expecting they would upgrade their leadership toolkit through coaching but discover a whole new side to themselves that they had not been fully leveraging. The bottom-line impact I want for my clients is for them to realize greater joy, fulfillment, and effectiveness in their personal and professional lives.”
Vicki Abelson, ACC
Vicki Abelson is a certified professional coach and lover of developing and growing others. Her passion for people was evidenced by her career in the healthcare industry. From an early age, Vicki knew she wanted to help and support others.
“I have been passionate about working in healthcare operations since high school,” said Vicki. “I firmly believed in the impact the people behind the scenes (precept, front desk, insurance, etc.) had on the patient and family experience.”
Today, Vicki is continuing that passion through her coaching. We asked what she enjoys the most about coaching, it was difficult for Vicki to give one answer.
“There are so many wonderful things about the process of coaching. Perhaps one of my favorites is helping my clients see something from another perspective. I never tire of hearing: ‘I’ve never thought of it that way.”
Robin Mladinich, CPCC, ACC
There is no question that Robin’s true passion can be found in helping others achieve success. Robin points to the process of helping her clients receive insights about their strengths and weaknesses, and how those impact themselves and their organization. Robin is a resource to help align her client’s strengths with the organization’s goals.
“My passion is developing leaders,” said Robin. “I find it incredibly rewarding to be a partner in my client’s transformation. I embrace my role also as an accountability partner in helping them achieve success both professionally and personally.”
Cindy Cheatham
Cindy brings over 25 years of consulting and leadership coaching experience to the table. She began her coaching career at Brain & Company in 1996. Her extensive background includes eight years of consulting entrepreneurs and founders at Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) and more than a decade of consulting for nonprofit executives and board leaders.
Bob & Lyn’s Leadership Character Model has been an inspiration to Cindy’s coaching, helping her in her decision to join the firm. “For me,” said Cindy, “The Leadership Character Model that Lyn and Bob developed puts a great structure to values-based leadership and resonates with my experience working with hundreds of leaders across all sectors. I am honored to be part of helping leaders to model with integrity, respect, and responsibility.”
There are many more women of character that are a part of TLG’s team, and we want to encourage you to explore their bios. We celebrate these women and their incredible drive to change the lives of others. Is there a woman or women in your life who have elevated you or others you know?