Amplify Your Impact Through Leadership Coaching

Lauren Francis: Hello, everyone from Mulberry Talent Partners. My name is Lauren Francis. I’m the CEO of Mulberry Talent Partners. And this is Kristen McConnell. She’s our COO. We are joined by Julie Kearney of  Acuity Consultants. Julie has been an HR leader for many years, and we originally met when you were leading one of the organizations that you’ve led in Portland for many years. And we worked as a staffing partner alongside you and your team. And so we’ve been doing that for quite a few years. And then, what year did you open up Acuity?  

Julie Kearney: Yeah, 2000, right before COVID. 

Lauren Francis: So Julie is one of our Partners We Love on our website. We have an area for our partners that we really value, and Julie is one of those. We have her listed and we also have lots of partners for candidates as well, so that is, that is a little bit about Partners We Love. 

We actually brought Julie into Mulberry to help us with some leadership consulting. And it’s been incredibly valuable to us and made such a difference that we thought it would be very valuable to have Julie on our podcast to talk a little bit about what she does and the impact that she has on leaders and organizations. Julie, if you could speak a little bit about your organization, Acuity, then we can get into the topic of your work. 

Julie Kearney: Yeah, thank you, Lauren and Kristen. I’m excited to be here and have loved working with both of you. It’s just been a lot of fun.

So, I’m Julie Kearney with Acuity Consultants. I do both leadership consulting and leadership coaching, and I’ve had the opportunity to do both with Mulberry, which has been great. It’s just a really nice blending of both for me and so I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m honored to be one of your partners.

I spent, I don’t know, 20-plus years in the HR world, and that is where I got to know Lauren and Mulberry. And, after about 20-plus years of doing this thing, I decided I wanted to do something where I felt like I was making such a significant impact, and that was around leadership coaching and consulting. Because when I thought about what I love to do best was when I was coaching others, or working on a specific consulting arrangement.

I started, like I said, in 2000, right before Covid, and it was actually a gift because, as we all know, when we went through COVID, nobody knew how to handle this very different thing that was happening in the world, and a lot of people needed coaching.

That gave me a lot of experience right away. I have hundreds and hundreds of hours of leadership coaching experience. I am certified as a Gallup Strengths Coach and with the  International Coaching Federation. ICF is the gold standard for leadership coaching worldwide. I’m honored to be one of the coaches with ICF. They have a specific standard that you have to go through. It’s almost like a, I would call it an MBA course that you have to go through. There’s lots of testing. So that certification took, a bit of time and I’m happy to have that, as a part of my credentials.

Kristen McConnell: Will you be talking about the difference between what a leadership consultant is versus a leadership coach? 

Julie Kearney: Yeah. Yeah. And thanks, Kristen. So first, why don’t I talk about coaching?

Leadership coaching and coaching overall are really looking forward. So one of the first things that I will do is work together to find out what your coaching goals are. And those are always future-focused, right? And then, we will work together to refine that overarching coaching goal.

As we work through our process together, which is usually six to 12 months, my coaching arrangements will always hold the overarching coaching goal we’ve decided on. I will work to ensure that we’re working together to get that. 

Lauren Francis: When we were talking about speaking with you, you mentioned that 70 percent of the people you coach and consult are women.

Julie Kearney: Yeah. If we talk about coaching again, about 70 percent of my clients are women. I’ve done a lot of research on the challenges that we face in the work world and in the world overall.

So, I faced those and brought those, as well. From the beginning, one of the reasons I became a coach was that during my twenty-plus years in the work world, I moved up really quickly. I went from a director to a VP and then an EVP, all within a couple of years. 

And those big jumps—I was not prepared for those. What got me to be a director and successful as a director in HR was not getting me where I needed to be as an executive vice president. So I had a coach. The company that I worked for was generous enough to give me that opportunity, and it literally transformed my experience as a leader.

Of course, I went through some assessment processes, and that gave me the idea that so many times, we don’t know how we show up. So that was reflected back at me. It wasn’t easy, but with the help of that coach and some of my own development work, I became a different leader.

That experience alone made me realize, wow, this is a transformational process. And I want to be a part of that. I want to help leaders, women, men, and anyone through that process because it was such a gift to me. And I want to give that gift to others as well.   

Lauren Francis: Now, you have an open mindset and a learning mindset, so that’s very helpful. You embraced the process, as difficult as it was at times, and you came out of that feeling transformed, as you mentioned. Can it work with people who may not be as receptive? 

Julie Kearney: Yeah, it’s a great question.

So, I might’ve made it sound easy. It was not.  I had a very fixed mindset when I went through the process, so much so that I almost gave up because the reflection was not positive. 

I think that the journey of realizing that this feedback is actually a gift is worth it. It’s not something to punish me with, right? Because I think that’s initially how I might have taken it. I did take it that way. And so I think that my own experience helped me realize when people are there because I recognize it. I’m like, oh, I know what that feels like.

And some of my own development work was around Carol Dweck’s amazing work on growth mindset. I had never thought about, Oh, maybe it’s just how I’m thinking about this. It’s not necessarily the situation. How can I transform that? And so I think it’s important for people to be able to take what this feedback is and learn from it instead of seeing it as a mistake and a failure. And there are lots of different areas where people have a growth mindset, and then they might have a fixed mindset in another area, right?

Part of the work that we do together is to understand what’s holding people back from being successful.

Kristen McConnell: And would you say it is more common for an organization to come to you, Julie, and say, Hey, we have a new leader, and we’re recognizing that there’s an opportunity for some coaching here?

Or is it more often that a person like yourself reaches out directly and then gets the buy-in from their employer after the fact? How does that come together?  

Julie Kearney: Yeah, that’s a great question. One of the things that I appreciate about all of my clients is that they and their companies have a growth and developmental mindset.

They don’t see coaching as, okay, we got to send this person to coaching as this last ditch effort to save them. That’s not how my clients see coaching. And when I say my clients, I’m saying the people that I coach as well as what I say their stakeholders are. 

So, to answer your question, Kristen, all of my clients throughout my coaching career, except for one, have been sponsored by a company. Some companies have a developmental program where every employee is given $2,500 a year to do whatever they want with their developmental needs. Perhaps they might choose coaching as that, or they might go to a conference or whatever.

Some of my clients are in that area. A lot of my clients, though, are companies that believe in coaching. They believe that it is transformative. They’ve had their own experiences, as I have, and they’re willing to invest in their leaders in that way. Most of my clients are leaders, whether they are executive leaders or on a senior leadership team because the company is investing in them and their leadership growth.

Lauren Francis: Are there some situations where people are in a position where they really need the coaching, yet they come kicking and screaming to the process?

Julie Kearney:  It’s a good question. Part of that is that coaching is a chemistry match, right? You know, Lauren, when you and I worked together there, we enjoyed working together. We trusted each other, and that is a part of the relationship. I do want to work with clients who see this as a developmental opportunity, not as a punishment.

So as I think about that question, yeah, I might have had some people who weren’t sure about the value of coaching. But, you know, within a couple of sessions, they’re like, I have never thought about some of the things from our discussions.

I’m an infinitely curious person. Humans fascinate me, and so I come into coaching trying to understand this person’s experience. By doing that, I think I asked questions without judgment—with pure curiosity and trying to learn and understand. And by asking some of those questions, we learned together. 

We learned together what perhaps is either standing in their way or what will make them an even better leader.   

Lauren Francis: Both Kristen and I have an open mindset, and at the same time, we have blind spots. What helped us when we were working with you is that it would help us to see the blind spots and to recognize what those were. Having an open mindset, oftentimes you just think, I’m out of the woods. I’m good. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re free of challenges. I mean, we’re human, right? And you mentioned that, and it’s important, but it really helps us to see parts of ourselves that could be getting in the way of the right relationship or the company or how we’re moving forward, or in some cases stalled. 

Julie Kearney: Yeah, and that’s where I think it’s so interesting: What is stalling? Where are we stuck? That is where I get really interested. So yeah, I think we all have fixed mindsets in some ways. It’s something that I think I will work on my entire life.

Where am I in a fixed mindset? Now, as I said, I’m certified as a leadership coach with the ICF and working on my certification for team coaching. Team coaching is a different level of coaching because you’re not just coaching one-on-one; you’re now coaching an entire group of people who are trying to accomplish a certain goal.

We all have our behaviors that we’re showing up with, right? It’s infinitely more complicated.  That’s also something that I do as well.  There are things like 360 assessments and CliftonStrengths assessments, which help so we can understand each other while we’re working together in this team because we’re all unique, and we’re going to show up differently. And we’re going to show up differently when things are working well and when things are very stressful. And so things are getting in the way. As a team coach we start dissecting and learning about that and how to work together better.  

Lauren Francis: We worked with or were introduced to a company a few years ago. They engage with organizations and offer counseling related to work to their employees. It’s very similar. There is a crossover, obviously, between personal and professional, and they do align in many ways.

So, I was thinking about, in a way, it’s like having a coach for the employees. Aren’t there roles within organizations where they actually have a employed coach?  

Julie Kearney: Yeah, absolutely. Two of the coaches in the cohort that I’m working with for my ICF certification are from Amazon. When I was certified for individual coaching, there were coaches from Nike. So yes.

Lauren Francis: When did the idea of coaching actually start to take root in our society and organizations? Some people see it as a new thing, but it’s not.

Julie Kearney: You’re right, Lauren. It isn’t so new. I think it started gaining steam about 20 years ago, but prior to that, it was not very common. I think part of it is that as we learned about leadership and other dynamics, we realized there are people who understand this and need to professionalize what this looks like. ICF has been around for 50-odd years, but yes, you’re right. Over the last 20 years, it’s really gained steam. So it’s not new.  

Kristen McConnell: With the team coaching versus the one on one coaching is it the same number of sessions? Is it a different model? How does that typically play out?

Julie Kearney: Yeah, that’s a great question. There are some things that are very similar about team coaching and individual coaching. First of all, I almost always use an assessment, right? There’s an individual one-on-one assessment and a team assessment. I do those because they give me data. It gives the team data. I’m a data person. I love data. I’m a little bit of a geek about that. So that gives me a lot of information, which I can then use to support, whether it’s one-on-one or team coaching. So that is very similar.

When I meet with an individual, we come together on what the overarching coaching goals are, right? We talked about that. We do the same with team coaching. So we’re trying to understand what is the goal, what the team is trying to achieve, and how are we behaving with each other. We call them team agreements. How are we behaving with each other? Because as you know, most often, it’s not the work that gets in the way. The work is sometimes easier than the behaviors. Our behaviors oftentimes get in our way. Understanding how to navigate that as a team is one of the first steps that we take.  

Both of my engagements are usually 6 to 12 months. If we do less than six months, it feels like I’m just scratching the surface. Six is always good, but it usually runs to around 12, depending. And that’s been consistent for me and my clients.    

Kristen McConnell: And when do you come? When do you get the call?  Are the wheels falling off for that? Or do we have a very forward-thinking leader who says, “Hey, we know we have this new, developing, emerging leader in our organization.” When do you typically get that call in?

Julie Kearney: Yeah. Often, I do get the call when someone is promoted into a role, just like I was, from a director to a senior director, and they need to up a level. There are times when a new leader comes into an organization, and that’s sometimes when I’m brought in because part of it is that it’s hard to adjust to a new culture, right? There’s some work that can be done there to acclimate them quickly to the culture, particularly with clients that I know well. 

With team coaching, I never get brought in when the team is doing great. I mean, and why would I? I’m being brought in as a team coach because something is not working. And to me, that is where I get my juice from. What’s not working? Why is it not working? What’s standing in our way? What would be different? How could it be different if we change things?

And that’s often how we approach each other as the team. When I get called in for team coaching, I know that things are going to be rough. A team going from where they’re not working together, they’re doing the side eyes to actually engaging and working and wanting to work together.

That, for me, is why I do what I do. To see that happen.  

Kristen McConnell: Hats off to those leaders who know that they should be forward-thinking as they help develop their employees and move them into those new roles. They should not wait and see how it goes, but instead, just make sure that they’re really set up for success. I’d be curious to know if there’s been any commonality that you have found. Is it usually people who have maybe gone through this themselves that can recognize the value of that? How does that come to be? 

Julie Kearney: I love that question! It is very interesting and curious. Yeah, the clients that I’m working with understand the value of coaching, whether it’s because they have had it themselves or they have a very smart and emotionally intelligent leader, whether it’s the CEO, the chief people officer, or an amazing learning and development leader.

Oftentimes it’s even a senior operations person who’s had coaching and comes into an organization and says, “Okay, we need to bring coaching in because this is something that our organization values.”  So, some of it is their own experience, but oftentimes it is because they realize the value.

You know, you can read almost any Harvard Business Review about leadership coaching, and they share its transformative effects. People are realizing that, and so they fund it.

You asked a great question earlier about consulting, and I haven’t answered that yet. My consulting business is different from coaching in that I’m literally wearing a consultant hat. I am taking all of my experience as a senior executive and a senior people leader and applying it to clients who need help. 

For things like talent management, you’ve probably heard of nine box or a vitality curve. It’s the same thing. Performance management can be that. It could be a talent management process that helps develop people. Creating succession planning, creating growth and development plans. My leadership consulting is all around development, but it’s connected to the experience that I had before, which is leading a team.

Lauren Francis: That makes sense. It’s fascinating. It really is. I’ve learned so much. Is there anything else you want to share about your practice or anything else that you think people need to know?

Julie Kearney: Yeah. A couple of things. I became a Gallup Strengths Coach because I was introduced to strengths while I was a leader of people. Why I chose that is because I believe we all are unique and we all bring gifts to the table. I’ll use an example. I’m a high achiever. In the Gallup Strengths, Achiever is one of my top five. I was known for getting stuff done and getting it done quickly, taking on a lot, having lots of energy, executing well, all of that. Well, there’s a flip side to it. Sometimes, work became more important than people. Sometimes I pushed my team too hard. Sometimes I didn’t take a break.  And so I was burnt out a lot of the time. 

What I love about Strengths is what we bring, which is so powerful, and recognizing that each one comes with a little bit of its own challenge. Once you understand that, I could say, okay, work is not more important than people. I do really love people.

I’m reflecting on something that actually is not really true to me. How can I fix that? How can I think about it differently? How can I use some of my other strengths to send the achiever into the backseat for a little while so that I can take care of myself and others while we’re working together? I instinctively believe in strengths and that we all truly want to do a great job.

We’re resourceful people, and we’re creative. Part of that is unpacking what that is that’s holding us down from being that and from showing up that way.  

Lauren Francis: Wow. I love what you just said. One of the things I love about working with you, too, is that you have a very neutral style, meaning it’s not aggressive or judgmental. You feel seen and my behavior or my attitude towards something is not judged. It’s handled in a way where it helps me see what I am not seeing, and I then can reflect and think about it. That, I think is one of the keys to your coaching success from my point of view. It looks like Kristen agrees as well.

Because it keeps the conversation going and alive, and it helps us want to be better and want to improve. It was so funny when we were having a good session for the prep session; we were like, “This is a hard lesson! I’m tired of learning these lessons.”

It does get easier, but it was so funny because it’s true. We just sort of, “Oh, here we go again. I thought I was at the finish line.”

Julie Kearney: Fully cooked is what I call it. You’re not fully cooked. It turns out we’re never fully cooked. 

Thank you, Lauren. That was very sweet. And I do feel the same. I feel this way actually for all my clients! Because there are amazing things about you, Lauren. There are amazing things about you, Kristen. And that’s part of having those come to the surface rather than some other things that we would like, like me putting work before people. I didn’t want to do that. And I didn’t realize that I was. Once I realized it, I was able to do something different about it.  

Lauren Francis: That’s great. Julie, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been a fascinating conversation. I know it will have an impact on those that listen. We really appreciate your time and we also appreciate the work you do with us. 

Julie Kearney: My honor. And I’m lucky to work with both of you. It’s been great.  

Kristen McConnell: We’re happy to introduce you to Julie for anyone listening and to make the connection with Julie if it can benefit your organization.

Julie Kearney: I love that. All right. Thank you both