TESTIMONIALS

“After 14 years at Starbucks, I decided to take a promotion and become CMO at Zillow. This move required me to adapt my unique skill set to a new environment, in a new industry, at a new job level with new business partners. Knowing I needed to hit the ground running, I wanted to advance through my change curve effectively and quickly. So, I went searching for a coach who had a tech, customer, business and interpersonal communication background along with demonstrated results.

Turns out I was looking for a bit of a purple unicorn; all 5 skills were very hard to find in one coach. I was able to find coaches with 3 of the 5 skills but never 5 of the 5 – until I found Lakshmi. Working with her disrupted my way of thinking and helped me to see myself in a new, more powerful way – which enabled me to be seen in a new way by others. Lakshmi helped me to have confidence in – and not shy away from, my intuition while balancing the analytical rigor required in today’s business world. She helped me see the value in, and not being scared of, bringing my whole self and all of my experiences into my work. This confidence helped me bring valuable and unique ideas to the senior leadership team because I have come from a very different background from almost everyone on the SLT.

The result is I show up, in front of Zillow’s employees and senior leaders, as a very balanced left and right brain customer experience business professional, standing in and for the customer and the business at the same time. My work with her enabled me to model, lead, coach and accomplish results I wouldn’t have been able to in the short 11 months since I’ve joined Zillow.”

-Chief Marketing Officer, Seattle

“Leading a large infrastructure organization though rapid growth and with a mix of wonderful leaders from different industries, I sought external expertise on leading a transformation shift in culture. We engaged Lakshmi to design and lead workshops, based on Dr. Brené Brown’s curriculum, Dare To Lead, focused towards driving cultural transformation for my organization. She started with a series of workshops for my leadership team and looking at the value delivered, we have further expanded the effort globally to other leaders deeper in the organization.

I was impressed with Lakshmi’s ability to quickly understand our business, organizational challenges, and establish trust with my leadership team. The team gained critical insights and took some practical tools that are already having a positive leadership impact on everyday operations. Lakshmi is instrumental in driving change at a rapid pace in a large organization and wonderful in how she coaches and challenges.

Lakshmi is especially astute in connecting dots, observing cultural traits and behaviors, and constructively coaching senior leadership towards positive outcomes. Our journey has only started, and expectations are high. I would highly recommend her to any organizational leader driving change,”

-CVP, Cloud Operations and Innovation, Seattle

“Lakshmi has been a game-changing force for me and I strongly recommend her professional coaching program. We didn’t focus on the “blocking and tackling” — instead we went for the big picture forces at work swirling around every major challenge in the workplace. Lakshmi helped me learn how to recognize the perspectives, the goals, and the fears that drive behavior. Combined with the deep effort to recognize and leverage my own “super-power”, the world is now very different to me. My leadership, courage, and calm confidence are now well grounded in an entirely new level.”

-EVP Engineering and Operations, Seattle

“Coaching with Lakshmi was a great experience for me. I could never forget it. The tools she uses, the focus she puts in every session, together with her ability to understand human being inner psychology and triggers, make the outcome outstanding. But what most important she will drive you towards a deeper self knowledge and how to transform your weakness in strengths. I would recommend coaching with her to anyone who is looking for a deeper self awareness and who is willing to step up to the next level.”

-Category Leader, Rome, Italy

“As an Engineering-focused individual and a bit of a Type-A personality, I initially approached the coaching relationship with some skepticism. I didn’t need to. Lakshmi draws from her broad experience of being on the frontlines, as well as that of working with and supporting senior leaders — I believe that gives her an edge that very few coaches have. As an Engineering Leader and individual, I have benefited immensely from the frameworks and tools that she had developed and coached me to utilize. She helped me understand my blind spots, excel in critical conversations, be empathetic and have focus. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her. I not only highly, highly recommend her but hope to work with her again in the future, very soon.”

-Head of Engineering, tech startup, Seattle

“I worked with Lakshmi for over a year and the impact of our session together went far beyond my expectations. The experience was transformational not just for my professional career but also my personal life outside of the office.

Right from our first session she disrupted my long established paradigms and challenged me to start thinking and acting in different ways. Lakshmi took the time to understand what I wanted to get out of our sessions and my learning style so that she could tailor her coaching and the resources that we used. Out of every session we defined clear actions that supported my development plan, and she held me accountable to executing on these.

Lakshmi is passionate, insightful, positive, supportive but also challenges you to step outside of your comfort zone, which is where the real learning takes place. This has absolutely the best professional development experience of my career to date, and I would highly recommend Lakshmi to anyone looking for a leadership coach to help them transform their mindset and approach.”

-Director, Asia Region, Singapore

“I had the privilege of working with Lakshmi through multiple rounds of coaching – I thrive on data and results and that’s what I got from working with Lakshmi. Over the course of our time together we utilized a competency based 360 degree profile tool that led to 2 years of sustained growth across 29 proven measures of Leadership Effectiveness. Those results are a powerful testament of what’s possible through committed and focused engagement with Lakshmi.

Reflecting back on the time with her as my coach these words come to mind: growth and opportunity. I value Lakshmi’s transparency and empathy, she is very committed and intentional, and although we had a plan – Lakshmi adapted that plan to accommodate what was going on with me at the time. Lakshmi’s passion is obvious and came through in our work together and the personal stories she shared with me. Working together we determined which tools would be the best fit, leveraged them to identify my superpowers and kryptonite and put a plan in place to let the former flourish while managing the latter. In addition to our work together, I brought Lakshmi into sessions with my team and have since recommended her to others.

I can point to a handful of relationships that have had a material and positive impact on me both personally and professionally – my relationship with Lakshmi is definitely one of them. Our work together was a shot in the arm that propelled me into growth mode and helped me find new opportunities, inside and out. I am sure we will work together again and look forward to it.”

-Editor-in-Chief, Seattle

“Working with Lakshmi over the past 8 months was both a life and career changing experience. I originally sought an Executive Coach for the purpose of scaling my leadership; developing a tool kit that would allow me to grow from managing a team to leading an organization. After each session with Lakshmi, I felt as though I had developed a much deeper understanding of my own values and drivers, but had also gained tangible tools that I could apply as soon as I got back to work. Over the course of our time together I was able to craft an authentic and inspiring leadership narrative that gave me the confidence and skills I needed to take my career to the next level. Lakshmi is a fantastic coach and an even better person, I look forward to having the opportunity to work together in the future.”

-VP Strategy and Innovation, Seattle

“Put simply, Lakshmi’s impact has been enormous. She provides a very structured approach to identifying areas of growth and subsequent steps to address and improve, balancing self-reflective learning with prescriptive guidance/mentoring. I am an expat, working overseas, and her coaching and insight provided phenomenal value in the context of a multi-national business and personnel environment. She has easily provided the most thought-provoking, engaging, and productive approach of all executive coaches I have used.”

-Business Executive, Hong Kong

“Her extensive background and direct executive experience in complex corporate cultures has illuminated for me in a new way the political landscapes—watch-outs and opportunities—that those in business will often confront, but may be confounded by how to navigate. She brings a unique combination of empathy and no-nonsense to her work with her clients, enabling her to understand and guide them through difficult work, while not compromising the fact that true progress often requires being willing to dig deep and be uncomfortable. She provides outstanding guidance, support and insights for your journey as a leader.”

-VP Retail, Seattle

“What a difference I have seen and felt in such a short period of time. I was at a place where I wasn’t sure I had made the right career decisions, I was feeling overwhelmed and unsure of my goals. I didn’t feel I had a connection of value to peers, mentors, or leadership. I was being asked what I wanted and where I wanted to take my executive career, and I couldn’t respond. I can’t believe the difference your guidance and tools have made, and your ability to help me to look inward and listen to my voice. It was there and speaking to me but I couldn’t hear it because of all the noise. You have provided me with the infrastructure to surround myself with the energy, tools and techniques to put a plan into action that maximizes the opportunities around me, and to go find them when they are not clearly present. I genuinely thank you for your efforts, compassion, insights and most of all your deep connection that helped me realize my own power. From our work together I plan to continue designing my path, working my commitments and achieving a sustained pattern of change.”

-Sales Leader, New York

“Most impressive is that she’s truly invested in my success. She brings passion and empathy to the table, but constructs client relationships with a sense of humor so she can still push you every time you need it. Hiring her is simply one of the smartest things I have ever done.”

-Account Executive, San Francisco

“I worked closely with Lakshmi to improve my skills as a manager and a leader. Her thoughtful, impactful and always practical advice has helped me immeasurably improve as a business leader despite the relatively short time we worked with each other. A wealth of experience about business, people and leadership mark Lakshmi out as a highly effective and impactful business coach. She provides information in a practical, digestable and useable form, drawing from her immense subject matter expertise. The impact her coaching has had on me is profound and I would love to work with her again in the future.”

-Customer Services Executive, London

“My team was used to looking to me for answers—and as my responsibilities increased, scaling became a huge challenge. I knew we ALL needed to step up, but did not have the time to figure out how. That’s where Lakshmi came in. My team is almost unrecognizable now—yes we have our challenges, but we know how to identify them, find solutions, and do it all together. We are now known in the company as the team everyone wants to join.”

-VP Marketing, Bay Area

“I worked with Lakshmi at Microsoft for several years and then about 1.5 years ago I began working with her as a professional coach. Lakshmi is amazing – she brings personal expertise, concrete frameworks on how to address challenges and grow as a leader, and a general passion, honesty and dedication to her mission of helping you become your best. It has truly been transformative working with her and has helped me grow as a leader, feel stronger/more content both professionally and personally, and create a more concrete career path. I recommend Lakshmi to everyone I know!”

-Head of Customer Experience Marketing, Provo and Seattle, Redmond, Washington

“Lakshmi is a very strategic, thoughtful coach. She has a unique ability to guide her clients to realize their potential. This is done by asking powerful questions, sharing effective tools and proven tactics. She help me go very deep in my reflection and clearly formulate my purpose. Her rich business and human experience is very beneficial. Very quickly we created a trusted relationship and Lakshmi guided me through different areas that I needed to develop. I recommend her without reservation.”

-Global Business Leader, Moscow, Russia

“In the last 4 months I worked very closely with Lakshmi in professional coaching capacity and I was thrilled by her enthusiasm, business knowledge and tenacity to drive the key areas we worked on. I highly recommend her!!”

-Director, Strategic Services, Brazil

“…hands-down the best investment I’ve made in my professional development and I would love to have an opportunity to work with her again.”

-Data Sciences Executive, Seattle

“Lakshmi’s professional background and natural insight are unmatched. She is able to relate to high-stress, high-achieving, quick minds who are diligently carving their way, and her solutions can be easily extended from personal to professional to spiritual lives. Because of her ability to navigate corporate environments, I both respect and trust her judgement on “what works” in those areas. Starting on our first session, Lakshmi pivoted the process to something positive, sustainable, and energy-giving rather than sucking. She structured the program for me in a way that showed immediate results and freedom but gave us enough flex room to adapt the work as the tides were changing. I feel like every time we meet I learn new ‘life skills’ I should have been born with! It’s amazing how revealing the process has been and how our work together has affected every corner of my life.”

-Director Marketing, Amazon.com

“She has a unique ability to understand the issues, and connect with her own real corporate experience to provide realistic and practical frameworks … what sets her apart from my other coaching experiences in the past has been her realism and a grasp of business challenges.”

-Marketing Executive, Seattle