Our Coaching Institute Graduates

Name: Leah O’Leary

Your previous job:

Restaurants – 10 years Administrative Assistant

How long did you work there?

3 years

What was your position?

Sales Support and Customer Service

When/why did you decide to learn coaching?

I saw the coaching profession a few years ago, found it to be very interesting, and thought that it was something I might like to do.  The only problem was that I didn’t know what I would want to coach.  I didn’t have a lot of corporate experience, so I wasn’t sure what I could offer.  I kind of forgot about it at that point. 

Later, I would come to seek support in my life as a stepmom.  I discovered a wonderful forum, full of supportive ladies who could relate to my position in life.  As I continued my participation in the forum, I discovered that I had a true knack for helping people, providing advice, and for giving a 360 perspective, or getting them to look from outside the box.  My brain started to tell me that I had found my purpose.  I needed to help people in stepfamilies. 

Just when I became comfortable with this thought, I saw a Google Ad for a stepfamily coach.  Remembering the coaching career I had considered some time ago, I contacted the coach and told her that I wanted to do just what she was doing.  She gave me some advice and told me to start looking for a training program.  In my searches, I saw the Coach Institute.  When I clicked on the home page, a pop up informed me that there would be a live event in my area.  I attended the event, and I knew that I had found my career.  I joined the Coach Institute at the end of the weekend, and I haven’t looked back since.

What symptoms did you have that prompted this career change decision?

I knew that I needed to be helping people. I have a burning desire to help people rise above to the next level, and coaching will allow me to really guide people in such positive directions. I wasn’t serving people on that level in my office job.

What skills now benefit you and/or your company?

My ability to see a situation or action from every angle is a great asset. It really allows me to withhold my own judgment, and even better, aids me in helping clients to step outside that box. I call it my 360 perspective.

What do I do as a coach?

I am the Free To Be Family coach. I help people in stepfamilies create a loving and supportive environment with communication, love, and respect. I also help engaged couples with goal alignment.

Any other comments or examples you want to mention regarding how your training at The Coaching Institute has changed/benefited your life and/or career and those around you?

The Coach Institute has been an absolutely life altering experience. I knew I wanted to help people, but I wasn’t sure where to begin. The Coach Institute literally manifested right in front of me, and I just watched everything fall right into place. I walked out of my weekend event with Cindy Ordini as a completely changed person. I finally, for the first time in my life, saw exactly what I wanted to be doing with my whole being. The study materials really fit into my life as a way to live, besides being the training for the way I wanted to make a living! I cannot say enough about Sue Guiher, my mentor. Sue was a rock solid guidepost in this process. Nothing surprises her, but boy can she bring out the things that surprised me about myself! Her support and guidance really kept me on track, and she just continually made me comfortable, even when I was so unsure of my progress.

I have found my calling, my way to truly serve others, to help people be who, where, and what they want to be. I will always look at my training with the Coach Institute as a most definitive moment in my life. Thank you, Terri, for creating this atmosphere of learning, development, and growth. This was not just a career move for me; this was an entire life shift in the best direction!

If somebody has a question and wants to email you to ask personally – can they?

Of course! leah@freetobefamily.com; 215-799-2181