Hi, I'm
Kathryn
The Cascade Effect Coach
my mission:
to empower & embolden you to curate & live your best life.
Small steps, taken with purpose, create big shifts.
background:
It Was Time for a Change
Roughly seven years ago, I set out to alter my life (without realizing it at the time). Despite being a high-achiever & high-performer, the way I was living had become unsustainable.
Externally focused, I tended to the personal & professional needs, demands, & desires of others. Anticipating & fulfilling others’ needs was a strength bolstered by my listening, observation, problem-solving, & pattern-finding skills. It helped me feel useful, impactful, & powerful. I was calm, composed, & influential.
My life was good on paper; a successful career, a lengthy marriage, a healthy, well-rounded, happy son, friends & family, & a beautiful home complete with a cat & dog. Objectively on the surface, I had “nothing to complain about” & would often verbalize that. Yet saying so in response to “how are you?” often felt like I was betraying my true self & lived experience.
I felt largely invisible. Inadvertently & self-destructively, I had designed it that way over time.
Life had become a never ending roller coaster of personal & professional burnout. Each climb to a place of safety, security, & happiness felt like the slow, deliberate, initial ascent of the coaster before it gets released. The plummets & loops into frustration, isolation, & self-loathing were swift, head rattling, & disorienting. Their intensity & frequency were increasing. The amount of time I spent in actual ease & contentment was diminishing. I was losing myself inside yet doing my best to perform & keep up appearances.
I knew deep down that I wanted & deserved a better life; a better, truer version of me. I wanted my son & the world to get to know me without all of the self-protecting masks & walls.
The main challenge: I wasn’t entirely sure who that was, I hadn’t met her yet.
Embarking on My Journey
A lengthy, deep self-discovery & transformation process began. I initially set out on this task in isolation. It was slow-going, unguided, haphazard, & inconsistent, but it got me moving.
Thousands of hours of late-night research & dedicated learning ensued. I’d start investigating a particular topic or path, find that it got close but didn’t fully address my particular situation, & would course correct accordingly. I collected countless new tools, learnings, modalities, & insights. Aspects of myself that had been hidden were illuminated & uncovered. I was on a mission of self-improvement & was adamant to find my way.
At first, employing tools & learnings (like recognizing & releasing limiting beliefs & unhelpful coping mechanisms) required deliberate thought, effort, & energy. As with anything new or challenging, it required patience, practice, & reps to develop the muscle memory needed to uplevel.
Along this process, I discovered the immeasurable impact of life coaching. It was a complete game changer for me.
Finally feeling truly seen, heard, valued, respected, & understood provided the solid foundation I’d been missing all along. Simple, deliberate actions built upon one another & took me to new, unforeseen heights. Objectivity, reframing, perspective shifting, & taking action with accountability were key coaching tools that propelled my enlightenment & empowerment.
Life coaching allowed me to gain nearly exponential momentum beyond what I was achieving on my own.
Unleashing My Potential
All of this led to life-changing breakthroughs, trajectory changes, & unanticipated, positive end results. I gained clarity & direction as I proceeded step by step, putting one foot in front of the other, not rushing the process.
Life has become beautiful in ways I never would have anticipated, & it feels like the best parts are still yet to come. While this journey is very much a continuous work in progress with its ebbs & flows, challenges, & setbacks; I’m excited & impassioned to see where it leads.
I couldn’t & can’t do it alone. Neither should you.
I’ve unleashed the most unfettered, true, authentic version of myself to date. My potential feels unlimited. I love who I’ve become, & my external world reflects that back personally & professionally.
I want that for you too.
qualifications:
Uniquely Positioned
As a certified professional life coach coming from a 20+ year multifaceted corporate background (complete with an MBA), I am uniquely qualified & passionate about amplifying results for high-performing individuals & the businesses they support.
Innate Coaching Prowess
In my most recent corporate role, I led a team that worked cross-functionally in a high-matrix environment during a time of intense change. My desk spanned our full $1.3 billion portfolio. Stress, pressure, & emotions often ran high. Bandwidth & patience were maxed out. Leadership members & individual contributors alike often needed to decompress.
Acting as a neutral sounding board empowered them to go from reaction mode to thoughtful response mode. Lowering the emotional temperature in the room allowed for clarity of thought, getting out of survival mode, seeing the big picture, & taking decisive action. I was frequently sought out for these purposes.
This demand extended well beyond my direct reports & was positively impactful to the overall business. Elevating the capacity, creativity, & results of the broader team had a beneficial, measurable impact. I found it personally fulfilling as well.
However, the amount of time spent coaching others encroached on my bandwidth as a leader. There simply wasn’t enough time & energy to accomplish everything optimally, shining light on a glaring gap in much needed support.
Strong Business Acumen
Diversified experience acquired during my 20+ year corporate career makes me highly versatile & well-equipped to resolve high-matrix, complicated business challenges.
Always seeking to find win/win/win solutions; I’m a self-motivated, problem-solving, goal-oriented individual who possesses strong communication, interpersonal, & analytical skills.
My experience spans across shopper & category insights, sales, shopper marketing, replenishment, & most classes of trade (omnichannel, mass, ecommerce, grocery, wholesale, drug, convenience, & door-to-door). I’ve been an individual contributor, direct manager, & leadership team member.
This varied, cross-functional experience enables me to understand how the objectives, incentives, challenges, pressures, deadlines & corporate politics vary by function & role. My work in the consumer packaged goods industry (representing household name brands & calling on the world’s top retailers) has also provided me a deep understanding of the needs, expectations, & motives of external partners (customers, agencies, & representatives).
Businesses are complex & interwoven in nature. My familiarity with relevant processes, procedures, standards, resources, etc. will enable us to maximize our time by bypassing lengthy explanations (otherwise needed for a coach lacking my background).
Trusted to Drive Results
Adaptability, integrity, a growth mindset, & team orientation (with consistent positive results) have all spurred my professional growth, allowing me various opportunities to explore new functions & acquire new skillsets.
The trust, relationships, & reputation I built during my 17.5 year tenure at my most recent employer (spanning an acquisition, joint venture, & spin-off) warranted promotions, job function changes, & the honor of being personally entrusted with the company’s most paramount initiatives (at our top retailer).
Top 3 most recent projects:
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- Launched the largest ever prescription to over-the-counter heartburn reliever switch
- Launched the two largest pain management category innovations in 25 years (simultaneously)
- Negotiated for & implemented various high-impact tech, data, & state of the art research tools
I am proud to have successfully executed those projects (in close partnership with my cross-functional counterparts, customers, & external partners). My ability to mitigate losses, negotiate, & drive process improvements have been equally crucial in propelling the business & my career.
Private & Confidential
I understand firsthand how vulnerable it can be to share concerns & insecurities surrounding our challenges & goals. Sometimes it feels like a frustrating waste of time & effort.
Many people are simply not equipped to receive & respond to the information we share in a manner that is most helpful. Despite meaning well, it is common for others to project their own experiences, attitudes, & solutions onto an issue in an attempt to “fix” the problem. Venting to a co-worker, friends, significant others, or even our manager can seem futile & have the potential to backfire.
Psychological safety is imperative to the coaching process. Again, I am not here to judge, give you my personal advice, or tell you what I would do if I were in your shoes. I am here to help you dig deeper, shine light on what may be hidden, put a different lens on the situation, remove roadblocks, & unlock the possibilities that await you.
The information shared in our sessions stays in our sessions. If you choose a package that includes the client portal, we can document your goals & action steps (at a high level) in the system for accountability & progress tracking purposes. Only you & I will have visibility to those entries, & you may opt out.
If you are interacting with me from a business client capacity, privacy & confidentiality are obviously mandatory. Rigid boundaries & secrecy are required when dealing with the sensitive information inherent in a business setting. I am no stranger to this & am willing to review & sign an NDA, if required.
I will only ever provide a very high level “pulse on the team” to leadership so that they may be equipped to address any overarching concerns, general sentiments, trends, or resource needs revealed by multiple members of the team. Individual concerns will never be addressed with leadership. If something warrants escalation, the individual & I will discuss how they might approach that communication. It is solely their responsibility to take action.
I am honored to assist you along your path & will do so with the utmost privacy, confidentiality, & respect.
Let’s unleash your potential together.
