Good Counsel

When Trish Leonard wanted. to move from the nonprofit to the for-profit world, she sought the help of a business coach to make that transition. “I wanted to get some outside expertise to make sure I was going to do the right thing,” she says. “I had been with a nonprofit for eight years, and it was important for me to have someone who would help me execute my plan from A to Z and stay on top.” 

Working with Renée Kennedy-Edwards, president of Bonita Springs-based Coaching 4 Success, Leonard not only made that move but also later started her own company after her employer relocated to the Midwest. Now the president of TLC-Consulting, a marketing and business-resource firm in Estero, Leonard credits much of her success to things she learned while working with Kennedy-Edwards. 

“I have a lot more confidence,” she says. “A lot of times you can kind of doubt yourself, but Renée’s helped me be more persistent as well as organized.” 

Athletes have long benefited from the guidance of a good coach, but these days plenty of business owners and executives are also looking for direction from a trusted advisor, so much so that coaching is now a $1 billion industry. And with the state of the economy forcing businesses of all kinds to step up their game, the need for a coach might be greater now than ever. 

“With what’s happening with downsizing or layoffs or restructuring in organizations, we’re seeing and hearing people talk about looking at their future and at what they need to plan for,” says Diane Brennan, the 2008 president of the International Coach Federation (ICF), a global organization dedicated to advancing the coaching profession. “When people can stay objective, they can be very creative, and that’s what coaching helps them to do—to find focus and perspective so they can move forward and not get stuck in how bad things are.”