The definition of the term “coaching” matters because it’s the substance of the engagement. Inherent in the definition is an understanding of the desired outcome, and a notion of why an executive coach is the right partner to get you there.

At Wolf & Heron, we think of coaching the same way The International Coaching Federation (ICF) does. The ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

ArticleKara DavidsonOctober 21, 2024influence, coach, coaching, define coach, one-on-one coach, one-on-one, coaching definition, definition of a coachComment

Case Study: Council for State & Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE)

CASE STUDY

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) launched an annual cohort leadership development program (LEAD) in 2021. Because their members have diverse experience and goals, and work for a variety of organizations throughout the U.S., executive coaching would play an important role in tailoring the learning to each individual leader’s needs.

Download our case study to explore more about our partnership with CSTE over the years.

ResourcesStephanie JuddJuly 8, 2024case study, CSTE, coaching, leadership, managersComment

How to Add Stories to Your Next Presentation

A key point relevant to stories and presentations is that stories must follow story structure while a presentation doesn’t have to. In fact, presentations often have a very different narrative structure. That being said, because human beings respond so well to stories, it can be helpful to embed short stories that follow this structure into a broader presentation narrative.

ArticleStephanie JuddJuly 24, 2023storytelling, presentation, coachingComment

Transforming Your Presentation into an Interactive Workshop Part 2: Making Your Workshop Effective

The best workshops put the learning into the hands of the participants at every stage of the learning process, but sometimes the timeline—both for development of the workshop or the runtime of the experience itself—can result in more of a hybrid experience that contains both presentation-style and interactive moments. When we work with clients transforming their presentations into workshops, this is how we typically break it down.

ArticleKara DavidsonJuly 10, 2023storytelling, presentation, coachingComment

Transforming Your Presentation into an Interactive Workshop Part 1: Know When a Workshop is the Right Call

We help leaders engage and inspire others. A lot of the time, that ends up meaning that we help leaders be better storytellers and presenters, but once in a while, we have a client that’s truly interested in taking engagement to the next level, and they’re looking for help transforming what was going to be be a presentation into an interactive, engaging, and compelling workshop.

ArticleKara DavidsonJune 12, 2023storytelling, conference, presentation, coachingComment

The Making of a Conference Theme

As Story and Presentation Coaches, we partner with organizations planning conferences. Conferences have always been a way for people to gather outside of their day-to-day routine, share insights, learn, and grow. In a time when fewer of us are gathering in person, it’s even more important than ever to ensure those conferences are thoughtful and productive experiences for attendees.

ArticleKara DavidsonMay 25, 2023storytelling, conference, presentation, coachingComment

Make People Feel Seen, Heard and Understood - Part 1: Common Mistakes

Making people feel seen, heard, and understood is one of the most fundamental and important skills of a coach. In our work over the past decade, we’ve come to believe that it’s also one of the most important, yet underdeveloped, skills of a leader.

ArticleKara DavidsonFebruary 27, 2023coaching, leadership, manager, engagement, influenceComment

Wolf & Heron Founder Tapped to Speak at the Annual Product Management Festival Europe

Wolf & Heron, a consultancy that empowers high-potential people to engage and inspire others with storytelling, has announced that founder and managing partner Stephanie Judd is an invited speaker at the 2022 Product Management Festival (PMF). The event will be held in Zürich, Switzerland from November 9 to November 10, 2022.

Press ReleasesStephanie JuddOctober 25, 2022speaker, atlanta, relocate, leaders, coachingComment

Leveraging Coaching Skills as a Leader: Making a Request

A request is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as ‘the act or an instance of asking for something’. From a coaching perspective, this definition falls short. A request, in our opinion, is made when we see untapped potential or an opportunity not being fully leveraged within a person. At its core, a request is a gift of possibility available to the person who chooses to receive, unwrap and appreciate the request you have made.

ArticleKara DavidsonMay 31, 2022coaching, leadershipComment

Best Practices for Leading in a Hybrid Work Environment

We recently hosted a roundtable discussion on Building Authentic Sales Relationships in a Hybrid Virtual/In-Person Tech Industry. Additionally, we continue to do a great deal of executive coaching for leaders in public health, tech and other fields. There are several unique challenges leaders are facing in supporting their people right now due to the hybrid nature of work and offer these best practices for consideration.

ArticleKara DavidsonMarch 21, 2022coaching, leadership, leading, hybrid, hybrid workComment

The Case for Leading with Powerful Questions

Questions have a powerful role in conversation and they’re underutilized at work. As experience designers and facilitators, we rely on questions to carry our participants through a process of discovery and learning. As leadership coaches, we rely on questions as the driving force for our conversations. Meanwhile, we see how often questions are underused by leaders, meeting facilitators and organizations in general.

ArticleKara DavidsonFebruary 23, 2022leadership, coaching, powerful questionsComment

Common Coaching Questions that Leaders Should Use More Often

When we coach leaders as part of an enterprise leadership development program, we often also provide mini training sessions to these same leaders on the basic skills of coaching. What always surprises us is how difficult it is for leaders to see the parallels between coaching and leading, and even understand why learning coaching skills is relevant to their growth as leaders.

In Stephanie’s personal experience, the process of getting certified as a coach was one of the most transformative things she did in her leadership journey. She discovered through her coaching practice a set of questions that are so simple and powerful that we use them in all sorts of contexts beyond coaching conversations. Here are a few.

ArticleStephanie JuddFebruary 7, 2022coaching, leadershipComment