Speaking Coach

Linda Shields, M.S.,CCC-SLP is an executive speech/voice coach, keynote speaker and executive presence expert. Linda is also a licensed speech-language pathologist in the State of North Carolina and has earned the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association.

Her client list includes Fortune 500’s top executives, professional sports figures, national and local media personalities, entertainers and other professional presenters. Linda’s clients have commented that she has a special ability to connect with people in a personal and authentic way, providing the perfect formula to enhance their visual, verbal and vocal images. A former advertising-marketing and fashion director with the Rouse Company, she helps each individual develop his/her own style of speech, attire and powerful presence.

A member of National Speakers Association since 1991, Linda is also the award-winning author of The Voice That Means Business: How to Speak with Authority, Confidence and Credibility….Anytime, Anywhere. She has been featured in Smart Money and Men’s Health magazines and interviewed by The New York Times. Linda’s popular column, Speaking With Authority, has appeared in The Triangle Business Journal and Women’s Edge magazines.

Ms. Shields extensive media experience has included co-hosting radio programs in the Chicago and Tampa markets and doing guest expert interviews in the top 30 radio markets. Linda has also analyzed the political candidates’ voices during the 2012 elections on the NBC network.

From “vocal image” to professional appearance, Linda is qualified to help each client reach the next level of performance in his/her career. She approaches the coaching process in a highly confidential and insightful manner and believes strongly that “confidence can be arranged” with the right guidance.

Executive Coach

Cheryl Jensen is a facilitator specializing in the impactful delivery of numerous programs. She has worked with the Corporate Executive Board delivering the highly regarded Challenger solution selling approach and coaching since 2007. She is one of their senior master facilitators for their new Sales Manager Leadership Academy and has traveled extensively around the world for the CEB.

In 2011, she worked briefly in the Strategic Initiatives group at Dell Computer where she was responsible for creating a global sales leadership program designed to accelerate Dell’s transformation to a solutions company.

Prior to Dell, she worked at Brinks Inc, in the armored car division as their National Sales Transformation Leader for North America. She has also worked as the Talent Director at NOVO1, an outsourced contact center located in Fort Worth Texas where she focused on transforming the culture. In addition to her 30+ years of experience in sales, management, marketing, human resources, leadership development, learning and organizational change, she has been a successful entrepreneur running her own company. She has lived and worked internationally in Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

Cheryl worked for several Fortune 1000 companies, including IBM, American Airlines, and Frito Lay. She spent 30+ years with IBM in sales and learning, including working for one of IBM’s largest business partners. Not only has she worked with clients in the manufacturing, financial services, telecommunications, travel, hospitality, and retail industries, she has worked with firms ranging from small entrepreneurial startups to large, corporate environments. Her forthright manner, engaging coach approach, and deep organizational experience help create learning for each client. Clearly her passion is working with sellers and their managers for success.

Cheryl has an Executive MBA from Southern Methodist University, where she is an guest lecturer/adjunct professor in the Cox School of Business, always rated in the top 20 annually by Business Week. She is certified by The Hay Group as a consultant and coach and holds a coaching certification from The Coaches Training Institute as well as being a certified coach with the International Coach Federation. She serves on the editorial review board for Organizational Dynamics magazine, and is a volunteer for Legacy Boxer rescue in the DFW area.

Business Coach

My goal is taking business owners beyond where they would go if left to their own devices.

I am a Certified Business Coach and a Senior Business Consultant. I help small business owners maximize their sales and profits, reduce the time they devote to their businesses (allowing them more time for their families) and help them achieve their dreams. I focus on results, accountability, and helping business owners develop their entrepreneurial skills.

Specialties:

Mentoring – 1 on 1 coaching, laser focused on your business. Mentoring clients meet 1 to 2 hours every week or every other week.

Group Coaching, Seminars, and Workshops — on various business topics, designed economically to help small business owners that believe in life long education, need help with their business, or just want to sharpen their skills.

Experience and education:

Over 35 years retail management experience where I ran everything from $18M stores to $254M companies (Best Products, L Luria&Son, Service Merchandise, Officemax).

Senior Business Consultant for International Profit Associates – 7th largest consulting company in the US.

Business coaching franchise (ActionCOACH)

Independent Business and Management Consulting and Coaching, in order to better utilize my skills, experiences, and knowledge.

Working with clients weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, ranging from Restaurants and Catering businesses to Internet companies, Retailers to Web Designers, Doctors to Automobile Dealers, Electrical Contractors to Accountants.

Executive Coach

Pamela is an executive and leadership coach, organizational consultant and facilitator with a record of delivering high impact results in the areas of sales and executive leadership. She is an expert in developing cross-functional and cross-cultural teams, the advancement of women in the workplace, and establishing and sustaining cultures of high performance that deliver exceptional client value, profitable revenue and deep employee engagement.

As one of the first women in the competitive area of high technology sales in the mid-80’s, she pioneered multiple efforts to re-engineer critical business processes (with GE, SAP), opened new markets (with Sprint/PepsiCo) and introduced capitalism in a former communist country (with Sprint/PepsiCo. In 1993 she became one of the first five Global Sales Manager for Sprint and the only women in the group. This role expanded her visionary leadership to incorporate cultural awareness and adaptability.

In 2003 after being introduced to the field of professional coaching, Pamela became a certified coach and leveraged her successful career into sales learning and organizational development and as an internal coach to executives and high potential employees. She played a vital role in the transformation of IBM’s Sales Culture to reinvigorate IBM’s venerated sales culture by ensuring sellers and sales leaders develop and continually improves their skills and expertise that are valued in the marketplace and by IBM’s clients. Using her creativity here again, she designed and developed innovative learning and leadership programs that leveraged her extensive knowledge and systems thinking.

In her most recent role as the Global Leader for Diversity, Pamela led the development of programs to address the unique needs of underrepresented constituency groups in the US and the development of women globally. The depth and breath of her leadership, and out of the box thinking was acknowledged when a new sales and leadership program that she led for the financial industry in China, was named an IBM Best Practice 1Q 2012. A special focus of this program was the development of and the retention of high potential women in China.

She is passionate about guiding and coaching her clients to be resilient and visionary leaders able to effectively address critical business challenges and lead fulfilled personal lives of meaning. She also volunteers her time for the “Wisdom at Work” conference, at the University of Arkansas, Sam M. Walton College of Business. Pamela is committed to her own continued professional development and is a Certified MBTI practitioner and Tilt 360 Leadership Predictor. She regularly attends trainings and lectures with industry thought leaders, for example, Daniel Goleman, Daniel Seigel, Robert Kegan, Peter Senge and David Rock to name a few.

Always on the leading edge of thought, and action, my favorite clients are extremely smart, highly competent, creative individuals who are always looking to find new ways to leverage and expand their selves and their contributions. As a coach, I enable people to maximize their creative potential, to think strategically, develop lasting relationships, and to live a more intentional and adventurous life.

Speaker and Motivator

“Standing Tall…Reaching Back” is the way Paulette Turner chooses to live, serving as a mentor/champion to benefit others. Born in Miami, Florida, Ms. Turner spent her formative years in Huntsville, Alabama. She earned an undergraduate degree in Biology from Rockford College in Rockford, Illinois and an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

During her career at IBM Corporation Paulette held positions in sales, marketing, sales training, sales executive management, and human resources, Paulette’s latest position with IBM was as Director, Sales Transformation and Learning for IBM Americas where she led sales training and leadership development for all sellers, sales managers and sales executives in the United States, Canada and Latin America. During this assignment, Paulette gained international experience and traveled extensively, training the global learning team in the successful programs initiated by the Americas’ learning team.

An accomplished speaker and facilitator of leadership change initiatives, Paulette has been a featured speaker and workshop facilitator for numerous organizations. She is the designer, developer and facilitator for the acclaimed PATHSForward® program, a development program for aspiring leaders, sponsored in partnership with the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Turner is active in her community, serving through her involvement in various organizations, including as board member on the Texas Christian University – M.J. Neeley School of Business International Board of Visitors, Secretary of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre Board of Directors, and President of the Fort Worth Chapter of Links, Incorporated, a women’s service organization. The recipient of numerous business and community awards throughout her career, Paulette was named a Texas Woman of Influence by the Fort Worth Business Press, Outstanding Woman of the Year by the Fort Worth/Tarrant County Minority Leaders & Citizens Council and she was featured in Women in Motion: Insights and Lessons From Accomplished Businesswomen by Bette Price.

As an executive coach, Paulette is certified in the Center for Creative Leadership methodology for skill assessment, in the Birkman Method®, and in the Sherpa Executive Coaching methodology through the M.J. Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University. She received certification from the Leader to Leader Institute to facilitate Peter Drucker’s “Five Most Important Questions”, focused on helping leaders in the social sector achieve breakthrough results. She was recently certified in the KornFerry suite of leadership assessment instruments. Paulette also serves as a Chapter Chair for the Fort Worth Chapter of the Women Presidents’ Organization.

Team Coaching

Sara Smith, executive coach and consultant, spent nearly 30 years with IBM in sales and sales leadership then as an internal consultant and coach. You can count on her to bring that broad range of experience to her coaching.

Early in her IBM career, Sara became a recognized leader in sales. That success opened the door to management and leadership positions. In her final 7 years with IBM, Sara’s experience and expertise allowed her to become a part of IBM’s global transformation team. That was the group that orchestrated the rapid evolution of IBM into a premiere services company. It was during that time she became an executive coach, consultant and professional change agent.

Sara’s experiences as a leader, combined with her abilities as a coach and leadership trainer, positioned her to work with IBM leaders and executives to refine their leadership skills and improve business results. Her clients experienced growth in themselves, their leadership teams, organizations and business results.

Since leaving IBM, Sara has continued to help organizations and individuals transform. Her clients include executives of global firms and small companies, professional athletes and nonprofit organizations. She specializes in helping individuals and organizations accelerate success – whatever that means to them. Sara distinguishes herself through the variety of approaches, tools and the practical experience she brings. She is a master at helping people change, increase their effectiveness as leaders and reinvent their organizations.

Sara has served as an adjunct professor at the SMU, Cox School of Business where she taught Leader as Coach in their MBA program. She currently serves as a guest instructor at Phillips Theological Seminary and Brite Divinity School teaching the fundamentals of leadership and emotional intelligence to doctoral students.

Sara earned both bachelor and masters degrees from Texas Christian University and is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) through the International Coach Federation. Sara received coach training and holds credentials through The Coaches Training Institute (CPCC) and Teleos Leadership Executive Coaching. She is certified in the use of the Tilt365 Influence Predictor, HayGroup Emotional Social Competencies Intelligence and The Bigger Game.

Coaching for Non-profits

Leadership advisor, executive coach, professional speaker, and master facilitator, Tom brings clients over two decades of leadership expertise, spanning business, non-profit, and public organizations. He was a teacher and therapist before serving a dozen years as the top executive of a growing family service agency. In 2001 he launched a new career focused on helping high-potential leaders to create and sustain exceptional organizations. Tom is the author of over a hundred leadership articles and podcasts in circulation around the world, and he is a professional member of the National Speakers Association. Applying his leadership approach within his hometown community, Tom is in his fourth term serving as Mayor of Hillsborough, NC.

A seasoned leadership advisor, executive coach, master facilitator, and professional speaker – as well as artist and small town mayor – Tom is known for cultivating fresh, unconventional, and practical perspectives that help leaders unleash personal and organizational talent.

Tom works with executives, business owners, and knowledge professionals who seek leadership insight and know-how for creating and sustaining exceptional organizations. His clients have included global corporations, universities and colleges, hospitals, professional practices, mid-sized and small businesses, trade associations, chambers of commerce, entrepreneurial businesses owners, and enterprising non-profits.

Tom views work with his clients as a partnership, where he brings to the table three decades of experience serving as a catalyst for personal, professional, and organizational growth. After years of developing expertise in clinical counseling and human behavior, Tom gained practical leadership and management experience serving 12 years as the chief executive of a family services agency, guiding the organization through massive changes in the healthcare industry and 3X growth. In 2001 (just 10 days before 9/11) Tom shifted his career path and launched into consulting and coaching full-time to help like-minded leaders and professionals accelerate achievement.

Tom continues to practice leadership – not just coach, consult, and speak about it. In 2005 Tom successfully campaigned for the office of Mayor of Hillsborough, NC. Now serving in his fourth term, Tom continues to hone the leadership skills and values he promotes in his consulting practice through fulfilling his role as Mayor of an award-winning community that’s becoming a showcase for what’s right about small town America.

Tom is the creator of over a hundred articles and podcasts on leadership, including the 7 Ideas Coach podcast series on Apple iTunes. Tom is the publisher of THINK! – an e-zine of leadership articles with subscribers around the world.

Career Coach

Paul is a career transition coach who helps his clients confidently navigate the next big moment in their careers, whether that’s a brand-new role or an entirely different direction.

Paul has 25 years' experience as a coach and leader. Career highlights include: Founder and CEO of 3 startup companies, leader of IBM's $750M World Wide Innovation Program, 7 patents, NASA Inventor of the Year, Best Research of the Year in Artificial Intelligence, serving on the U.S. National Innovation Initiative to form innovation policy for the White House, 2 internationally sold books, and -- most importantly -- the personal notes from hundreds of his clients thanking him for his coaching.

Paul was recently named one of the Top 15 leadership coaches in Austin. He has coached over 100 leaders from 28 countries in 20 industries. His clients experience an average of 25% improvement in business results and give him a 95 NPS approval rating.

Paul holds a Bachelor's degree from Harvard University, and a Masters and Ph.D. in Computer Science from The University of Texas at Austin.