I’m delighted to share with our friends and colleagues that Mary Ellen Veale, a co-founder of Vision Coaching and my partner in life, has joined the Vision Coaching roster as a coach.
I’m very proud to make this announcement for so many reasons but particularly because I might never have become a leadership coach if it wasn’t for her encouragement 16 years ago. Indeed, Vision Coaching would not exist today without her.
Mary Ellen earned her graduate certificate in Executive Coaching from the International Coaching Federation-credentialled Royal Roads University earlier this year, and I couldn’t be happier that she chose to join our top-flight coaching roster.
Mary Ellen has worked for more than 20 years in education and noticed a shift in schools toward a coaching dynamic between teachers and students.
Gave me a push
“In the classroom, it’s about goal-setting with students. Basically, it’s a coaching conversation: ‘How do you feel about that? What did you do well? What did you learn? And what are the next steps?’” she says.
A dedicated lifelong learner herself, she decided to pursue formal leadership coaching studies.
Back in 2005, she was the one that gave me the push to leave a job that was making me money but not much else. More than once, she told me she didn’t want me unhappy and that we’d figure out how to make ends meet.
Overlapped with our wedding
And then she said she wasn’t sure she would marry me if I wasn’t willing to take the leap and pursue my passions and my budding interest in coaching. No joke!
There wasn’t much to think about – I looked into the next availability at Royal Roads. The course happened to overlap with our wedding date. She was still supportive, so off I went – with a pause to get married.
Sure enough, we made it work. On top of pursuing her own career in education and, soon enough, raising a family, Mary Ellen became an indispensable force behind the success of Vision Coaching.
“I see coaching as helping people develop insight around the different approaches they can take and the best way to manage challenging situations. It’s all about taking a step back, reflecting with your coach and developing perspective.” Mary Ellen Veale
Only now, she’s not just working earnestly behind the scenes but up front as part of our top-tier coaching roster. She’s already working with a number of leaders.
Mary Ellen excels at supporting individuals in clarifying goals and achieving their full potential. She believes in coaching the individual, not the situation, and coming from a place of empathy to ask powerful questions.
“I see coaching as helping people develop insight around the different approaches they can take and the best way to manage challenging situations. It’s all about taking a step back, reflecting with your coach and developing perspective.”
Making it happen
Mary Ellen says it is an honour to have people invest their time and share their stories with her.
“What has been really rewarding is learning about all these people who are doing really interesting things and who are motivated to do more,” she says, adding that it is important to help leaders connect to their values. “When you have an awareness of what your core values are, it can really help clarify your path. My goal is to help make that happen.”
To learn more about Mary Ellen and Vision Coaching, visit our website.
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