LEADERSHIP COACHING FOR THE HUMAN
AT WORK
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Hi! I’m Nayla.
I’m a leadership coach and teacher, helping humans create their greatest work in the world.
Most of us will spend a lot of time working. That creates a lot of opportunities for us to grow and learn, and to impact the world around us.
However you spend your professional time and energy, you deserve to experience yourself as creative, resourceful, capable and excited about how you’re contributing through the work you do.
The people, organizations and projects you lead need your impact while you deliver on your commitments with courage, clarity and integrity.
All this is possible while you have work that integrates into your life healthfully and intentionally, amplifying and supporting the things you value.
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HOW I SEE IT
When we examine and heal our relationship with work, we create more impact in the work we do and also improve other areas in our lives.
That’s because through healing our relationship with work, we develop self-awareness and clarity about our needs, discover our resourcefulness, and successfully create strategies for making sustained change in our lives.
Leadership starts on the inside.
Whether you’re leading a team and functional area or leading yourself through difficult transitions or choices, we begin with personal leadership, clarifying our values & priorities, developing a more insightful and wise way of seeing and understanding ourselves while learning to manage our minds, emotions and spirits.
I don’t believe the cliche “If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Our time at work will be just like the rest of life, both wonderful and frustrating. I don’t coach people through inspiring sound bites (Win the Day!! Be a Boss!!). Rather, I’m looking to equip my clients with skills and tools to face the possibilities and complexities of their work’s impact. The effort is worth it.
Change is patient and personal.
There is a path forward, but it doesn’t look like maximizing every aspect of your output everyday or following a “5 easy steps” program. True coaching and true change are about empathy, compassion, courage and attuning to your distinct humanness.
I want you to experience work as a satisfying part of your life, rather than the force that is running your life.
I want you to feel you have agency and energy to create meaningful work for yourself.
I want you to feel like you can make choices for yourself that are full of integrity, rather than choices based on “supposed to’s and ‘shoulds”.
Change is real- I witness it happen all the time!
WORK WITH ME
MY BACKGROUND
I have always considered work an arena where we can figure ourselves out. We spend so much time at work (by some counts 90,000 hours of our lives) that work can be a place to reveal, discover and grow into ourselves in the best way possible.
Work is one of the places where I became myself - I learned to voice my interests and make interesting things happen, got to partner with the greatest people, learned how to solve problems I cared about and create opportunities, and to see my growth areas and realize how I was interfering with my own happiness. I’ve been able to support so many incredible leaders on this same exploration.
I served as the Dean of Students at Columbia Business School for fifteen years, where I coached and taught thousands of students and co-founded the Leadership Lab, the clearinghouse for leadership activities for MBA and EMBA students.
I then led the learning and development team for a private equity-held global medical diagnostics organization, creating and leading initiatives including culture and employee engagement strategy, leadership development programs, performance management innovation, management curriculum, and coaching managers and the most senior leaders in the organization.
I am a graduate of Smith College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University. My certifications include PCC level coach (ICF), Korn Ferry 360 Voices and Learning Agility, DDI Leadership Suite, Immunity to Change (Individuals and teams), and the Hogan Assessment System.
In addition to my private practice and podcast, I teach at the graduate level at Columbia University. I conduct original research on the impact of change on career identity and satisfaction and present my findings for keynotes and workshops at leadership conferences.
I live with my husband, two daughters, and our Aussiedoodle Winnie outside of NYC. I am a passionate reader and home cook, and am learning how to play the piano and draw.
The RBC Campus Recruitment Team
We’d like to thank you so very much for lending your passion and compassion, insights, and expertise to shape a meaningful Women’s Advisory Program experience for this next generation of ambitious and talented women.
Your passion shines through your work and inspires us all. Your partnership over the years has been truly distinctive.
Leigh E.
PARTNER, LEGAL SERVICES
The whole way I think about my experience and value in my career has changed because of our work together. Where I used to feel trapped by my level of experience and my seniority, I now feel that word you always talk about: agency. This is partially because you gave me tools and a framework to see my work more clearly, and partially because your approach is grounded in possibilities. I feel totally different as I have interviews and networking conversations, and I know I’m confident and persuasive as a result. Thank you!
Linda T.
VP GLOBAL CUSTOMER SERVICE
I just wanted to say how beneficial it has been to have Nayla as a coaching partner in my leadership development. Having her insight in helping me understand how I can be more impactful in my role, as well as helping me better understand myself and communicate with my manager, have been essential to my growth.
I have had many 360’s and coaches over the years and I have to say that I would wish for every person that they have someone as insightful, artful in delivery yet direct, compassionate and approachable as Nayla. That is truly what can help our leaders in their development.
James C.
DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
I wanted to share my first performance review in this new role with you, and really just say “thank you!” Connecting with you has been the best career decision that I’ve made in a long time. I appreciate you and all of the great work that you do.
Casey C.
DIRECTOR OF COACHING
Nayla is an incredibly effective and insightful coach (not to mention warm, approachable, and fun to work with!). She operates from a place of great empathy, but with a bias toward action. I left each coaching with a clear plan, valuable perspective, and having drawn on Nayla’s considerable knowledge and experience. With Nayla’s wisdom and guidance, I was able to successfully navigate a difficult career transition and move forward with confidence.
Barrie S.
GLOBAL HEAD OF CONTENT DIGITAL MEDIA
I can confidently say I wouldn’t still be in this role, and as equipped as I am, if it weren’t for Nayla. She’s able to tackle issues from the most high-level and philosophical (“What am I doing with my life? Is this really who I am?”) to the most tactical (“How do I get from a to b on this project? How do I resolve this conflict?”) with incredible insights and practical advice. During each session, she helped me distill my problems down to their essence and supported me as I created next steps that were applicable and manageable. From the first session, I loved her tone and sense of humor and felt confidence in having this complete stranger coach me through what can only be described as a professional minefield, and I got a lot more than I bargained for…by the end, I knew myself better in all aspects of my life, not just professional. She ultimately helped me carve my dream job out of a very spiky role and I express my gratitude by referring every single person I know to her. Thank you, Nayla!!
Linda
CMO, RETAIL
Nayla asks just the right questions to push my thinking further, deeper. She gets me to answer questions I didn't know I had. I internalized her approach as I worked with her - she coaches so I can coach myself. Nayla balances self-realization and providing insight, she knows when I am close to finding the truth, and when to offer a framework to think through a more nebulous problem. She is discerning about when to let me arrive at my own conclusion, and when to offer more guidance. I’m grateful for her breadth and depth of experience in coaching and teaching, she’s able to draw from her well of anecdotes and lets me see how I am not alone in my journey. Thank you, Nayla!
Laura C.
FREELANCE MARKETER AND WRITER
Working with you was the best investment I made in myself this year. I reference my notes from our sessions constantly. Now, months later, I find that I'm using the tools we developed to navigate decisions with a new kind of curious tenacity that feels authentic to who I am. The lessons are lasting.
Ryan
NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF SALES, SOFTWARE
I don’t know how the experience of working with Nayla could have been any more valuable to me. With her support, I learned how to focus on more strategic, rather than tactical objectives, and how to communicate more effectively with my leaders and team.
Nayla is someone I have immense respect for, and I greatly appreciate her investment in me.
Nayla provided exactly the type of coaching experience I had hoped to receive, and
I would highly recommend her as an executive coach. I’m so appreciative of our work together.
CLIENTS
