I very highly recommend Nicki Michaels as a coach. On a practical note, her method is very clear and organized. She is always on time and professional. She keeps you informed. She sends business correspondence and support materials in a timely manner.
Working with Nicki Michaels represents one of those experiences in life where what you thought you were going to get turned out to be different but exactly what you needed in the first place. I'll admit I assumed that a coach would simply tell you what to do. Before coaching, I was in a very stuck place. I think in my heart, I really just wanted someone to take over and tell me what to do. What Nicki does is decidedly not that. While she's certainly firm and clear in her directions, she did not tell me what I should be doing at all. What Nicki actually taught me, what skills she helped me develop, were those things that would enable me to think and do for myself.
My experience in coaching was all about re-framing. I discovered through this process that the logjam in my life was they way I looked at just about everything. Nicki in her firm yet gentle, funny yet serious way, helped me challenge and question my assumptions so that I was able to hear a more authentic voice in my head describe my experiences for me (instead of whatever strange amalgam of family, friend, teacher, culture and authority figure voices I had going on before that).
For example, one of my huge roadblocks was the state of my home office. I characterized it as complete and utter disorder. It overwhelmed me. With Nicki's guidance, I was able to break the scope of this project into smaller, manageable increments. More importantly though, she also helped me figure out my priorities - my real priorities, not those coming from the expectations of others. My home office was a mess, but it turns out a completely different kind of mess. Being able to have clear thinking in defining the problem and seeing what the real solution could be - based on what I wanted and not on external expectations - made all the difference.
What Nicki does as a coach is really to give you a new way of thinking about, seeing, perceiving, and defining your goals so that they represent the real, authentic you. Since coaching, my life is still challenging, my desk still gets messy, but I feel I have a whole new set of tools to work with. And operating from a sense of my authentic and unmuddied values - well sometimes life is just on rails! read more
