COACHING
PHILOSOPHY
AND PROCESS

Our Philosophy

Our coaching is built on the foundation that every person and company is unique. We do not use standard formulas or cookie-cutter checklists. Our coaching is tailored to a client’s individualized objectives and needs.

Our major point of distinction is found in our unique philosophy, which melds analytical reasoning with intuitive compassion. Our approach is based on a proven, strategic and results-oriented methodology with clearly defined goals and action steps, complimented by a deep level of care and inspiration. Our coaching strategies are founded on the latest research in human behavior, neuroscience, leadership and organizational consulting.

The Process

We focus on the changes you want to make. Through dialogue and partnership, we identify clear, manageable objectives, develop concrete plans, access new tools, and take necessary steps to achieve your desired goals and vision. We explore factors that may be holding you back and create a plan to move you forward. You will leverage your strengths, focus on areas of development and identify opportunities for growth. This partnership creates an energy that will inspire you to take action and help you shift to a higher level of achievement and fulfillment. This is the concept behind InspireShift. Change is only lasting if it is sustainable. Feedback, accountability and support are the pillars of our work together.

About

What Clients Say:

“Arjan is a gifted, intuitive and strategic executive coach, the kind of coach that is few and far between. She is a tremendous asset to IKEA and has supported many leaders in different areas of the organization. Arjan simultaneously challenges and deeply supports our leaders so they can achieve maximum growth. Her coaching is grounded in research, yet always practical and she uses her knowledge about neuroscience to educate our leaders on effective communication and a positive mindset, two elements crucial to sustained success. Drawing on her rich experience as an executive coach, she has a natural aptitude to combine both business and individual goals. Leaders tackle real-time problems with her, which she consistently ties back towards the greater journey they are on. Calm in crisis, she always stays focused on the bigger picture, understanding which levers to pull and how to empower her clients to advance. I can’t thank her enough for the impact she has created and can highly recommend her to any Chief HR Executive looking to grow their people and business results.”

Simon Lowes – Chief Human Resources – USA, IKEA

“Arjan has been a strong partner over many years. She combines her business and people skills into high level results for our company. She helps our leaders become more effective in their role and supports their personal development. Our executives very much appreciate working with her and consistently speak about her high business acumen and great understanding of leadership. They highlight her ability to build trust, listen effectively, educate and challenge them to create forward momentum towards their goals. They especially appreciate her integrity, confidentiality, and wisdom.”

Richard Mellor, EVP Global Chief Human Resources, R/GA

“Arjan brings professional rigor and emotional depth to each of our conversations. I’ve been coached by Arjan for about 2 years, through some very complex and challenging career events. She has an extraordinary ability to synthesize all important factors, bring clarity to opportunities and focus on how to approach them. Even though I’m a pretty lucid thinker, Arjan’s counsel always clears fog from the road ahead. Somehow, she retains (in shockingly vivid detail) each step in the long journey; but can zoom out at any time to see the shape of everything. It is refreshing to work with her, as she combines her strategic, results-oriented approach with a deep level of compassion and wonderful sense of humor. I continue to work with Arjan, and benefit immensely.”

Nick Law – Chief Creative Officer Publicis Groupe, President Publicis Communications at Publicis Groupe

“Arjan combines a high measure of gravitas, a refreshing straightforward approach and a deep level of compassion with an acute business sense. She provides sharp insights, practical advice and honest feedback, which was pivotal to rethinking and improving my communication style. Through her expert guidance, I evolved my leadership style and executive presence. Arjan is brilliant, but humble; visionary, but grounded; logical, but intuitive.”

Neil Hampshire – CIO, ModusLink

Rarely am I at a loss for words until I have to describe someone as brilliant as Arjan. She coached me through a complex merger that was fraught with challenges at every turn and level. Her ability to cut through the chaos, pinpoint the issues, and provide clarity, ensures that the best paths forward are always revealed. She delivers the unvarnished truth with equal parts empathy and compassion, providing actionable guidance at every step. And, at the most difficult moments, she remains in your corner with unrelenting encouragement, warmth and humor. For anyone seeking to grow or change, Arjan is your beacon.

Sherine Kazim, Chief Experience Officer, Wunderman Thompson

“Arjan is a fantastic executive coach, a great supporter, and has been invaluable for my career. She has an admirable capacity to bring clarity to complicated business situations, interpersonal relationships, thoughts and emotions. She creates simplicity by discovering the underlying challenges and opportunities and by always providing a practical and solution-oriented approach. Through collaborating with Arjan, I have developed a greater level of clarity in my work by prioritizing my most important business and individual leadership goals. I have become a better leader; my confidence has increased, we have exceeded our business goals, I have established an effective leadership style, and I have a much broader toolkit available for my own development and the development of my teams. Arjan’s exercises are simple, direct, and very effective. I love working with her and look forward to learning from her business insights, international perspective and general wisdom in every meeting.”

Paola Colombo, Google – Chief of Staff, SumUX

“Arjan is a bloody amazing human being, a gifted coach. She performed a 360 feedback, which was frankly, life-altering. I learned about strengths, I didn’t appreciate in myself before, and how to leverage them to increase my effectiveness. She helped me absorb my weaknesses, to see them objectively, tackle and minimize them. For the first time, in my career, I feel more in control, more empowered, and more self-assured of my abilities.”

Auge Reichenberg, Chief Creative Director, McCann HumanCare

“When I took the role of President at Wunderman NYC, I was clear that I wanted to work with an experienced and highly regarded Executive Coach. I selected Arjan as she came strongly recommended by industry leaders. It was the right decision, as working with Arjan greatly accelerated my integration as a new leader. She interviewed stakeholders, wrote a comprehensive report on the organization which fast-tracked my understanding of the environment, culture, the challenges and opportunities. She helped me develop a vision for the organization, build a cohesive and effective team. Arjan is direct and calls a spade a spade, but it is her warmth, care and great understanding of people and business, that makes her an outstanding coach. Her energy, natural courage, and positive outlook are contagious and I walk away from each meeting with new insights that I can immediately apply. Arjan truly goes the extra mile for her clients. She is a phenomenal partner for anyone who is starting in a new leadership role.”

Helder Santo, President Wunderman New York

“Arjan’s guidance is direct, insightful and clear. She has a wealth of experience and provides great wisdom navigating complex strategic situations. I was originally hired as CFO and within a year promoted to also take on the COO position. I can’t imagine being where I am today in my career without her guidance.”

Jennifer Solomon – COO & CFO, Arts Students League of New York

“Arjan is a phenomenal executive coach. She has profound expertise in leadership development, communication and emotional intelligence. Arjan helped me create successful frameworks for solving the most complex strategic and human resource challenges. She is insightful, articulate and has a deep commitment to excellence. I have become a better leader as a direct result of our work together.”

James Gomez – Division President, CalAtlantic Homes

“Arjan combines business knowledge with people insight. She possesses profound positive intelligence and superb communication skills. She walks the talk and lives by her principles. Arjan helped me evolve my thinking to successfully navigate complex situations presented by a rapidly growing and transforming business, leadership changes and a take-over. My team and I delivered superior results and I thank Arjan for her guidance.”

Terry Stack – VP Treasurer, Harman International

“I immediately thought of Arjan, when I needed to engage an inspirational speaker for an industry event on the topic of confidence and women leadership. Deeply knowledgeable about business, leadership, interpersonal relationships and communications, Arjan offers tremendous value to her audiences. With her unwavering positive demeanor and deep passion, she has an uncanny ability to inspire a room full of people. Her expertise, practical advice and goal-oriented focus ensure that every person leaves her presentations with clear tools and tips that they can immediately apply to enhance their leadership skills. Her charismatic style as well as her flair to truly connect make her a great presenter for a large audience and a powerful facilitator of workshops.”

Chloe Gottlieb, Director Product Design, Google Aps, NY – Former Chief Creative Officer R/GA

“Arjan is an extremely skilled executive coach and organizational strategist. She presents to hundreds of attendees at our iRelaunch Return to Work Conferences and consistently gets top ratings. She has also been a popular and well-regarded coach of our group coaching program. More recently she has taken on an important role with our corporate initiatives. Arjan demonstrates integrity, excellence and an energy level matched by few.”

Carol Fishman Cohen – CEO, iRelaunch

“An exceptional organizational consultant, Arjan supported the scaling of our organization.  She increased alignment within the management team positively impacting company culture. She enhanced collaboration between my Head of Operations and myself, while we were managing a major change, creating greater understanding for each other’s point of view, work approach and communication style, resulting in better outcomes. Our staff calls her the “engineer whisperer.”

Jamie D’Agostino, Founder of Netology

More Testimonials …

Areas of Expertise

Our areas of expertise are in leadership development, women leadership, communication, emotional intelligence, mindset, personal branding, and career transition. On an organizational level, we focus on 360 degree feedback processes, team alignment and cultural change.

Both Positive and Conversational Intelligence are at the core of our work. While leaders’ knowledge of their field and their leadership skills determine their potential, it is their positive intelligence and mindfulness that helps them live up to that potential. This process requires a deeper level of self-examination in order to invoke a growth mindset and an authentically optimistic and solution-focused approach. We also focus on the processes and principles embedded in Conversational Intelligence, which are essential to developing deep, long-lasting relationships and building high performing teams, based upon trust and respect.

Appointments

Appointments take place in-person, through video-conferencing or by phone in one-hour sessions. The duration of each engagement is determined by the scope of work. Based upon the topic, sometimes a few meetings are all that is needed. In the majority of cases, 10-12 meetings are recommended to achieve significant progress in a broader area. We also work with clients on a longer term arrangement, serving as a consistent sounding board throughout their career.