The experts in career coaching serve as crucial guides for individuals to navigate their career paths. Through facilitating self-discovery, skill development and strategic planning, these professionals empower clients to identify their unique strengths and values. This ensures alignment between personal aspirations and professional goals. Coaches use a combination of methodologies and assessments. The results identify roles that are likely to be fulfilling- and that they most likely will be darn good at!

Central to the career coaching process is the emphasis on self-leadership. Cora Lonning, the Talent Strategist and Learning Architect at CCL Ventures, LLC views this as an important skill. This ensures organizations can enhance employees’ professional journeys. Cora encourages individuals to reflect on where they are and contrast that to where they want to be. This lays the groundwork for focused career planning and intentional one-on-ones with their leaders. Performers who take responsibility for their career goals are the easiest to lead! Cora also helps clients articulate their market value, highlighting how they contribute to organizational goals and success.

The coaching process promotes a community-oriented mindset to develop trust and collaboration. By emphasizing the importance of feedback, Cora engages leaders and stakeholders in the goal setting and development process, contributing to the effectiveness of leaders throughout the organization.

Facilitated strategy and goal-setting conversations lead to personalized action plans. These plans equip clients with tools and language they can use in their short and long-term goals. She guides individuals while supporting leaders in their role of accountability and feedback.

The Impact of Education on Career Advancement

While holding a real estate license, Cora aspired to elevate her career by setting a goal to earn a Juris Doctor (JD) and specialize in Real Estate Law. During her time at university, she learned her strengths and natural talents. This led to a very different course for her!

After completing her B.A. in Communication, she changed her academic goals. Instead, she pursued an M.B.A. in Organizational Effectiveness. This pivotal decision, made 20 years ago, continues to benefit her career today.

It also taught her that self-knowledge is a very important part of what a successful and fulfilling career is!

Training Programs that Encourage Problem-solving and Empower Decision-making

While pursuing an undergraduate degree in Communications, Cora earned an Associate’s Degree in Conflict Resolution. This academic focus provided the opportunity to intern at a community mediation center. Here she witnessed the transformative power of the mediation process- she was hooked! Weeks, sometimes months, of emotional turmoil would dissolve in these mediator-led sessions. Observing disputants resolve their own conflicts with their own solutions provided fuel for her passion. She wanted to share these techniques with the world!

A 2018 Gallup research report found an approximately 4 billion dollars a year is lost in drama; and that leaders deal with drama up to 45% of their time. Utilizing the tools of effective communication ensures transparency, agreement and mutual understanding. This communication can reduce the percentage of time-consuming drama in day-to-day work. Cora experienced this in her own business. By using conflict resolution tools in high-stakes conversations, she increased closed sales and referrals. While also reducing the number of “fires” to put out on a regular basis.

This prompted Cora to focus on Training and Development, learning tools to create a mutual drive for success. Sharing these tools with others has led to understanding and compassion for the complexities of the human experience.

The Role of Empowerment in Leadership Development

Cora’s father was an accomplished behavioralist. He instilled in her the importance of growth and development over compliance. She incorporates philosophies into her coaching, focusing on empowering individuals to own their skills and goals. At the same time developing leaders overcome the need to rescue or over-direct others. Accountability is one of the top requested leadership skills in her practice. Right behind having difficult conversations.

Cora’s father taught her the value of choice over compliance by influencing her to consider her choices. This taught her cause and effect and connected her to consequences. As a result, she learned critical thinking, quality decision-making and a deep understanding of the impact of her actions. Therefore, her coaching prioritizes critical thinking rather than merely addressing transactional outcomes. Providing tools rather than direction.

As a learning professional, she embraces the messy aspect of the human experience, recognizing that learning often involves multiple attempts and a broad spectrum of emotions. It also means that people seldom behave the way we want them to; however, we can still agree on values, outcomes and priorities.

Coaching relationships are a safe space for learners to express themselves and reflect on their interactions. Sessions can become a sounding board, while people find their words, their intention and their true course. This mess needs a safe place to be expressed so that they can confidently articulate themselves in the important – high stake- conversation. This also allows leaders to have a more productive conversation when their direct reports are clear on what they are asking for!

The Importance of Purpose in Coaching Relationships

Cora emphasizes that while coaching involves discussions about the “how” and the “what,” development consistently starts with and connects back to the “why.” Each coaching relationship begins with this foundational question of purpose. It is this focus that guides the how and what!

Even in “just-in-time” sessions—one-off meetings that address specific situations or conversations, she insists on starting with the purpose and the underlying “why.” “WHAT is your goal going into this conversation and WHY is that important?”

This approach ensures that all coaching efforts are aligned with meaningful objectives, developing a comprehensive understanding and connection to the goals at hand while role-modeling intentional communication. The best high-stakes / high-emotion conversations are the ones in which there is clarity of purpose and intention. We can get through the messy emotions and word soup if we are continuously guided by the north star of purpose and intention.

Developing Learning Agility in the Workplace

Cora views learning and development as a skill. She believes that Learning Agility and Learning Mindset should be foundational organization competencies to prepare all employees for meeting expectations, change initiatives and career development. The less we know how to learn and manage ourselves, the harder it is for individuals to grow. Therefore, the more challenging it is for organizations to grow.

When individuals are taught how to learn, and how to manage the frustrations that surface, the higher capacity they have for learning. Otherwise, these powerful emotions manage them. The more people learn how to manage themselves, the more able they are to navigate the changing environment of the workplace.

Cora understands that individuals hold strong opinions, but it is curiosity that develops effective communication. As a learning professional, she nurtures her curiosity and prioritizes truly listening to others. Enhancing her understanding to better support her opinions. On multiple occasions the act of sitting back and listening has been very powerful for others to understand themselves- thereby solving their own problems!

Exploring Personal Values through Insightful Dialogue

Often there is a need for leaders to have all the answers and be able to create solutions. Cora emphasizes that the best leaders are the ones who have taught others how to answer their own questions and create their own solutions.

A large percentage of this happens in conversation. Through attentive listening and asking insightful questions, we as leaders enable others to articulate their thoughts, identify what is important, understand their choices; and ultimately choose an appropriate action. These are very crucial conversations as this is where development happens! It is also where confidence and commitment grow!

This process of exploration and self-discovery also empowers individuals to gain clarity and align their actions with their values.

Ensuring Measurable Improvements in Coaching

Cora believes that as the coaching industry continues to experience significant revenue growth, it must evolve in competency and certification. With low barriers to entry the industry can attract less skilled practitioners. There must be high standards of performance and measurable outcomes in place to safeguard the profession and the valuable role coaching plays in business.

She believes the business community will increasingly prioritize process, outcomes and ROI over industry certifications, as effective coaches should be expected to provide clear processes, defined outcomes and measurable improvements bringing the experience necessary to achieve these results. The history of the real estate industry shows us the importance of standards and accountability to outcomes.

Building Stronger Partnerships through Effective Coaching

Cora brings value to coaching programs through measurable progress and effective business cases. She transitions from transactional relationships to subscription-based partnerships, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of organizational goals.

This model enhances alignment in strategic objectives, improves leadership dynamics and strengthens relationships, ultimately fostering mutual growth and success for both her clients and their organizations.

Strategies for Nurturing Individual and Organizational Growth

Cora has dedicated herself to helping leaders develop the skills and language necessary to cultivate the growth of those they lead, developing an environment where everyone can thrive and bring out their best version. She recognizes that the more she invests in developing others, the more those individuals develop others. Multiplying our talents is the best return in life!

Cora finds fulfillment by quietly operating in the background, supporting leaders as they guide and nurture their organizations. Organizations grow when their people grow, and it is this interconnectedness of individuals and organizations that drives success.