You don't always have to be polished, performing, or perfect
Leadership lessons from the garden
Meet Suzanne.
Suzanne was my first official executive coach, during a 10-month Executive Director Fellowship where I was learning systems-level leadership and discerning whether the executive director path was right for me. She gave me space, apart from my day-to-day team and manager, to actually process what I was learning.
The concept that changed everything.
In our first meeting, Suzanne introduced me to unconditional positive regard — the practice of believing in someone's inherent capacity and worth, independent of their performance, mood, or situation in any given moment. As my coach, that meant she never panicked when I was struggling. She held steady belief that I had what I needed, even on the days I couldn't feel it myself.
I didn't know I was carrying so many conditions for myself - or the weight of those conditions
Until Suzanne named it, I hadn't realized how much energy I was spending managing the impression of being okay. I had built a career performing competence — staying composed, sounding sure, never quite admitting when I was in over my head. The moment I didn't have to perform that for her, I had room to actually do the work.
What this means for our work together:
I try to pay that gift forward in every engagement I lead:
You don't have to arrive perfect. You arrive as you are — doubt, overwhelm, and "I don't know where to start" included.
No toxic positivity required. I'll hold steady confidence in your capacity while you do the real work of finding your next step.
The shifts you want to create for yourself or your team will come - and often faster, because you'll start where you are - not where you believe you should pretend to be.
Want the space to start from where you are?
If it's been a long time since someone believed in your capacity more steadily than you believed in it yourself, that's worth noticing. That's what coaching at its best offers — and it's what I bring to every engagement.
To being real and making progress,
Claire
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