Company coaching: cat&tonic
THE LANDSCAPE
cat&tonic is a marketing agency that has evolved over the last 25 years in Minneapolis. They work with clients of all shapes and sizes, providing branding, marketing and creative services. Having started in the early days of the internet, the business has pivoted several times to keep up with technology. Now solely led by one of the original partners, they are small, tight-knit team with big, game-changing visions who often spend time together after work—sometimes talking shop, sometimes talking life.
As with many smaller companies, each employee has multiple responsibilities that go way beyond the title on their business cards. Additionally, their livelihood is dependent on keeping up with constant changes in a highly competitive industry. In the middle of the pandemic, their biggest client pulled their business for reasons having nothing to do with the quality of work they were providing. On top of that, the CEO was reeling from a string of personal losses and wasn’t always fully present in the business.
As a result, while the team was feeling battered and bruised and wondered if they’d ever be the agency they once were, they also took on the added responsibility of collectively running the business as the CEO dealt with her significant life challenges. While the team would describe the mood in the office as “neutral and sometimes negative,” the reality was they were living in fear for their livelihood, stuck in negativity from expecting challenges to keep coming and scrambling to do their jobs to the best of their abilities while keeping the ship afloat. They still managed to produce great work for their clients, but the clients weren’t coming as easily as they used to.
Communication is now direct, clear and empathetic. Everyone is committed to understanding each other and stepping up to do their part.
THE JOURNEY
The CEO initially came to me for help finding her way through a crossroads in her life. After working through her personal grief, we started to focus on other areas where she felt stuck, faced fear and navigated roadblocks. Her staff began seeing a change in her. It started in the company meetings.
Every time someone was feeling negative or beaten down by a circumstance or situation, she would ask “how can you reframe that?” to find a better or more productive way of looking at it. The team initially rolled their eyes and teased her for her rainbows-and-unicorns approach. Eventually, they started seeing the benefits of looking at life through a new filter, a new perspective, a different light. Life, and business, started to change. Soon, reframing became her rallying cry, which was readily adopted throughout the office.
Having received ongoing, significant benefits from coaching, the CEO recognized her staff would also benefit from coaching and offered my services to the entire team. Several people took her up on her offer.
I worked individually with each person to take a close look at their lives, their goals, what was working and what wasn’t working. We worked together to uncover and address the barriers that were holding them back, both personally* and professionally.
During our time together, they discovered the importance of cultivating a supportive mindset to shift their expectations from fear and negativity to creating new, desired opportunities in their lives and business.
They learned how to silence the inner critic, dismantle limiting beliefs and create new empowered thoughts aligned with the successful outcomes they desired.
They learned that when they exercised diligence in aligning thoughts, words and actions – they could accomplish anything they set their mind to.
We also focused on values, boundaries, setting intentions and authenticity. They learned how to authentically use their voice to engage in conversations that mattered rather than succumbing to critical, negative self-talk or engaging in fear-driven, people-pleasing tendencies.
They started to see through their old stories and programing to discover their true value and self-worth. They ultimately recognized that fear-based thoughts and actions only attracted more challenges and kept them from getting the client work they wanted and needed.
When they reframed how they looked at the circumstances and saw the opportunities through their fresh perspective, they sparked their creativity in entirely new ways which gave them confidence to pursue new clients with fresh engagement.
Their progress was contagious, impacting the entire organization, including those who weren’t being coached. Collectively and cohesively, they began moving away from their past as they created a new environment in the present to support the dreams, goals and vision of the future.
THE HORIZON
The entire team has continued to engage in the coaching process, enjoying the ongoing support and accountability. Recently another employee started receiving coaching thanks to the positive results she witnessed.
Not surprising, the business itself is on a much better trajectory. The team’s interpersonal relationships are evolving and more connected. Communication is now direct, clear and empathetic. Everyone is committed to understanding each other and stepping up to do their part to intentionally contribute to the company’s vision out of excitement for what’s possible rather than fear of it failing.
The team is confident, focused and leaning heavily into their new identity. And it’s working. New clients are showing up with work that aligns with the values of the company. The best part – they are certain the best is yet to come.
*It’s important to recognize that we don’t check our personal life at the door when we go to work. We bring our “person” to work every day. While it is common to describe ourselves as the role we serve, human beings are not the “role” they take on at work. The role is filled by a human being.
When we take care of the whole person and help her create an optimal quality of life, she brings the fullness of her skills, gifts, talents and abilities to her role to serve the company in the best way possible. When employers help and develop their talent, their employees, they also help and develop their business. They grow to new heights together. They also cultivate loyalty, gratitude, better health and a
quality work environment.
If you are ready to thrive and develop an unshakeable belief in who you are and what you can achieve, I’ve packaged a lifetime of lessons, wisdom and business savvy into coaching programs that catalyze action and instigate results. Contact me at joanjakel.com/contact and let’s get started.
Carpe Diem!
Joan
