ABOUT ME
WHY DO I LOVE COACHING?
If there is one word that people would choose to describe me, it would probably be “helper.” I have always found it tremendously fulfilling to help other people be more successful.
Even though I was a high-achiever in school, I never viewed doing well as competing with others. Even at an early age, I knew it was all about working towards a bigger goal. I would often find myself tutoring classmates (for free) or organizing study groups so we could all learn together. I never really understood how some people’s path to success included preventing other people from getting to their destination.
I have found coaching to be another way to help people that integrates my professional experiences as a physician, educator, and mentor. I have seen firsthand the power that coaching has to transform people’s lives, including my own. I’m paying it forward by offering coaching to others.
WHAT MAKES ME A GREAT COACH?
Ut est rerum omnium magister usus (“experience is the teacher of all things”) — Julius Caesar
There is no doubt in my mind that real-life experience is one of the best ways to learn. People say we learn more from our failures than our successes. I would take it one step further and say that we learn only if we make conscious efforts to understand and analyze our experiences.
As a physician, I have interacted with people from all walks of life and from varied cultural backgrounds. My own parents are immigrants who faced the typical challenges in trying to achieve success in a new home with a different language. I have practiced in complex healthcare settings, taught university students, and more recently worked in a corporate environment.
I am a geeky, intellectual introvert. What that means if you are more of an extrovert is that I have spent my whole life listening to and observing others. As a coach, this means that I use what I hear and notice to help you to become more aware, overcome obstacles and take action.
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME
“If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”
— Sir Isaac Newton
I am a Certified Executive Coach and completed my training at Royal Roads University. I am fully bilingual (English and French) and can coach in both languages.
One of my passions has been the sport of rock-climbing. For some of you, your immediate mental image might be of someone like Alex Honnold free-soloing some ridiculously vertical sheer rock face. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy the adrenaline fix of reaching the top of a mountain or a small cliff, but it’s not what has kept me doing this sport for close to 30 years.
What I love about the sport is how my friends and I work together to reach our shared objectives. We encourage each other when we are afraid of falling or feel stuck. Knowing there is a safety system in place (e.g. ropes, cams, carabiners) being operated by someone we trust helps us to push through those challenges, and success is sweeter when we celebrate together at the top.
What does sourdough bread have to do with coaching?
One of my friends introduced me to easy no-knead breads in university and then I got hooked on trying out all kinds of different bread recipes. I decided to try out making sourdough bread again in 2020 when we were all in COVID-19 lockdown.
Natural yeasts. Experimentation. Eating your finished product.
I became fascinated by the idea of using wild yeasts that are naturally found in flour, rather than adding cultured yeast from a jar. I checked out different websites and watched videos to learn the sourdough techniques. We ate quite a few flat discs at our house while I continued to experiment and modify my recipe. I now have a version that isn’t too fussy and produces consistent and delicious loaves that I share with my friends and neighbours.
It’s a metaphor for coaching. Make the most of your strengths. Learn from your mistakes. Celebrate your successes.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
Ready to work with a coach like me? Je vous attends.