The Coaching Guild is not what I expected — and I mean that as the highest possible compliment.

I came in knowing I wanted to coach, and it took me about 10 years to figure out who I wanted to learn from. What I didn’t expect is that Lisa puts you through the same paces she’s teaching you to guide others through, which means by the time you’re sitting across from a client, you know what this work actually feels like from the inside. That’s not a small thing. That’s the whole thing.

What distinguishes this program is its refusal to be tidy. The curriculum moves with what’s happening in the world and in the lives of the people in the room. Big things. Real things. Lisa brings in experts on mental health, race and gender, neuroscience, and trauma — because she knows there are people better positioned than her to teach certain things. That kind of intellectual honesty is rare. So is her willingness to own her mistakes in real time and correct course without getting defensive about it.

She will push on you. You will know, when she does, that it’s because she believes in you. That’s a very specific kind of leadership. I trust it completely.