SharminBanu
My name is Sharmin Banu, I am a Career Advancement Coach. I live in Seattle WA with my husband and our daughter. I hold a CPC(Certified Professional Coach) and a BS and an MS in Computer Science. My clients achieved these results after coaching with me: Job promotion, desired career move, better understanding of corporate culture and expectations, more connection with their family and better work-life balance. To learn more visit my website: http://GreenLeafcoach.com or send me a mail to sbanu@GreenLeafcoach.com.
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Why Is It So Hard to Explain What an Executive Coach Really Does?
If you’ve ever wondered what actually happens in an executive coaching session, or what an executive coach really does, you’re not alone. While terms like leadership development and performance coaching sound compelling, they don’t tell the full story. In this article, I pull back the curtain on the lived experience of coaching—what it feels like, how it works, and why it transforms leaders from the inside out. As an executive coach, I’ve been told more times than I can count: “Use more keywords—productivity, performance, ROI. Talk about leadership impact, business growth, and measurable outcomes.” And sure, I wrote copies sprinkled with those phrases. I know how to speak the language…
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My Career Shift from Coding to Coaching: A Quest for Joy and Purpose
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Unlocking Leadership Through Inner Alignment: Rebecca’s Executive Coaching Journey
What does it take to grow as a leader? Especially when the usual strategies like “delegate more” or “think strategically” fall flat in the face of daily overwhelm? For many senior leaders, the answer lies not in more tactics but in deeper inner alignment. This is the story of Rebecca, a senior leader in the manufacturing industry, who made a powerful shift not by working harder, but by tuning in to her internal operating system. Her coaching journey illustrates how unleashing leadership capacity starts from within. The Challenge: When Feedback Falls Flat Rebecca, a 45-year-old senior leader at a global manufacturing company, had just received performance feedback that many executives…
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Career satisfaction, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, EQ, Executive Presence, Leadership, Self-leadership, Success Strategy
Confidence Is Not the Absence of Doubt
Carol, a senior leader in healthcare, recently transitioned from HR to strategy. She felt out of her depth. In leadership meetings, she hesitated to share her opinions, lacking the confidence she once had after 30 years in HR. Similarly, Steve, a veteran financial executive, had just stepped into a new role. Playing it safe, he stayed agreeable and held back. But over time, his frustration grew as he struggled to gain support for his initiatives. It’s true that decades of experience can bolster confidence, but we don’t always have the luxury of time. The good news? Confidence isn’t solely built on tenure. It’s about finding the conviction to move forward…
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The Startup HR Leader’s Challenge: Turning Paradox into Progress
HR leaders in startups often find themselves caught between compliance and chaos, strategy and firefighting. As veteran HR leader Gretchen Meyer puts it: “Balancing the need for sustainable talent systems with the fast-paced changes of scaling a startup is an ongoing challenge. While HR gets leadership’s attention, true investment often takes multiple budget cycles.” Startup HR Leaders’ Top Challenges I recently polled on LinkedIn on this topic and received this result. 1. Everything is Urgent—No time to assess (44%) Startups operate in survival mode, leaving HR constantly firefighting compliance issues and handling reactive hiring needs. This lack of planning leads to employee dissatisfaction and retention problems. 2. Resistance to Structure,…
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Scale Your Impact: A Simple Coaching Model To Develop Your Team
Randy, a Vice President at a Fortune 200 company, has been a superstar performer since his early career days. However, as his responsibilities have grown, he is overwhelmed by how much his team depends on him. His days are packed with back-to-back meetings with clients and stakeholders, as well as answering emails and Slack messages in between, where he constantly answers questions and provides direction for his team. He works late into the night and even on weekends to keep up. While his leadership recognizes his contribution, they also see that his approach becomes a bottleneck. Yet, Randy struggles with how to change without compromising critical client needs. Solution: Scaling…
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What Driving Teaches Us About Navigating Our Careers
I was chatting with Andrea, a senior director at a major corporation in Seattle. Brilliant and hardworking, her resume spoke volumes about her accomplishments. Yet, in this new role, she was hitting unexpected roadblocks. The feedback she received was clear: people didn’t understand the value she was bringing to the organization, and her contributions were flying under the radar. Andrea believed the solution was simple—if only she could be more vocal in meetings and better at promoting her achievements. But deep down, she wasn’t confident in her contributions either. Most of her time was spent stabilizing her team, handling layoffs, and navigating an organization with shifting priorities and limited resources.…
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Communication, Emotional Intelligence, EQ, Executive Presence, Leadership, Neuroscience, Self-leadership
Demystifying Executive Presence
A senior engineering leader reached out to me for coaching. His credentials were impeccable—multiple graduate degrees from prestigious universities and an impressive professional track record. Yet, he was told to improve his Executive Presence (EP). His question? “What does that even mean?“ Through our conversation, we identified his challenge: he struggled to deliver his points with clarity and conciseness during senior leadership meetings. This reminded me of another client—let’s call him Joe, a senior product manager. Joe was in the middle of a presentation when his VP interrupted, asking for the bottom line. Frustrated, Joe thought, Why won’t he let me finish my presentation? Later, when he shared this with…
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Is Pushing Back Hard for You? 3 Ways to Get Better
Susan (not her real name), a director at a manufacturing company, found herself navigating a common yet delicate workplace challenge. She pushed back on a request from a partner team; in her email, she explained that resource shortages and prioritization concerns prevented her team from accommodating it. To her surprise, her manager later provided feedback that her response came across as rude. In corporate environments, the ability to push back is often regarded as a hallmark of strong leadership. Done thoughtfully, it reflects assertiveness, strategic thinking, and professionalism. Yet for many—particularly women, minorities, and those from cultures that emphasize deference—pushing back tactfully can feel like walking a tightrope. Having faced…
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Falling Behind on New Year’s Goals? Here’s How to Bounce Back
Did you know that most New Year’s resolutions don’t make it past spring? According to a Forbes Health/OnePoll survey, the average resolution lasts just 3.74 months, with 65% of people abandoning their goals within four months. To make matters worse, unofficial holidays like “Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day” (January 17) and “Quitter’s Day” (the second Friday in January) highlight how quickly motivation can fade. If you’ve already started wavering on your resolutions, don’t worry—you’re not alone. More importantly, you’re not doomed to fail. Understanding the root causes behind these setbacks allows you to adjust your approach and set yourself up for success. Here are the three key reasons resolutions often…
