Why I Transitioned From Psychotherapist to Executive Coach |
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Transitioning from psychotherapist to executive leadership coach requires a change in professional identity.
Executives, like elite athletes, receive more coaching the more accomplished they become.
Executive coaching is melding the science of leadership with the science of behavior change.
It happened gradually.
After 15 years with a private psychotherapy practice as a licensed clinical psychologist, my days followed a familiar rhythm. Every 50 minutes I would open my office door, usher one client out and welcome another in, and then the pattern would repeat. If I happened to open my door at the same time as my office colleagues, we might exchange a quick hello before returning to our separate worlds.
The work was meaningful, my clients were engaging, and I genuinely enjoyed helping people. But over time, I began to feel as though the world was passing me by. Something was missing.
That realization led me in an unexpected direction. I started, built, and eventually sold several behavioral healthcare companies. And along the way, I discovered my true professional identity as an executive coach.
For years, I identified as a psychotherapist. But as I worked with executives, founder entrepreneurs, and leadership teams, I realized I began to think of myself differently. Becoming an executive coach meant letting go of parts of my therapist identity that no longer fit, while developing the skills and perspective the coaching role demanded.
Looking back, I don't see the career shift as leaving psychology behind. If anything, I was bringing the best parts of myself into a new context. In my work, I saw that even highly successful executives were adversely impacted by........