Coach Jo

As a high performance athlete I have won and lost because of my “mental game.” I know that being in top physical form is only part of the battle. Optimizing performance requires athletes to develop mental resilience. I have used many coaching tools and techniques to help athletes face their mental challenges, work through obstacles and smash the self-doubt and negative beliefs keeping them off the podium, the team, or field of play.

Many individual leaders have called me to discuss issues they are having with their staff, their results, their plans. I have worked with them one-on-one to help solve these problems, develop plans, measure their results, or role play difficult conversation – the work of a leadership or executive coach.

As a serial entrepreneur, I understand the ups and downs of business and the hustle required to succeed. Today I work with clients wanting to set up or build their businesses. I do this via one-on-one consulting - that many today would call business coaching.

In my capacity as a consultant and facilitator, I have had the privilege of working with many people in various organizations, at various stages or their career and with various interests. My work requires a large degree of trust and relationship building so it is not uncommon for clients or learners to approach me asking for help when they want to change their career or compete for a promotion. In this regard I have been happy to provide one-on-one coaching.

My life story is complex and varied – with countless ups and some significant and terrifying downs. I’ve been called a battle-tested survivor in many areas – learning resiliency and perseverance. People who know my story often introduce me to friends or family facing similar challenges in the hopes that I can help them navigate their circumstances. I am always humbled by this trust and honoured to walk with people dealing with lived struggles caused by circumstances outside of their control.

One of the benefits of learning resiliency is the many exciting opportunities it has afforded me. For example, after my divorce shattered my plans to be a mother, I made the decision to go it alone. This led to many failed fertility treatments and ultimately the path to adoption. After countless setbacks in this area, I was finally given the gift of a beautiful, amazing baby girl who was born in Vietnam. Being a single parent, mixed-race family has had unique challenges, add to that neurodivergence, some disabilities and high intelligence and I can our family life is never dull.

When I’m not using my left brain on strategy, I’m tapping into my right brain by writing, painting, playing instruments. Finding the time, the place and motivation to be creative is a challenge. I like to support artists, writers, photographers, and other creatives overcome these blocks, find inspiration and express themselves using their unique and wonderful gifts. (Incidentally, I am enrolled in a program with the Canadian International Institute of Art Therapy and hope to be a certified Therapeutic Arts Practitioner in early 2024. My goal is find new ways to integrate the artistic process into my coaching, consulting and training practices).

I was a competitive athlete most of my life. I’ve had so many injuries that I can’t compete anymore, and I really miss it – the challenge, the comradery, the purpose, the physical and mental outlet. To keep me involved, I obtained various athletic coaching certifications for recreational and competitive hockey and soccer. I love coaching athletes – they are dedicated to being the best they can be for themselves and their teams.

Professionally I was trained in strategic thinking as well as the design and development of adult learning initiatives. I have worked for over 35 years building and facilitating training programs for organizations and work teams. Today people would call my team building and facilitation sessions - group coaching.