Where People and Performance Meet

There’s a space between personal growth and professional productivity - and that’s where I live.

After years of creating, leading, and growing People Operations inside a highly technical professional services firm, I started to realize that the way I did HR was… different.

You see, I didn’t follow a traditional path into human resources. I earned my degree in accounting, started my career at EY, and eventually found myself drawn to a role I didn’t even recognize as HR at the time. I was a department of one, building as I went. Guided by blind passion, blissful ignorance, and a strong sense of intuition.

Ten years, a master’s degree, multiple certifications, and a thriving business later, I started to look around and ask:

Why did I have such a deep bond with our employees and culture, one that others in similar roles didn’t seem to have?

Why did I hold such a respected seat at the partner table, in a firm full of accountants?

And how did the Director of Human Resources end up winning a Leadership Excellence award - voted on by the employees?

As I started to talk to more peers and friends, it became increasingly clear: what I experienced wasn’t the norm.

I was getting invited to employee weddings. Friends of mine didn’t even know who their HR person was. Maybe they met them during onboarding or a compliance training, but that was it. They couldn’t imagine telling their HR leader they were grieving, showing them pictures of their new puppy, or popping in just to vent after a rough meeting. Meanwhile, all of that happened to me in the same week.

So what made the difference? How did I build trust and respect with both the leadership team and the employees?

After stepping back and dissecting the impact of my work, I’ve come to this conclusion:

1. Leaders respected me because I understood them.
I speak business. I understand that, especially in professional services, your people are your product. The only way the business grows is if employees are engaged, efficient, and operating at their best.

2. Employees trusted me because I genuinely cared.
Not just about their performance - but about their full experience as humans at work.

These two truths are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they’re deeply connected.

Think about it: have you ever had a job you loved - like really loved? A job where you wanted to give your best effort, where the days flew by, and you found meaning in your work? Odds are, in that role, you were highly productive. You worked hard. Maybe you even worked more than you had to.

A friend of mine recently told me her company adopted a four-day workweek. Instead of fully taking Fridays off, she uses the day to catch up on creative or strategic projects she didn’t have time for earlier in the week. Why? Because she loves her job.

If, on the other hand, work is just a paycheck to you, the relationship becomes transactional. You log off Thursday and don’t give it another thought until Monday morning.

To be clear: I fully support boundaries and the ability to unplug. That’s healthy and necessary. But when you’re happy in your job, you naturally start to see your success and the company’s success as intertwined. It’s a symbiotic relationship. That’s where the magic happens.

People Operations, emotional intelligence, culture—whatever you want to call it—it’s not fluff. It’s not “HR speak.” It’s the engine that drives business results.

When people feel good about the work they’re doing and where they’re doing it, everything improves. Recruiting becomes easier. Retention strengthens. Client satisfaction rises. Revenue grows. Not because you said “our goal is $3M this year,” but because you created the conditions where people could do their best work.

That takes more than an annual review and a policy manual. It takes meeting people where they are, supporting them like the complex, brilliant, unique humans they are. Every single employee has different motivators, different stressors, and different goals.

What worked for me as an HR leader was understanding that. I created policies and programs that flexed to fit real people—not the other way around. I coached employees and managers individually. I gave honest feedback and held people accountable. I had hard conversations. I celebrated wins. I listened. I cared.

And now? I get to do that work for other organizations as a leadership coach.

People often ask me what my “coaching method” is, and the honest answer is: it depends. My clients are smart, technical, and already successful—but each of them is working through something completely different. The common thread? They all want to make changes in how they work or lead that will allow them to show up happier, more inspired, and more effective.

They want to get out of survival mode and into a version of work that actually works for them.

This is where I live.

In that space between personal growth and professional performance.
Between the goals on paper and the humans who make them happen.
Between the work and the why.

When your leaders are supported in a way that acknowledges both their potential and their humanity, they show up differently. They lead better. They communicate more clearly. They drive results—not through burnout, but through clarity, confidence, and connection.

That’s the real impact of coaching. It’s not just personal—it’s deeply strategic.

If you’re leading a business and want to get the most out of your team, this is the work that gets you there. I’d love to support you.