Hear yourself think
Navigate forward with clarity and confidence.
Hello! What brings you here today?
I’ve hit a snag…
The playbook that got me here isn’t what I need right now. I want a safe, confidential space where I can rewrite my “success equation.”
I’m rethinking what matters…
What’s important to me seems to be shifting. I want a sounding board to help me chart a course that feels authentic and inspiring.
I’m negotiating change…
I want an accountability partner to help me see clearly and embrace change with confidence.
Coaching creates clarity.
Become the leader you want to be by rewiring automatic behaviors that aren’t in service of you… or your team.
Develop clarity of purpose by stepping away from the noisy pull of urgent demands, sitting still, and listening. To yourself.
Embrace change as an opportunity by learning how to flow with it- instead of resenting it, avoiding it, or trying to control it.
You already know what to do. Coaching helps that inner wisdom become clear and get activated- by allowing the fog of fear, self-doubt, and judgment to lift, and by developing the muscles to stretch into new ways of being.
It starts with Mental Fitness™.
We’ll begin our coaching relationship with Positive Intelligence, a powerful 6-week Mental Fitness™ program developed by Stanford-lecturer and NY Times Bestselling author Shirzad Charmine. I’ll support you in transforming insights into sustained change as you work through the program- by providing an accountability partner, a sounding board, and a compassionate fellow traveler along the journey.
I typically work with leaders for six months. Building on the strong foundation you develop through the Positive Intelligence program, we’ll examine the opportunities you have to create the conditions for everyone to do their best work- including you.
Turn Two.
In baseball, "turn two" means making a double play- using the middle infield's skill to get twice as much impact out of a single pitch. Coaching engages you in self-discovery that empowers you to make the most of every "pitch", leveraging the talent and energy around you to achieve lasting success.
With a foundation of Mental Fitness, you can Turn Two every time you take the field. We’ll work together as you engage your new muscles to transform the way you lead:
Creating the conditions for mastery, autonomy, and purpose
Navigating change with curiosity and openness
Transforming challenging relationships with empathy and creativity
Growing into new levels of leadership with confidence
Karen White
Certified Executive Coach
My coaching practice draws on 25 years of leadership experience in product management and operations, much of it in the startup world. I’ve had the opportunity to lead through all flavors of change, from hypergrowth to strategic pivots to mergers and acquisitions. I've seen how authentic, intentional leadership that invokes both head and heart can help teams thrive even in the midst of real trials, yielding remarkable results.
I am passionate about working with aspiring, emerging and experienced leaders to break through hindrances and reach new levels of achievement, purpose, and happiness at work. I especially love working with startups, helping founders find their way from an inspiring idea to an inspiring organization.
My story
Outside of work, I’m an avid cyclist, a Zen practitioner, a mother of two humans and two cats, and a spouse to my wonderful wife. I also serve on the board of two nonprofits: Dream Volunteers and Middle Way Zen.
I’ve been drawn to coaching ever since my own transformational experience as a coachee, when I was a first-time VP at a startup. I had an exciting leadership role- but I wasn’t yet attuned to what that meant, and I was too busy racing around to stop and consider what chapters of my playbook needed a rewrite. My way of “leading” was to grab the reins whenever I thought our work was at risk of not meeting my exacting standards. I was depriving my team of the agency and ownership that was critical to their growth and happiness- while exhausting myself by trying to catch every spinning plate before it fell.
My coach helped me look at my situation from a place of stillness. Together, we created the space for me to break out of reflexive patterns and step into my leadership role with authentic curiosity, openness, and joy. I adopted practices that helped me put space between stimulus and response, giving me the freedom to choose my actions with intention and with clear seeing. I’ve sustained those practices for more than two decades.
I gained so much from my coaching experience- and after many years in leadership roles, I decided it was time to pay it forward. I became certified as an executive coach through UC Berkeley and look forward to sharing this work with you.
Everything you need to feel fulfilled, purposeful and confident in your leadership is already within you. Let’s turn it on.
Once upon a time…
Coaching Services
1:1 Coaching
I primarily work 1:1 with individuals who are looking to step into their full potential as leaders. Your coaching engagement includes the six-week Positive Intelligence® program at no additional cost. We use this to benchmark your Mental Fitness and to provide the foundation and framework for progress toward your specific coaching goals. Engagements are typically three to six months.
Group Coaching Programs
Leading with courage and character is an executive coaching program for inspired humans who are new to managing people or who are seeking to expand into a new level of leadership. Join an intimate cohort of peers on a journey of self-discovery and skill-building at this critical career inflection point, guided by executive coaches with decades of successful business leadership experience.
Our highly interactive program integrates three pillars of leadership success. While most programs skip straight to skill-building, we start with what matters most: attitudes, beliefs, and mental habits.
What clients are saying…