I’m Robin Schenck.

“I believe self-awareness, competence and kindness are the keys to effective leadership and successful business growth.”

After two decades of coaching and training experience, and a PhD in psychology, I’ve been able to capture and simplify the best practices I learned in the field so that my clients can quickly excel at what matters most, saving themselves and their organizations valuable time and resources.

I’ve witnessed how this approach can transform the way “in the middle” leaders understand themselves and others. With it they can multiply their impact in work, family and community.

I also know this because I was the recipient of similar coaching, and it changed me. (Scroll down for the whole story).

Today, I’m able to focus on leadership coaching that can help others have AN impact on the world they envision. 

My Coaching Style.

I’ve developed my coaching approach over two decades — as an executive coach and adjunct faculty member at The Center for Creative Leadership, which serves Fortune 500 companies, healthcare, educational institutions and non-profits. I spent over a decade in private education leadership roles and continue to consult education boards, school leaders, faculty and staff.

I’m a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation (ICF). I earned my BA with Honors from UNC-Chapel Hill, my MA in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University.

coaching has been in my blood from the very beginning…

As the youngest of 3 girls, I worked hard to keep the peace.  I wanted everyone to get along and I watched what my sisters did – both good and bad. 

I learned from my family to work hard and to take care of other people.  I learned that relationships matter and I learned that it is ok to follow a different path. 

At age 15, I had my first job on a gas dock helping boaters.  A girl at the gas dock was typically a surprise to boaters.  The behaviors of hard work and kindness were definitely valued, but also competence.  I had to know what I was doing.  

I learned early on that if I was going to do something, I wanted to be good at what I was doing. 

In my case that meant not just helping others, but getting my Ph.D. in psychology so that I could do a good job of helping people. This path led me to schools and leadership which then led me to coaching. 

WHAT I LEARNED BACK THEN are core to my values.

In my case it means doing a good job and being kind in the process. 

I’m grateful that my work keeps me honest. I pay attention to whether my intentions match my outward behavior. And working smart keeps me productive. Continual achievement matters to me. I value more than ever the relationships I share with family, friends, clients and colleagues.

how being coached changed mE. 

 So, here’s how I realized in my mid-40s that leadership coaching would become my passion and profession. 

While I was working full-time on an executive leadership team, I went through coach training and received targeted feedback from a boss who had also gone through leadership training and had a leadership coach. 

What I remember him saying was “if you change your tone of voice, people will hear your ideas better.”  This was an AHA!  I thought I was being passionate but I was coming across as defensive. 

I learned it wasn’t the other people who were being difficult but maybe there was something I could do to be more effective.  So I began.

With my coach, I improved my self-awareness.  I thought about the goal of a conversation.  I controlled my emotions.  I listened and asked questions rather than telling.  I learned that the skills I used in a 1:1 coaching session could be applied in a group. 

And, I got better.  Not just more effective at work, but calmer and happier.  Nicer to my family.