Coaching Case Study: Katherine's Journey of Professional Transformation
Posted on April 30, 2025 by Priscilla (Li) Guan, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
A client’s journey through tough decisions and emotions—regaining self-agency and shaping an empowered future through coaching.
Coaching Case Study: Katherine’s Journey of Professional Transformation
In this case study, I share the journey of a client who navigated significant professional and emotional challenges. Through our coaching partnership, we explored her decision-making process, supported her in regaining self-agency, and shaped a pathway toward a more empowered future.
Background and Purpose
Katherine, my client, immigrated to Canada from Romania 18 years ago. She works as a senior design specialist in a tech company and is proud of her academic and professional achievements. During our discovery meeting, we established a coaching agreement to help her navigate the next chapter of her career and life, as she found herself at a crossroads. We scheduled six coaching sessions over the course of two months.
At the start of our sessions, Katherine was experiencing significant emotional distress, which made our initial conversation complex and challenging. Her primary objectives were to decide whether to return to her current job, pursue a new technical management role with another company, start her own business, or relocate to Romania to reunite with her family.
At the outset, my client faced significant emotional and mental turmoil, making her decision-making process challenging. While she appreciated the financial stability of her well-paying job, she resented her manager for undermining her achievements and subjecting her to verbal and emotional abuse. This toxic relationship caused immense stress, leading to a long medical leave. As her leave neared its end, and with HR asking her to return, Katherine found herself in a dilemma. Katherine often spoke intensely about her manager, frequently becoming emotional. She feared returning to work but saw no clear alternatives, even with psychiatric support.
My Coaching Approach and Case Evolution
My coaching methodology focuses on improving decision-making, enhancing self-agency, and unlocking a client’s full potential. I used the JET model to structure our sessions, while ensuring that I remained present, compassionate, and non-judgmental. The goal was to help Katherine transition from a mindset of resentment and fear (her current way of being) to one of compassion and professionalism (her new way of being).
I observed that Katherine was feeling emotionally closed off and lacked confidence in managing workplace conflict. I gently offered my observations and insights to help her explore new perspectives. Drawing from Gestalt techniques and Chairwork, I supported her in releasing emotions and examining the situation from various viewpoints—those of her manager, senior leadership, peers, family, and the organization as a whole.
Throughout our work together, I held space for Katherine to process her emotions while staying focused on coaching the person rather than the story. I guided her to envision her future ideal self: a peaceful, happy, empathetic, and compassionate professional aspiring to leadership. This forward-looking approach shifted her focus from past pain to future possibilities.
Together, we explored the adjustments Katherine needed to make in order to align her current behavior with the values and qualities of her future self. Through a cognitive-behavioral approach, I helped her understand the impact of negative emotions in a professional setting and the importance of managing them. Katherine eventually realized that her manager’s negativity acted as a mirror to her own emotional state, reinforcing her frustration. She made the decision to change her approach, aiming to reflect the professional and compassionate self she wanted to embody.
Katherine then developed concrete strategies for communicating with her manager in a professional manner while maintaining emotional stability. To ensure accountability, she committed to centering, pausing, and reflecting before reacting. Additionally, she created a structured reintegration plan for her return to work, using her calendar to track progress.
By the final session, Katherine had made the decision to return to work, face her manager with courage and compassion, and treat her move to Romania as a long-term goal. We agreed to check in periodically to monitor her progress.
Two months later, during a follow-up session, Katherine shared her progress and reaffirmed her commitment to empathy, forgiveness, and professionalism.
Challenges in Coaching Competencies
This engagement posed challenges in areas such as contracting, maintaining presence, and active listening. Katherine’s emotional intensity made it difficult to steer conversations toward the coaching purpose, requiring me to remain present and keep sessions on track. I had to acknowledge her emotions and use tools like the Presence Pause, gradually shifting the focus to a more positive, transformative direction.
Another challenge was Katherine’s paralysis in decision-making. We explored how this impacted her, helping her build on her strengths and establish clearer criteria for evaluating her options. Additionally, considering her spiritual inclinations, I incorporated somatic exercises (e.g., mindfulness and centering), which facilitated emotional regulation and deeper reflection.
Katherine’s initial resistance to change required me to guide her in opening up and exploring new ways to engage professionally while maintaining her inner peace.
Reflections on My Executive Coaching
This coaching experience contributed to shaping my executive coaching approach, which uncovers purpose, evokes awareness, and fosters self-agency. Instead of providing direct solutions, I focused on helping Katherine shift her mindset, encouraging her to see herself as whole, resourceful, and capable of making empowered decisions.
The JET model provided a structured framework for our sessions, while the systemic approach helped Katherine understand broader organizational dynamics. Gestalt techniques and Chairwork enabled her to consider the perspectives of others. By integrating these methodologies, I supported her in developing a path forward that aligned with her values, purpose, and professional aspirations.
Client’s Feedback about Coaching
Katherine shared that our work together helped her uncover core issues in both her professional and personal life. She described the coaching experience as a breakthrough, where the insights she gained led to a meaningful shift in mindset and approach. She expressed heartfelt gratitude for the support and clarity I provided, particularly in creating space for deep reflection. These realizations were pivotal in her decision-making and contributed significantly to her personal growth, making the coaching journey truly transformative.
Conclusion
This case study serves as a real-world example of handling emotional dysregulation, facilitating decision-making, and fostering professional growth. It was an invaluable opportunity to apply the ICF/AC competencies and use various techniques to navigate interpersonal challenges and career transitions.
This case illustrates that when faced with a client’s emotional complexity and decision paralysis, it is essential to enhance contracting, maintain presence and active listening, and evoke awareness through thoughtful questions that empower self-generated decision-making.
It reinforced my belief that coaching is not about fixing problems, but about enabling clients to tap into their potential and make empowered, meaningful decisions.
