Indie Bollman Coaching and Consulting LLC

What is your approach to helping clients identify and solve key challenges? If a speaking opportunity, I like to understand what they event director is looking for – any special themes or focus. Also who is going to be in the audience – who they are, what industry they are from, even what level of the organization they may be in. all of these things help me better connect with an audience and deliver the content in a fun, but impactful way. If coaching or consulting, it’s almost the same except I need to under the client, their business, what they are trying to improve, and what they feel their culture and/or leadership philosophy is.

How do you tailor your coaching or consulting style to different industries? If speaking, I engage them a lot and build trust during a speech and try to use language and examples that would be relative to their industry and situtation. Since a lot of what I do is base on the relationship of leader and team, it can most oftten not be industry specific. For coaching and consulting, it’s about all of the above.

What are the most common misconceptions about consulting? I think one is that consultants have never done the work they are consulting on, but rather are just consulting on it. But I’ve found it to more true that they are highly experienced in a field and their consulting draws from that. Another misconception is that consultants are so competitve and cut throat. I’ve engaged with many coaches and consultants in recent years and I have to say, without exception, this is an incredible group of hlepful people that truly see there is plenty to go around and don’t hesitate to help fellow coaches/consultants in their careers.

How do you measure the success of your client engagements? The easy answer is when they achieve their goals. Of course the engagement starts early on with figuring out what those are, but it’s really something when they achieve it. There’s a moment when I have shared what I know, and helped them come up with their approach or next steps, and then I get to see them take them and support them along the way. When I’m speaking, seeing people laugh and enjoy themselves, but telling me afterwards what they got from from presentation always makes my week!

What trends are influencing the future of consulting and coaching? The biggest trend I see is the growht of it. It’s exploding! I believe the work from home trend, which is still very much alive and well, has created a huge number of people that want the freedom to work from wherever they choose and consulting and coaching is an industry well suited for it. This coupled with the increased demand in these services has created a robust market for coaching and consulting and one I hope continues for many years.

What’s the most rewarding part of your work? See clients win, and seeing audiences enjoy themselves and have an a-ha moment.

What skills do you think are essential for future consultants or coaches? Having a clear idea of what you can offer is key and being able to see how a prospect can benefit from it. Keeping it coming from a place of service is critical. In addition, if they don’t know it already, networking. There is no downside to networking, only in not being smart in the best way to do it. Whether it’s just for community give back, new clients, or just staying on top of trends in your field, continuously circulating is vital.