Deborah Howard, Esq., MSOD, ICF PCC, EMCC EIA, Coach Supervisor
Guiding Change Consulting President and Founder

I am the founder and President of Guiding Change Consulting, Inc, a professional certified coach, coach supervisor, organization development consultant, and author who previously worked as a public interest lawyer. I bring intercultural insight and a passion for social justice to my work. Using authenticity, clarity, and compassion, I help leaders and their teams transform themselves and the world by accessing their inner wisdom and tapping into their wisdom, passion, and creativity.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. My professional life began in Boston, MA, with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. I went to law school with the goal of using the law to help create positive social change. After practicing law in Anchorage Alaska and studying law in Kyoto, Japan, I become disillusioned with the adversarial process. Rather than take sides in win-lose scenarios, I wanted to find ways to help organizations develop work environments that are inclusive and just. It was that desire that led me to return to school in Washington, DC, to receive my master’s degree in organization development from American University/NTL. As I came to see the power of individuals to create personal and organizational change, I became interested in coaching.

My work as a certified coach and organization development consultant includes:

Helping individuals lead satisfying, purposeful lives.
W, an individual working at a major corporation, found herself catering to her boss’ every need, to the point of not being able to express her own needs. She also refrained from sharing her views in meetings, doubting the validity of her own perspective. Through the coaching process, she was able to move from feeling powerless and afraid to being able to express her needs, voice her perspectives, and tap into her own personal power.

R, the executive director of a nonprofit organization was experiencing burnout from years of working long hours under a board of directors that did not support her and undermined her leadership. Through the coaching process, she was able to explore her options and develop clarity about her desired future direction. She resigned and within six months opened a new business in which she was able to align her values and her passion.

Coaching leaders to live and work in alignment with their purpose and values, enabling them to re-ignite passion and bring out the best in themselves and others.
B, chair of a university department was overworked and overwhelmed. She was afraid to delegate responsibilities to her direct reports, fearing they would make mistakes. Through coaching, she was able to get in touch with her desire to help others develop professionally. As a result, she was able to redefine “success” from ensuring no mistakes are made to providing others with growth opportunities. She came to understand that the only way her direct reports could grow and learn was by allowing them to make mistakes. She was then able to let go of some of her responsibilities and enable her direct reports to take on leadership roles within the department.

T, an executive in a construction firm, found himself overloaded and resentful. One of the firm’s clients would agree to project deadlines and then request additional work, while expecting the deadline to remain the same. T was fiercely loyal to the firm and felt powerless in the face of these client demands. As a result, he and his team ended up working unreasonable hours. Through coaching, T came to understand ways to manage the expectations of the client rather than simply saying “yes” to any client requests, alleviating his frustration and ensuring better work-life balance for himself and him team.

Working with team members to strengthen their relationships and collaborate creatively across differences.
X, a global corporation retained me to work with their New York Sales Team because of low morale and tension between the senior and junior team members. A decline in sales in the traditional market made it essential for the team to engage in more outreach than had been traditionally needed. Recent hires who used a proactive sales approach were more productive than the senior team members who were accustomed to simply serving existing clients. My client believed the senior team members were simply unwilling to change and resented the success of the junior team members. After engaging in a data collection process, it turned out the senior team members were willing to change but needed training and support to do so. The junior team members felt the senior members were not willing to share their product knowledge and historical experience. By sharing the data and facilitating conversations with all team members, they were able to develop relationships and come to see the benefit of working together and sharing their respective expertise.

Q, a global manufacturing company, retained me to facilitate a retreat for the leadership teams of each division (this included manufacturing, engineering, marketing, sales, quality control, etc.). Data collection revealed the teams were operating as silos rather than as parts of an overall organization. Through facilitated discussions, the teams were able to learn more about each other; clarify respective roles and responsibilities; create an agreed upon set of norms for ongoing communication and cross-team meetings moving forward; and develop a clear and inclusive process for developing and launching new products.