From the looks of it Madeleine had it all. She was a young, beautiful, smart, and competent attorney. She was married and had a young son whom she adored. Her husband was her law partner and together they did it all. And her business was growing by leaps and bounds. Fantastic, right?

Not really. The relationship between husband and wife was not going as expected; nor was their practice. After giving their lives full consideration, the couple decided that divorce was the best option for their family…and they were right. But Madeleine had many changes to make to be professionally successful and personally fulfilled. She was challenged by what she knew was a critical crossroad in her life -- how would she manage these changes and maintain her practice? 

Madeleine engaged me as a strategic support partner or what an attorney might call a “second chair.” Together we began to build a case for her future. During this transition process, Madeleine decided to hire an associate, relocate her office, and hire an administrative assistant and then an additional associate. She redefined her work schedule to accommodate the change in her parenting schedule, as well as her desire to network and relax. 

Over the four months that I worked with Madeleine she did an outstanding job at creating the positive change she sought. When we directed attention to the day-to-day interactions in her life, we identified a roadblock that hindered Madeleine from presenting her message to the world—her style and dress belied her intent and her professional direction. So we explored available options. Then in the safe and supportive environment we created she was able to try them on and notice the responses. Ultimately Madeleine chose to make certain adjustments as she settled comfortably into her new skin. Now she manifests herself as the professional that she is. And she is recognized as such by her peers, direct report staff, clients, and the court. And in the first few months of this fiscal year she has already matched her gross profit from all of last year, which by the way was up from the fiscal year before that!

Now we are bringing coaching into her law firm where we are assessing, identifying, and refining the “rules of engagement” in her office. Watch out world, this woman is on fire!