Testimonials
Executive Coaching
“I worked with Susan after getting a promotion into a stretch role. What I loved about working with Susan is that she combines a scientific, data driven approach with an extremely empathetic, human touch. She helped me figure out how to tackle my new role, what kind of leader I wanted to be and how to navigate some tricky political situations. She was always available for quick questions and spent significant time preparing and delivering the most comprehensive set of 360 feedback I’ve ever received. She challenged me to think differently. I am lucky to have had the gift of working with Susan.”
Carol FoxAutomotive Industry Practice Group Head, Thomson Reuters“Working with Susan as an executive coach has been a great pleasure as well as a very productive exercise. She spent the time to get to know me, gain an understanding of my career background and experiences, the dynamics of my business segment and then very pragmatically helped create a personal development plan that is a blueprint I can utilize to get the most out of my role as an executive. Built on the detailed feedback from both peers and employees as the result of a 360 review process, the plan has clear and concise goals that are real and tangible and will have a direct impact on my ability to lead me team to deliver results in a dynamic, complex environment. I expect that my time spent working with Susan will pay dividends for many years to come. She is a true professional and delivered on her promises.”
Joe JacksonManaging Director, Government, Tax and Accounting, Thomson Reuters“Executive coaching with Susan was a unique development experience that has allowed me to be deeply introspective when evaluating my behaviors—understanding better how they impact both my performance and team environment. The creation of a very detailed development plan has helped drive my focus and has resulted in valuable “quick wins”. Susan did a wonderful job assisting me to identify my greatest opportunities while pushing me out of my comfort zone. I am certain that I will continue to leverage this knowledge as I move forward.”
Tina ArendVP, Finance, Legal, Thomson Reuters“I had the pleasure of having Susan as my executive coach from February 2015 to November 2015. Despite never having worked with a coach before, Susan’s personable and open style helped create a high level of trust and confidence between us in a short period of time. This allowed me to feel extremely comfortable in having open discussions with her regarding areas of improvement and the 360 feedback I received during our time working together.
In addition, her structured approach to helping me build and adhere to an actionable professional development plan was instrumental in helping me very deliberately make noticeable improvements at a crucial juncture in my career.
I cannot thank Susan enough for the clarity she brought to me in better understanding myself as a person and as a professional, and translating this understanding into meaningful action. I have greatly valued my time working with Susan and could not have asked for a better or more effective executive coaching experience.”Faraaz KhanGlobal Head of Strategy, IP & Science, Thomson Reuters“Susan has been an invaluable asset to both me personally and to NextMinds over the past year. Her dedication, expertise, and strategic insight have played a pivotal role in strengthening both my leadership capabilities and our organization’s ability to scale effectively, and she has provided this guidance at a critical juncture for the organization. Her keen ability to identify structural inefficiencies, streamline decision-making processes, and provide actionable strategies has significantly improved how we navigate the complexities of a scaling organization. Beyond her strategic acumen, Susan has been an exceptional mentor, offering guidance tailored to my specific challenges as a leader. She proved a framework for enhancing my executive presence, improving stakeholder communication, and fostering a culture of innovation and accountability within our team. Her ability to ask the right questions and push me toward deeper self-awareness and strategic clarity has been transformative. She has helped navigate overcoming growing pains in personnel and managed to helped me identify, deconstruct and begin addressing a variety of my needed areas of improvement as a leader without ever appearing or coming across patronizing. But beyond everything else, what—in my opinion—has truly set Susan apart has been her genuine interest in and enthusiasm not just for NextMInds as an institution, but for me personally. Her ability to connect with others and quickly establish herself as a vocal and unerring supporter, “in their corner”, is I think a critical component of her success. Susan’s guidance has not only helped me refine my leadership approach but has also directly contributed to the growth and sustainability of NextMinds as we expand our reach and mission. For that she will always have my gratitude and enthusiastic recommendation.“
Nick BriereExecutive Director, NextMinds
Career/Transition Coaching and The Highlands Ability Battery
“In our son’s senior year of high school he informed us that his plan was to major in engineering in college. Although he was an honors student all through high school, we were concerned about whether he had the aptitude and interest to pursue an engineering major. Since neither of us had a background in engineering, we weren’t sure we could give the kind of insight and encouragement that we wanted to provide to our son.
Based on our desire for more information, we decided to meet with Susan regarding the Highlands Ability Battery. Susan was wonderful. She was informative, friendly, and immediately developed a rapport with our son that exists to this day. After learning about the HAB, we decided this was exactly what we were looking for to assist our son.
The testing, counselling, and feedback were not only enlightening, but also enjoyable. The three of us met with Susan and went over the results. Her evaluation showed that our son, in fact, possessed a strong aptitude for all aspects necessary to be a successful engineer. As parents, the results of the HAB validated our son’s choice, and we had the peace of mind that engineering was a good fit. We could now encourage our son’s choice of majors with real data and information. It was such a relief to know that we were on the right track!
Today, our son is a United States Naval officer and is studying advanced nuclear engineering.
We had an outstanding experience with Susan and the Highlands Ability Battery and would recommend it for any student.”D and MWest Hartford, CT“I am an attorney who took the Highlands Ability Battery to facilitate a mid-to-late career assessment of my professional life. Like many people I sometimes felt vaguely that my hard-wired abilities were at odds with the career choices I had made. Susan was very patient, thorough, and spent a great deal of time going over the results and elaborating on the implications for my work. The HAB is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to gain a clear understanding of their innate abilities, but it is an even better tool when administered and explained by someone with the education, background and temperament that Susan has.”
S.D.West Hartford, CT“I was nearing the end of a stressful job when I took my Highlands test, and in the midst of a journey that I can only describe as a career search and a soul search. I came to Susan with a very vague idea of where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be. The test itself was quite an interesting experience–if standardized testing could be fun, this would be it. The assessment did more than simply confirm my strengths–Susan’s facilitation and interpretation brought out emerging trends; some I had thought of before, and others I had not. Fast forward 4 years, I have decided to embark on a new career–a career which heavily depends on the trends Susan distilled from my test results. This may have been a slow burn, but when I realized the linkage between my assessment and my future career, I couldn’t have been more grateful or excited.”
DanWest Hartford, CT“As a sophomore undergraduate student, the Highlands Ability Battery helped me to understand the difference between skills and natural abilities. Working with Susan was especially helpful because she took a great deal of time to go over the test results, answer all of my questions, and help me identify areas where I could use my natural abilities. I would definitely recommend this experience to others.”
R.W.Granby, CT“It was very helpful to spend time reflecting on each work sample, reflect on my performance, and relate each strength to a real-life scenario/experience. My feedback conference enhanced my understanding of my own personal learning styles and unique attributes that will aid me when considering future careers.”
College studentCT“I enjoyed being able to really understand my abilities and how it could translate to my career. I think it will be very helpful in my career selection, so that my career will be enjoyable and fulfilling.”
David B. (High School graduate)CT