Since I started coaching in 2007, I’ve helped hundreds of amazing people from around the world on their journey to create the careers and lives they want, and to overcome the difficulties in their path.
Although this is my profession, it doesn’t feel like “work” to me. It feels like a calling, an honor and a privilege. And I absolutely love it. It has been a process and evolution that started with my own journey and desire for career clarity…
Kim Sumner, PCC
Career, Executive and Life Coach
My Journey to Coaching
I have always been interested in the intersection of psychology, people and business, which led me to getting my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of Virginia, and soon after proceeding on to get my MBA at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
My first professional positions after my MBA were in human resources management, where I worked for several years as an HR generalist and manager for a large US-based global conglomerate. But after a few years, I felt a big disconnect with my profession. There were some aspects I enjoyed, but there were more that I didn’t. My stress level was high, I felt tired all the time, and I was living for the weekends. I wanted more for myself than this and I needed to make some changes, but I was very confused about what directions I should consider and explore. I probably should have hired a coach at this point, it would have helped my career evolution move along much faster!
I decided a move to consulting was going to help me get what I was looking for, so I took a role in a global consultancy in talent management and organizational development. It was very dynamic and intellectually challenging work and I loved it! My colleagues were fantastic and the company culture was a great fit for me. But it still wasn’t quite right, and I realized that I was missing the counseling and employee development element that I loved in my previous roles in HR management.
In fact, I realized that I was very often in the role of coach, mentor and advisor with work colleagues of all levels, friends, and even acquaintances who didn’t know me well but would seek me out for help and guidance. And this was something that I loved to do and found very fulfilling. The realization that I could do this by coaching professionally was like being hit by a lightning bolt, as it beautifully combines the elements that are most important to me, and engage and fulfill me the most. I found a career I love!
Soon after this realization, I pursued coach training and certification, earning my certification as a Co-Active Coach (CPCC) in 2009, and progressing on to achieve my Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the international “gold standard” of coaching credentialing organizations.
My Evolution in Coaching
In my first years of coaching professionally, I focused on working with career changers, having recently changed careers myself and developed tools and processes to help my clients get clear and figure things out for themselves in a more focused, time efficient way.
Soon after that, my coaching service branched out to include other aspects of career management such as strategic career planning, managing career growth and progression, overcoming career obstacles, and starting a business. And in the last several years my service has expanded further to helping my clients with burnout and stress issues (particularly my entrepreneur and executive clients), work-life balance, relationship issues, and navigating, dreaming of and planning for major life transitions such as life after financial independence, retirement/sabbaticals, or starting a family while running a business.
Through the ebb and flow of my own journey, I feel so privileged and honored to be able to accompany my clients through their own journeys. There is no doubt for me that this is my calling, and I look forward to continuing to serve in this way for many years to come.
