Client Case Study 4

As a personal and professional life coach, I believe we’re all meant to live abundant, meaningful lives.

The reason the majority of us don’t? We simply don’t know how.

We’ve never been given the tools or resources that can help us unlock our potential.

I work with individuals from all walks of life, implementing a process that reprograms limiting beliefs and behaviors.

As my clients will tell you – change is possible. And it can be quick, efficient, and complete.

Natalie Hadley is one such example.

Below, in her own words, she shares her experience of working with me to become a better version of herself…

Natalie Hadley testimonial for Amy Bracht Career Coach

Background & History

“With the intention of pursuing a journalism career, I earned my undergraduate degree at Wayne State College, where I majored in Communications. I then moved to Omaha and got a master’s in communications from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

After I finished all of this coursework, I began working for a local paper, writing full time for the Midlands Business Journal about the business community in Omaha. I got married and had my first child, Georgia, in 1994, and my second, Rain, in 1995.

Around this time, I felt like I was ready for a career change. I ended up joining Kirkpatrick Pettis, owned by Mutual of Omaha, as a Communications Specialist. Half of my responsibilities included internal communications and the other half was dedicated to documenting company policies and procedures. It was a great experience, as it gave me the opportunity to learn about the financial services/brokerage industry from the operations side.

I was eventually promoted to a managerial role, but in 2001, the company was sold, shortly after I had my son, Noah. My job was phased out seven months later. So, I went back to freelancing and picked up a copy editing job. Got laid off again, then got hired on with Securities America as copywriter, thanks to my knowledge of financial services. While there, I was promoted to team lead, then manager, then into a director level position. Yet even with these promotions, there were limitations to what I could do for my staff. That left me with such a helpless feeling, and resentment built up over time.”

What were some of the challenges and obstacles you faced?

“I think my biggest frustration was that I kept getting passed over for officer promotions.

It can be very tough to see those who are younger and those with much less experience get promoted.

By 2013, I made another change and was hired as a Marketing Manager with Outlook Nebraska, a nonprofit social enterprise affiliated with a Federal Government program that supports job creation for people who are blind or visually impaired. In this job, and in many of my previous positions, office politics were prevalent. And I can’t stand office politics. So, all of these combined challenges left me somewhat unfulfilled in my professional life.”

How did you find Amy and the coaching services she provides?

“I met Amy back when I was with Outlook Business Solutions, working in their in-house marketing department. As I recall, Amy found me on LinkedIn – where we were both part of a similar local business group. I connected with her and began reading what she shared.

One day, I saw a post she wrote that really spoke to me. I decided to look into the coaching services she provided. It was long overdue. I just needed an outside perspective – someone who could help me evaluate where I am, where I’m going, and what I should do next. During our first call, I just poured everything out. I was unhappy and upset as I described my situation. But she listened patiently and responded that she could help me with a specific problem I hadn’t noticed on my own – how I was basically self-sabotaging myself.”

Tell us about your experience in working with Amy - what did you discover about yourself?

“Lots of surprising things!

For openers, I’m evidently a community builder – it’s one of my superpowers.

Not surprisingly, Amy helped me discover that my top saboteurs were overachieving and perfectionist tendencies.

I’m action oriented. I see something that’s broken and want to fix it, then get frustrated when I can’t fix it. To overcome this need, Amy walked me through a visualization exercise. I was told to envision my elder, wiser self – what would that person look back on and tell me? That provided some insightful perspective.

I’ve also often been too controlling as well. I came to realize that I could let go, and that I didn’t always have to be the smartest person in the room.

I had built up a misguided perception of myself. I came to learn that what I was offering wasn’t always valued by others, but that didn’t make me an invaluable person.”

Tell us how Amy's coaching has made a difference in both your personal and professional life?

“There are two primary areas where Amy has had an amazing impact on my life.

After another recent promotion, where I’m now managing four other employees, Amy helped me discover that my specialty is in professional development – getting to build my own little community within my current organization. Now, my attitude has really changed. And positive outcomes have followed. The entire experience really has been phenomenal for me.

Aside from focusing on my professional side, we did another exercise – a hypothetical one – to discover what it is that I truly love to do. What would I do if money weren’t an issue? Well, I just love doing arts and crafts with my granddaughter.

So, after some careful consideration and encouragement from Amy, I started a nonprofit called The Craft Shack – a Creative Space for Kids. We’re building a space in Omaha where lower-income level kids can come do arts and crafts projects – no kits, no perfection, just supplies and a whole lot of imagination.

It’s extremely rewarding and now I can see how all of these improvements have come together to create my own little happy place.”

Why would you recommend others work with Amy?

“I came to realize that no matter how self-aware you are, you’re always in your own head.

But Amy guides you on an external process, so that you can see things from a completely different perspective. And it’s very eye-opening. I think it’s even more so for women – because we’re caregivers who focus on others, but more often than not, we need to focus on ourselves as well.

Amy helps people find out what’s wrong, then she gives you the tools to fix it.

She’s a patient listener who gives great advice. She was never patronizing or dismissive of anything I had to say.

To this day, I still have monthly check-in calls with her. I want her as my cheerleader and my sounding board. Because at the end of the day, affirmation is very important for all of us to achieve.”

If you would like to find out how coaching can help you
schedule your free discovery session now.