Brandi L. Smith, MS, PCC, BCC
A glance at who I am:
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I coach, teach, and devote my skills to the service of supporting human development - people who genuinely want (positive) change. I am a caring, creative, problem-solver who connects deeply with people and causes that shift our human experiences to a more harmonious way of living collectively. I believe people have creative superpowers just waiting to be revealed and aligned, and that together, we can do momentous things that will improve our lives and the world rather than create more chaos or disharmony. I first caught a glimpse of myself in this way fresh out of undergrad, when I worked with high schoolers. I have been on a coaching and education journey ever since.
To me, separation of things like work, home or family life, and our sense of well being is not as easy as society or culture would have us think. We can't always draw obvious or distinct boundaries that lead to clear cut decisions. In fact, my observation as a coach who has worked with a lot of people, is that the separation-obligation placed on us by society norms dishonors our experience as whole human beings. Truly honoring both self and other, work life and home or family life, and how we show up in the world as individuals, has roots in the phenomenon of connection, which many argue is a fundamental human need. Our individual and collective lives are parts of a connected web. Seeing such connections is one of my greatest strengths.
TRAJECTORY
CREATE A NEW
because the world will change when people change.
​​What I do:
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I coach people in the space where work and life meet. That shows up in different ways for different people. It could be a career transition, work-life spillover, or a call to a cause or leadership. It might be developing self-awareness and making a more informed choice about a direction as a result.
I also co-create visionary projects in partnership with people who are dedicated to a cause that helps our world improve. I use skill sets like one to one coaching, the ability to see individual and unique circumstances and qualities in people, critical analysis and strategic planning, and curriculum writing and content development skills to deliver this work. Like having a palette of paint colors, I use multiple frameworks and tools in coaching and development design, and most importantly, I co-design the details for every partnership with clients. Coaching and development services are tailored when you work with me.
I take my role as a coach very seriously. I see the services I provide as one way to support growth and development in a spectrum of approaches. People have said that my services help to release pressure or anxiety, clear the fog, prevent stress, and build new skills in personal and professional life. Besides providing coaching as a service, I also educate people about coaching through coach-mentoring and coaching education consulting.
I have coached a large and diverse group of people, and I have been coaching for more than a decade. I was introduced to coaching while working in not-for-profits, eventually started coaching individuals and families in life coaching, and followed that with career coaching. Over the years, my coaching practice has grown to support professionals transitioning careers, managing spillover, and taking on large projects and leadership roles. Many of my clients identify as "creatives," or "innovators." My experiences span one to one and group coaching. I still support not-for-profit organizations; only I serve leaders and professionals through coaching partnerships. I love this because I get to support more than one organization and cause this way. I also partner with leaders and professionals in higher education and small business.
Why I do it:
I truly and wholeheartedly believe the world will change when people change and human development, for the sake of individual and collective wellbeing, is the thread that ties it all together. Our individual time is limited on this planet, yet we have such an impact on the trajectory of our world, other people in it, capacity for health or disease as it pertains to ecology and environments, and social justice. Many of the most important things for me revolve around improving these, for I believe that our problems in each domain are human-created.
Our potential for living well over time, with more peace and harmony, depends on who we each become and what we create and embrace in our time here. I have witnessed the power of a person aligning with their "most important things" at work and home and the harmony and peace it creates for them. My instincts tell me we are on the right path when that happens. I am drawn to partnerships with people who are working on similar most important things. I trust that we have more impact when we all bring our talents and skills together for a cause. ​
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I serve people directly through coaching because I have seen the power of applying a coach-approach across contexts – at home, at work, and in relationships - again and again. I have noticed that no matter our human experiences or origins, we all share the commonality and necessity to persist through challenge and conflict when we truly want to improve our circumstances. We do better with persisting when we have support. We really can create a new trajectory; the more of us who are doing our own work the more we will create a collective trajectory and the world will change.