Welcome to the Arete Coach Podcast with host Severin Sorensen and his guest Gail Schaper-Gordon, Ph.D. In this episode, Severin speaks with Gail, a Vistage Executive Coach, business psychologist, organizational consultant, and experienced CEO. Gail has 22 years of experience as a successful CEO and business leader, having founded and run several small to mid-market professional service companies, including Aegis Psychological Corporation and Behavioral Health Information Management Systems, which were cornerstones of a behavioral health care delivery system of more than 500 mental health care providers serving a quarter of a million individuals. She received her Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University of California and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology.

In this engaging conversation, Severin and Gail explore her pathway into executive coaching, her Vistage Chair practice, and her passion for business psychology. Gail shares her approach to coaching, emphasizing the importance of resilience and adaptability in both personal and professional life. She discusses the power of leaning into one's uniqueness and embracing different perspectives to drive change and create value. Gail also highlights the significance of deep listening and empathy in coaching, describing her method as being fully present and listening from a deep feeling place. Throughout the discussion, Gail's commitment to continuous learning and growth shines through as she shares her passions, heartaches, and the many ways she contributes her mindshare, wisdom, and energy to others. This episode aligns perfectly with the Arete Coach Podcast's mission to explore the art and science of executive coaching.

Gail Schaper-Gordon's memorable quotes r capture key insights from the conversation.

"The best questions and the most powerful questions are the ones that I don't even remember asking and that people come back and tell me about them."

"You learn that you take your time, you find your right space to grieve, and then you go back. It's not about being consumed by grief. It's about continuing with life and managing all that."

"My why is to make sense so that people with us why observe about elements of every situation and make sense out of them. They take complicated or what may appear to be complicated factors, problems, concepts, and organize them to create solutions that are sensible and easy to implement." -

"I think that I've learned that the less my opinion is expressed in a group, the less that they hear what my idea of a solution would be in a group meeting. And the more that I listen and give them the space, the better."

The Arete Coach Podcast seeks to explore the art and science of executive coaching. You can find out more about this podcast at aretecoach.io.

This interview was conducted on November 23, 2021, via Zoom Video. Copyright © 2024 by Arete Coach™ LLC. All rights reserved.