In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kelly Schmidt.

Kelly is a coach and consultant with 25 years in the corporate space, mostly in life sciences and technology. As she puts it, “I love to build cool things, but I started to find I really liked it better when people use those cool things.”

Kelly shares her journey from tech professional to executive coach, and how her natural leadership style—“providing space for people to get things clear”—led her to realise she’d been coaching long before she had the language for it.

We talk about building teams, navigating gnarly transformations, and making the leap into coaching after being laid off. Kelly’s story is a powerful example of “getting really comfortable figuring out what I wanted” instead of following the “shoulds.”

In this episode, you’ll hear:

✅ How Kelly transitioned from 25 years in corporate life sciences and IT into coaching and consulting
✅ Why her natural style of holding space and asking questions shaped her leadership and coaching approach
✅ What helped her shift from “shoulds” to “wants” when deciding what to do after being laid off
✅ The mix of consulting, coaching, and facilitation she now uses to support leaders through change
✅ Her journey with visibility and how she approaches LinkedIn and content creation with intention
✅ Why she’s found the Corporate to Coach Accelerator so valuable—especially the group coaching and accountability “It’s so rich... there's always something new going on. I didn't expect to get nearly as much out of the group coaching calls. Just being able to say out loud, what's my win and what's my priority—that helps me stay on track.”

Connect with Kelly:
💼 Find Kelly Schmidt on LinkedIn

💬 Want to work with her? She’s helping leaders get clear and hold space through transformation.

Need help building your coaching business with corporate clients?

You can book a call with me to explore whether the Accelerator is a good fit. As Kelly says, “It gave me a framework. I love a good framework.”

🌐 More at elliescarf.com

See you next time!