Coach

“Manon has been my executive coach for the past 3 years, helping me to navigate my roles as a professor at a major medical school in New York City with a well-funded and productive research laboratory. I have a research group of about 20 that I mentor and supervise, and I serve on a number of national and inter-institutional committees. Manon’s extensive knowledge of workplace dynamics and human goal attainment, and her ability to get at the essence of the matter, have been invaluable to me. I have had a highly enriching and positive experience working with her. Over this time perhaps the most important thing that has happened, if I were to select one thing, is that she helped me to transition into a more natural work and management style for myself. This of course took quite a bit of work. I had to realize that what I thought I was supposed to be as a boss was mismatched with my personality; I had to learn that it wasn’t necessary to play out this role; and I had to discover that I could be effective using an approach that is natural, and therefore comfortable, for me. Remarkably, to my eye at least, this growth happened in the background, while we worked on topics and problems that I brought to her and that she worked through with me (she was very helpful in these matters too). Manon has helped me to be kind to myself while remaining productive and successful in my career, and to understand what is important to me. I could not recommend Manon more strongly. She will take a compassionate, grounded, and informed approach to helping you discover your goals and to realize them.”

“In a little under a year, I’ve managed to make some pretty big career and life alterations all under Manon’s direction and care. I’m talking working-at-my-dream-company kind of changes. Manon has an incredibly insightful way of helping you clarify and map out your goals and dreams before you even realize them yourself. A skill hard to come by. Her positivity, warmth, and pragmatic nature make her a truly indispensable life coach. I am very fortunate to have her in my life and highly recommend her services!”

“Manon was a truly wonderful coach. I found her to be open, accepting and thoughtful. Manon has a unique style, which is firmly grounded in coaching principles. I found I was able to shift in places/situations in my life that I had thought unmovable. Our work together had a profound effect on me and I would very highly recommend her services to anyone.”

“Manon is amazing! I instantly felt comfortable with her and could be open about my situation. She used tools that helped me gain new insights and she helped me create an action plan. I highly recommend her!!”

“I’m a first-time author, aspiring rock ’n roll singer and extreme athlete and newly single mom. Thanks to Manon’s combination of gentle discipline and cheerleading, I’ve had a successful rock ’n roll debut in Greenwich Village (and I wasn’t even in chorus in high school!) and performed far better than I expected in a cross country skate ski race in Sun Valley, Idaho (elevation: just under 6,000 feet). That required me to train for a brand new sport at sea level in a mostly snowless New York City winter. Manon’s encouragement, creative ideas and ability to help me break down the big picture into small, actionable steps (something I just cannot do on my own) helped me make all of those things happen.

My next big project: marketing my current book and planning the next ones. Again, Manon’s ability to help me break a big job down into small, actionable tasks has me actually excited about doing something that was so big and complex that I had no idea of where to start and therefore didn’t. I’m checking things off every day!

At the same time, I’m on top of my 17-year-old’s college search, thanks to Manon.

Manon is not just organized but challenging. For example, I never even thought about doing a TED talk, but now it’s on my roadmap—which I now have, thanks to Manon. And, she brings much needed accountability to all of my initiatives, something that I, as a new, entrepreneurial author, need after a lifetime as a reporter meeting structured deadlines.

I think what makes Manon so unique is her ability to think big, her sweet temperament and great sense of humor. She also very much tailors what she does to you, asking you about what works and what won’t. She kicks my butt and I don’t even realize it until I look back and say, “Wow, I did all that?”

Finally, it’s incredibly important for all of us, particularly women, to invest in ourselves by hiring a life coach. You can read all the self-improvement, inspirational and time management books you want (and I read a LOT of them), but there is nothing like actually working with a professional. All of those books are great, but it took Manon to get me to actually DO a vision board! (Joan Jett is in it!) It’s part of my big daily planner (Manon helped me with that, too!)

Some of us have big dreams but no idea of how to achieve them (That’s me). Some of us are making some progress but it’s going too slowly. And some of us can’t even articulate our dreams. If any of those describe you, run, don’t walk, to Manon Zinzell.

Meanwhile, I’m going for a run, My next extreme event: the 17-mile, 5,000-foot Imogene Pass Run.”