How I bill myself.

At first glance, this may look like a financial query. Theatrically speaking, the question takes on a whole new spin.

“How do you bill yourself?” was a question posed to me by a great American Theatre Director, Ann Bogart, many years ago. At the time, I didn’t know how to answer it. I was young, I was in flux, and in retrospect, I believe there was a part of me that didn’t want to be “pinned down” by just one title.

After years of coaching, producing theatre, and performing, I strive to strike a balance between these worlds. Now my life, like many of yours reading this, has radically altered. How I bill, myself needs to shift again. For the past few weeks, since sheltering in place, I have been rising before the sun. The other morning I awoke with this idea that simply wouldn’t allow me to go back to bed: How I want to bill myself dawned on me. 

Now that I have crafted the message, it means I must take the next step. I have to walk out into the spotlight and deliver it.

This is how I am billing myself: 

I am a new breed of C-Suite Consultants. I am a CCO. 

Chief Communication Officer: First and foremost, I specialize in communication. I have over fifteen years of executive coaching experience. I have worked with thousands, including top CEOs, leading consultants, and emerging leaders and academics around the world. I coach them into the spotlight and on being a part of an ensemble. The ultimate goal is to generate healthy, dynamic conversations between you and any given audience. In short, I coach my clients both on what they say and how they say it. I do this by observing and coaching body and language skills. Body language runs the gamut—it’s in your breath, posture, and gestures. From head to toe, I observe and assess how you are moving, what the impact is, and what can shift to create a more significant presence that is aligned with your message. If you want to create a speech or presentation together, I’ll help you craft one worthy of a TED Talk stage even if the actual audience is more intimate and online. If English is your second language and you are feeling trepidatious about speaking it, I have a straightforward approach to P-ESL (Pronunciation of English as a Second Language) that will suit your needs and empower your delivery.

Chief Calming Officer: I am here to listen to you and calm your fears by hearing you with an open mind and open heart. All the work I do is confidential. As a contractor, I do not report any specific information shared back to anyone in your organization. I am here for you, and you alone, as your sounding board.

Chief Creative Officer: I come to your organization with a background in the Creative and Performing Arts. Ideation and collaboration are skills I have been honing for over three decades. So I already sit and think outside the box. Creative collaboration is akin to an influential think tank/brainstorming session. I have a formula for devising innovative solutions that lie outside of the corporate norm. It’s fun, it’s freeing, and it leads to solutions previously unthought and unsought. 

Chief Confidence Officer: When you take the step forward to get coaching, you step into a new phase of your leadership. It’s an AHA moment like futurist Jack Uldrich refers to in many of his writings. In his Big AHA, the first A stands for Awareness. It takes a great deal of self-awareness to say, “Yes, I need someone to help me through this—I am at a turning point in my learning curve.” H stands for Humility, and it implies you are open to allowing someone else to hear your story and help you move through the process of learning new things or unlearning old habits. The final A stands for Action. As your coach, I will help you create an achievable action plan and hold you gently accountable. I say gently because when necessary, I allow space for releasing that agenda to generate an even better one, should it be required. I have good instincts as to when an approach is working and when it’s falling short. My job is to listen and use both precision and flow throughout the process. I’ll stand beside you. I’ll champion you in establishing and embracing your strengths, your values, and your growing edges while also encouraging you to remain open to more “aha moments.”

Chief Connection Officer: Just like geometry, the fastest way between two points is a straight line. The same is true for communication. But as human beings, we don’t necessarily process like a computer. Some of us work circuitously–no matter how you work, my work is to connect the dots. The dots of your thoughts and feelings–ideas and experiences, and then I broaden the scope. I offer training not just for you as an individual, I am also here for you and your organization to make connections between you and others. In addition to custom-designed one on one sessions, I can work with you and your peers to create ongoing synergy between you. I am also happy to refer you to my global network of coaches who offer large group communication training in presence, storytelling, and virtual presentation skills. 

Chief Care Officer: Paradoxically, it has also been said, ‘the greatest distance is from the mind to the heart.’ When I commit to taking you on as a client, I do so because I care about you and you’re entire well being. The work we do together is a journey that can potentially shorten the distance between the mind and the heart. The space in between is where I believe the spirit resides. If that’s a place you want to explore, I am prepared to do that!

Chief Consultant Online. I am an Independent Contractor. I am here when you need me. I am committed to your success, and yet I am outside the confines of your daily grind. My hours are flexible, and online appointments can vary from 45 minutes to 4 hours. I am even here if you need a quick phone check-in.

Are you ready to discuss how you bill yourself and then step into the spotlight with it?

If so, contact me.

Your first consultation is free.