CAREER/LIFECOACHING 117

These skills of leadership may seem obvious to the point of being elemen-

tary. Certainly, they are not novel or contestable in what are commonly seen

as the necessary social skills for a leader. Yet after 33 years of working with

people, it has become abundantly clear to me that we do not transform our-

selves and our thinking through good ideas or hope. To make sustainable

shifts in our behavior and way of thinking, we have to embody new schemas.

The path to achieving such embodiment is established through a series of re-

current practices of mind, emotions, language, and body. This new embodi-

ment is integrated by building new interpretations of meaning and future

possibilities.

Marian Baker

M

ost clients come to me with some variation of the question “Is this all

there is?” out of (1) a craving to make a change or (2) a calling to make

a difference. Coaching helps each client discover or fuel his or her enthusias-

tic mission. By this, I don’t mean that we go through the exercise of writing

a pithy mission statement that languishes in a binder. I mean a mission that is

alive and multidimensional. It may be a business, project, renewed vision, a

career, or life adventure. Using a “Passion Meets Profit” matrix, we identify

how the client’s passions and talents intersect with what a relevant group (an

Marian Baker is a certified professional coach whose

clients experience breakthroughs in creating true fulfill-

ment in life, livelihood, and leadership. Called “The

Queen of Powerful Questions” by a leader of Coaches

Tr aining Institute, she is coauthor of the Awakening

Corporate Soul; High Performance, High Fulfillment

workbook and author of the upcoming book, Wake Up

Inspired: Create the Joyful Life You Are Meant to Live.

Marian has been featured in the Chicago Tribune,the

Chicago Sun Times,and Healthmagazine. She admires her clients and is com-

mitted to fueling that rewarding mission each person is meant to express. She

can be reached via e-mail at [email protected], by phone at (773) 509-

9408, or via the Internet at http://www.MarianBaker.com.