Claire's Story
A coaching practice grounded in experience within the system
Claire Steichen
Founder
After earning my MBA from Columbia, I began my career in large organizations. I followed the rules and learned how to navigate corporate life.
Like many high achievers, I was effective in some situations and less so in others. What I didn’t yet understand was how much performance is shaped by two things working together: understanding the organization you’re operating in, and understanding how you operate as a leader inside it. I was working hard, but without a clear sense of self that could help guide my choices about roles, environments, and what I brought to the table.
A few years in, I hit an inflection point. Things looked fine, but I was on the wrong path and afraid to make a change. After two job hops and one bumpy exit (that was ultimately a gift), I stepped back and gave myself space to reassess. I did the transformation work that I’ve now guided hundreds of leaders through.
In my next role, everything shifted. The environment was a fit because I chose it from a more aligned place. But more than anything, I was different. I built an amazing relationship with my leader; I understood what needed to be done and took initiative; I learned to let my natural strengths emerge and contribute, while leveraging the strengths of my colleagues. In that role, my team grew our business exponentially over three years. It was a financial success, but it also clarified something that’s guided my work ever since: outcomes are shaped by how well you understand the system you’re in and how skillfully you use your strengths within it.
That experience shaped how I work with leaders today. I work with highly capable people who don’t need more experience. They want someone who can help them zoom out and gain clarity. A sounding board who understands their context and can help them lead with consistency, intelligence and ease. High achievers don’t graduate from doubt; the stakes just get higher as responsibility grows. In our work, my clients master the outer and inner aspects of leadership:
- they understand different people’s behaviors, and how to motivate and engage them to get things done
- they know how to align that team effectiveness for broad organizational results
- they learn to navigate politics and uncertainty without overfunctioning or burning out
When leaders understand both who they are and how the organization around them actually works, they lead with more consistency, credibility, and perspective — even when the next step isn’t obvious.