I offer coaching to leaders of progressive organizations.
Progressive leaders and activists today face unprecedented challenges and stresses, and they need support in order to respond in an effective and healthy way. Reactionary forces have gained political power. Unions are being attacked by the government and Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood is fighting relentless attempts to defund it. And not only are our leaders and organizers facing daily pressures at work, but as citizens (with the rest of us), they have to deal with Trump’s cruel, pathological, and dangerous governance. We live in a culture that is manufacturing PTSD every day.
Progressive leaders need help to avoid burnout, to achieve a proper work-life balance so that they not only can work more effectively, but are able to do so over the long haul. As activists, when we find ourselves in a burning building, the first thing to go is self-care. Our movement is harmed as a result. Furthermore, as I describe in my book, Fear of Winning: A Psychologist Explores the Imposter Syndrome in Progressive Leaders and Explains How to Overcome It (available on Amazon), many of our leaders needlessly think and act smaller than they should, irrationally worried for various reasons about asserting their strength and authority, exercising their full range of talents, and inspiring their members and constituents. Some feel like imposters and react with either an undue perfectionism or passivity. Others just burn out or give up.
I can help leaders resolve these issues. I’ve done so for many years. During my time with the Institute For Change, I ran a nationwide coaching program for SEIU leaders. I work with a leader to get at the heart of what is getting in the way of that person becoming the best that she or he can be. I help leaders feel less guilty about exercising power and finding balance in their lives. I use a coaching approach called “Immunities to Change”—a powerful model of effecting change for individuals and groups that was developed by Harvard psychologists Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey. This model was powerful and transformative for those leaders in SEIU who went through it with me.
What people are saying…
Being a leader of a progressive organization is both meaningful and stressful. Until I met Michael and his team, finding coaches or mentors versed in our work was challenging. Michael is unique. A coach, therapist, expert in leadership development, friend, provocateur, Michael offers a range of approaches that made SEIU leaders feel more confident, reflective, and effective in their jobs.
Andy Stern, President Emeritus SEIU
Senior Fellow Economic Security Project
Author, Raising the Floor: How a Universal Basic Income Can Renew Our Economy and Rebuild the American Dream
I experienced the power of Dr. Bader’s coaching first hand. After more then 20 years of successful work as an 1199/SEIU organizer and local union leader in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, with Michael’s help, I was able to better understand and break through the guilt and fears that were holding me back from achieving my greatest potential. Through our work together, I was able to unlock a powerfulness and effectiveness that I had never thought possible. I strongly recommend this coaching model for your key staff and leaders – it has helped me to become my most effective self while at the same time learning how to thrive for the long haul.
Thomas V. De Bruin
Retired Public Division Director of the Service Employees International Union, and former President of District 1199P (now SEIU HCPA).
Interested?
If you are interested in discussing this further, please contact me.
