Work With Me
Learn about my coaching services, designed to elevate your career with less effort and none of the stress!
Interested in 1-1 coaching?
Read on for details and click here to apply.
Imagine waking up in the morning feeling even more excited about your work.
You are applying your unique skills and talents. You are learning, growing and fulfilled with the recognition and rewards that come your way. Most importantly, you are happy, healthy and proud of the contribution you are making to the world.
And yes, you are being recognized and paid what you are worth!
My job is help you realize this dream.
Your Dream Meets Reality
When you first stepped into the workforce (or started your business), you were probably just like me, bright-eyed and optimistic and what was possible. Perhaps, also like me, you achieved success early on.
However, your dream hit reality as you fell into the muck and mire that can go along with more responsibility, big projects, demands of work and home, and the feeling of needing to figure everything out on your own.
You cringe every time you think about another week packed with meetings, or the seemingly insurmountable task of finding your ideal job or next customer. You hate the fact that the life you dream about has moved to the edge of your horizons, and sits hopelessly out of reach.
Yet, you are committed to making a difference in the world.
The trouble is, you aren’t sure how to take your next step, or if you are, you have lost the inner fire to make it happen.
We Have A Problem…
Before I share the solution, let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
There are a bunch of lies society tells us about what it takes to be successful.
Let me point out a few:
- Lie: working harder is the only way to get ahead.
- Lie: progress is linear.
- Lie: there is such a thing as being “too late” to try something new.
- Lie: a great career comes at the expense of a happy life.
- Lie: there exists a secret 7-step path to success and happiness.
I could fill this entire page with lies that get people stuck and keep them there.
Unfortunately, it gets worse.
The coaching industry is awash with people who think they can throw up a website, charge ridiculously high fees and automatically get transformational results for their clients. The truth is that it takes a ton of experience, self-awareness, empathy, and training to develop an eye for knowing how to coach people towards dramatic results.
The very best coaches have “walked their talk.” They have experienced deep insight and transformation in their own careers and lives that allow them to coach others in doing the same.
My Story
I spent 14 years leading product and business teams at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington. My life and career were great, eventually being promoted to Director-level roles. (If curious, learn more about my background on LinkedIn).
However, somewhere along the way, I knew I needed to pursue a different path.
My work with transformational coaches helped me see the blind spot I had been avoiding. I realized that I needed to step aside from the “corporate ladder” and pursue a new career that was directly in line with my values, interests, and skills.
The path was uncertain and scary. My friends and family called me crazy. I was leaving a job with a hefty salary and a significant amount of unvested stock to chase what seemed like a dream. After going on a sabbatical, and spending over a year backpacking the world, I came to realize my mission. I also found the courage to pursue it!
As a transformational coach, I work with High Performers, Entrepreneurs and Executives (mostly in the tech industry). I’ve coached high performers and job seekers that work at some of the most prestigious technology companies on the planet, including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Qualcomm, Expedia and several noteworthy startups and consulting firms.
I help my clients:
- Make the leap from good to great in their work
- Tap into their true potential as a leader
- Achieve bigger results with less effort and time
- Rekindle their interest and passion for their work
- Grow their teams, as they grow themselves
- Grow their business by working smarter, not harder
- Find a new job, and excel once they start it
How I Coach
More signal. Less noise.
That, in a nutshell, is what my coaching is designed to create.
When we listen to the depth of our inner wisdom, and stand clear from mental chatter: problems dissolve, solutions become obvious and productivity, creativity, leadership (and whatever else you are looking for) show up.
You might be wondering – How?
Most coaching and self-help programs and books operate on a surface level. They help you build new goals and habits or detail specific strategies and tactics for “managing” aspects of your career, business and life. These methods might work for some, but often fail to work over the long term.
Why?
The reason failure is so prevalent is that the changes recommended by conventional coaching and self-help methods operate at a superficial level of our being.
To improve our success, we must flip the problem around and work at the foundation of our understanding first. Then, we can apply tools and techniques (as needed, if at all!) and they will have entirely new levels of power and relevance.
Example: Let’s suppose there is an issue with your computer. You can troubleshoot the “Applications” on your computer (e.g. like Microsoft Office) all day long, but if the problem is really with your Operating System (e.g. Microsoft Windows) or the BIOS (what’s baked into the chipset your computer uses) you will not solve the problem by fixing the Application. You just get frustrated and stuck.
You must go deeper to the root of the problem.
This deepest work is what I focus on on.
It’s called coaching from the “Inside-Out.”
Inside-Out Coaching
Feeling anxious before those board meetings? Stuck wrestling with a big decision? Lacking confidence in leading your team? Overwhelmed by your to-dos and never-ending meetings? Confused about the next step in your career?
What if I told you that 100% of your experience of the world is created by your thinking, not by your environment. The people or situations in your life have nothing to do with it. It’s 100% an inside job!
Take a moment and really let this insight sink in.
It turns out that higher performance, effortless success, leadership, confidence, creativity, productivity, decision making skill and anything else you might want out of coaching become much more likely when we live our lives firmly rooted in this Inside-Out understanding.
When you can see the truth behind how your model of the world is generated, everything changes. You realize that you live in the feeling of your thinking, not what is actually happening in your environment!
With this understanding, inevitably, you pay less attention to the mindless chatter of the voice in your head and more attention to your inner wisdom and insights.
More signal. Less noise.
What happens next is nothing less than astonishing. The signal that is within each and every one of us, shines through. We get out of our own way and allow fuller capacities to come to the fore.
I’ll describe it the way it was explained to me by one of my teachers, Michael Neill.
Performance (P) = Capacity (C) – Interference (N)
P = How you show up in the world. How you be, do and create.
C = Your innate, limitless capacity as a human being.
N = Thoughts and chatter (noise) inside your head, that you think is real.
In our coaching work together, we will explore this deep understanding of your human potential. We will use it to create more calm in your life. We will clear the way for your innate wisdom to shine through.
Then, we will apply any additional techniques and tools that are relevant to further support your growth. For example: getting a new job, setting goals, building new habits, exploring leadership strategies, becoming a better manager, etc.
Though, if you are like me, you will realize that most of those skills (and tools and frameworks) you thought you needed aren’t so critical after all.A few words on a page can never fully explain how coaching can help. If you are serious about hiring a coach, and are intrigued by this approach, apply for a complimentary coaching call.
F.A.Q’S
How much does coaching cost?
If you are shopping around to find the lowest-cost coach, I’m clearly not for you.
That said, my rates are highly competitive relative to other Executive Coaches and most clients have a significant return on investment within a year of working together. If you have a challenge or goal that you care deeply about, investing in a coach is well worth it.
If you are interested in working with me, apply now and we will discuss your needs and the required investment. My goal is that you receive at least a 10X return on investment as a result of our work together. If I don’t think I’m the right coach for your needs, I’ll do my best to point you to someone who might be.
Is coaching worth it?
A recent global survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Association Resource Centre found that the mean Return on Investment in coaching was seven times the initial investment, and over a quarter of coaching clients reported a stunning ROI of 10 to 49 times the cost.
Ultimately, you will have to be the judge regarding the benefit you get as there are different ways to measure your return on investment (e.g. regarding increased income, more free time, and/or higher quality of living to name a few ways of measuring). However, one thing is clear, coaching is well worth it.
Think about it this way, how much is a single promotion worth to you? How much is your dream job worth to you? What if coaching could help you get that promotion or new job faster than you previously thought possible, with greater levels of happiness? Wouldn’t that be worth the cost?
What is a coach?
As a coach, I am someone who asks deep and meaningful questions to help my clients arrive at great answers to the biggest problems and opportunities in their career and life. The basis of my coaching is grounded in what I call ”Inside-Out Coaching”.
This approach to coaching is built upon a realization that human beings are fully and innately capable of fresh thinking, wisdom and insights that support their fruitful progress in life and work. What’s missing? We have numerous misunderstandings and confusions regarding how the mind works.
In addition, I use the arts of deep listening and inquiry, psychology and neurobiology; and am a certified Executive Coach. I have studied a host of scientifically proven techniques that guide my clients to tap into inner resources to think creatively and solve highly complex problems.
Lastly, I have worked with a coach extensively in my life, and credit coaching with much of my success in my corporate career, and also now in my career as an entrepreneur. This gives me a unique perspective that allows me to relate to the situations my clients are going through, most of whom are technology professionals or entrepreneurs.
How does coaching work?
Coaching matches the particular needs and situations of each client. This is what differentiates working one on one with a coach from reading a self-help book or attending a seminar. We will work together to clarify your specific goals and ambitions, and co-create a path forward in service of your advancement.
What’s the difference between therapy, consulting and coaching?
Therapy is useful, but is backward looking and focused on healing past trauma.
Consulting has its place, but consultants are paid to provide subject matter expertise beyond what a client already knows. They tell you what to do instead of helping you to uncover the best of what you already know.
Coaches, on the other hand, are not focused on providing advice. Coaches focus on supporting clients in arriving at their own best and appropriate solutions and maintain forward-looking outlook for how a client wants things to be in the future, regardless of what happened in the past.
As a coach, it is my mission to help you arrive at your best answer to the toughest problems in your career and life.
I am not an executive, is this right for me?
I work with motivated people who are looking to take their careers and lives to the next level. While some of my clients are executives, many are not (yet), but aspire to be in the future. I also work with some clients who are satisfied with their careers but are looking to gain more balance and strength in other parts of their lives.
My career is fine, but I want to focus on coaching to help other aspects of my life. Do you do that?
Absolutely. While most of my clients are interested in advancing their career and/or growing their businesses, some are more focused in getting work/life balance or regaining a profound sense of health and wellness. Our lives are multi-dimensional, and our goals shift over time, and my coaching approach takes that into consideration.
How do we meet?
All of my coaching sessions are conducted using phone/Zoom web conferencing software. Technology has evolved to the point where meeting virtually is not just doable, but often preferable for clients, and the online tools I use (e.g. virtual whiteboards and a studio quality webcam) make it seem like we are in the same room.
Shouldn’t we meet in person?
Ironically, I’ve found (and many seasoned coaches agree) that virtual meetings are not just effective, but they are often more effective than meeting in person.
Not only does driving to an office waste significant time commuting but meeting virtually allows the client (you!) to be in a comfortable and familiar setting and not worry about looking at me (your coach) and misreading body language. Instead, you may put all your focus and energy into coaching exercises and working through whatever you need to work through during the coaching session.
That said, I make it to Seattle and San Francisco often, and have a home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. If you are located in those locations we potentially be able to meet in person on occasion.
Can’t I just learn this stuff from a book?
The benefit of a coach is in providing objective feedback based on progress made over time. This is tough to achieve by reading a book alone. Finding someone to help with evolving what you are being taught over time (based on your progress) is critical. This is where a coach can be an invaluable resource.
I do not have much free time. How can I fit this into my schedule?
All my coaching sessions are done remotely, at a time convenient to you. There is bound to be a time of the week that will work out. All of my clients find that despite dedicating aa few hours a month to coaching, they get back many more hours in free time as a by-product of having more clarity in focus and decision making at work.
It is not uncommon for clients to see 20-50% increases in net productivity at work based on just a handful of focused coaching sessions. What would you do with 20-50% more free time?
How long does it take to see results?
Most clients will begin to see progress in the first session alone! However, you will see compounded results and the biggest breakthroughs over the course of several months of consistent coaching.
Are our coaching discussions confidential?
Yes. All sessions are stricly confidential.
If I am not happy, can I get a refund?
Coaching requires a committment. Before you enroll in a one-on-one coaching program with me, we will spend at least one session ensuring that we are a good fit to work together based on your specific needs.
Howver, once we begin your coaching program, pro-rated refunds are only offered for significant and extenuating circumstances, for example, due to client health issues or to accomodate time for bereavement due to loss of a loved one.
What makes you qualified to coach me?
I’ve worked for 14 years as a consistent high performer and leader at one of the most esteemed technology companies in the world, Microsoft Corporation. I lead teams at the corporate headquarters creating plans for new products, as well as in operating in strategy, marketing and product management roles.
Also, I’ve undergone extensive training Executive Coach training and am an active member and Professional-level Coach (PCC) of the International Coach Federation, the global governing body for professional coaches. I’m currently working towards my Master-level (MCC) certification.
I live another time zone, and travel a lot, will that be an issue?
I work with clients who are based in the USA or Canada, but often travel throughout the world. If you are based in another part of the world I recommend finding another coach to work that might be a better fit for your time zone, market/cultural context and language needs.
I am great at my job, I do not need a coach!
Some of the most successful people in the world – in business, in sports, in the arts – work with coaches. Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey; they all work with coaches to improve their performance in their business, career, health or some other aspect of their lives. You would be surprised how many world leaders have the support of coaches behind the scenes. The vast majority of the CEOs at Fortune 500 companies work with coaches as well.
Whom do you coach?
My client list is confidential.
However, the majority work in the Technology Industry in a variety of technical or business roles. Most are mid to upper-level managers or aspiring leaders who wish to join the executive ranks soon.
I’ve coached high performers from companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Tableau, Redfin, Expedia, DropBox, EBay, Qualcomm and many other leading companies.
I am also working with a few entrepreneurs working in non-technical fields. The one common thread is that all of my clients are motivated to improve the quality of their careers, grow their business and create even more happiness throughout their lives.
I do not work in the technology industry; would you still work with me?
Have additional questions?
Email me specific questions: ravi@ramancoaching.com.
If you are serious about hiring a coach and have the budget to do so: Apply for your complimentary coaching session. During our call, we will get all your questions answered and see if we are a good fit to work together.