The Assignment

I had been an educator for about 19 years and a performance coach for about 12 years. And when parent coaching first landed on my radar, I had been a parent for about eight years. I honestly didn’t even know such a thing existed. Of course, by the time I found out, my initial reaction was one of disappointment. “Why couldn’t I find out about this sooner,” I thought to myself. “I definitely could’ve used one myself.”

It was a little after 9:30am on a beautiful morning in early May, 2017. I had just dropped my kids off and returned to the house. I was enjoying some extended time away from the strictures of work and just focusing on the family. I sat down to eat breakfast and turned on the TV. The local news channel was on and they were doing a profile of an organization not far from me with a program that focused on supporting fathers seeking to strengthen their relationships with their kids. Once I was done thinking about how I wished I had known about them sooner, my next thought was, “That’s very cool. I wouldn’t mind doing work like that one day.”

There are people who will tell you that you can speak things into existence. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it done, too. This was different – it was just a thought. I didn’t open my mouth one time. And yet…

A few weeks later, I was waiting for my vehicle at the dealership where a recall repair was being completed. I brought my laptop, knowing it would be a little while. I started to use the time to search an online database for available positions for a friend who was job hunting. Out of curiosity, I entered my old title, and the strangest thing happened. A position popped up at the organization that the news station had profiled weeks earlier. I made it about four bullets down the screen when I had the strangest sense of energy around me. It became apparent that this would be my next job. Wasn’t looking for it, wasn’t pursuing it, wasn’t even hoping for it – but there it was. My next job.

All the stars aligned, and I began this new position supporting fathers in August of 2017. I was not a perfect father, my pathway to parenthood was not perfect, and I had more questions about being a dad than I had answers. Still, sure enough, I was a resource for dads who want to be closer to their kids. And I have never enjoyed work more than I enjoy what I do right now.

I have now been an educator for 26 years and a performance coach for 19. I have three beautiful children – one in high school, one in middle school, and one in elementary school – and I still learn more about them and my role in their life each day. They teach me well. They make me better at what I do. I shifted from coaching through a corporate performance lens to supporting the unique needs of parents exclusively. In the years since I started coaching parents, I have worked with hundreds of moms and dads who deeply wish to see their parenting experience evolve, just like I did. This work, my practice, it chose me. No part of anything I have ever done would have convinced me that I would do this professionally in this lifetime. But I know this: I am a better person for it. And I hope I am as good a steward of its potential for others as it has been an agent of powerful transformation for me.



In this space, I look forward to sharing more about my travels through the parenting realm. I encourage you to laugh with me, learn from my foibles, perhaps experience introspection and a measure of humility from some of my own moments. It is in this collection of thoughts and through my practice as a parenting coach that I hope to give back, to engage with the world around me, and make homes, lives and humans a little better… one assignment at a time.