Jen May

My clients are usually gifted, high-performing professionals, operating in complex, often multi-cultural contexts. Most of them believe that by transforming themselves – by ever evolving – they will be better change agents in the world. Over the past twenty years, I’ve worked in most global industries, although I find myself particularly drawn to fields of innovation: healthcare, big tech, consulting firms and a handful of non-profits and start-ups that are truly leaving a mark on the world.

Examples of clients where I have worked with leadership teams or individuals include: Google, Novartis, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Kuwait Finance House,Uber/Careem, McKinsey, Strategy& / PWC, Achmea, Diageo, the World Bank, World Health Organization and many others.

One of my favourite clients is a multi-national engineering and design firm that aspires to create a better future for this planet and its people. I began coaching the CEO, who quickly invited the entire C-Suite into a journey of self-reflection on how they interact as leaders. Not long after, a company wide movement was launched, focusing on creating belonging and impact in an industry known for relentless pragmatism.

While working on this program, in less than three years, we watched the company nearly triple in size and celebrate its first billion dollar of revenue in a year. It was an honor to work with this group of leaders. By leading well – and being frank about their very real challenges – they helped craft a culture that resulted in a very diverse and multicultural workforce delivering incredible results, together.

My approach to coaching is intrinsically linked to the life experiences I have had. As a former McKinsey consultant, my coaching tends to be deeply pragmatic and focused on ‘getting things done better, now’. And, as a former neuroscientist and psychologist, I also understand that we can be our own biggest enemy. While frustrating, being human is thankfully not uncommon, and there are many great ways to ‘recruit ourselves to our cause’.

I use methods like Internal Family Systems (inner parts work), vertical / developmental coaching (drawing on Harvard’s adult development research), hypnotherapy (based on the neuroscience of different brain states), and positive psychology principles. Where helpful, I also support these methods with host of different tools and assessments (e.g., Leadership Circle Profile, MBTI analysis, Growth edge interviews, 360 developmental plans, etc)

Our origins shape us all, and mine gifted me with a great yearning for adventure. I grew up in a rural community smack dab in the middle of nowhere Kansas. At 12, I started working summer jobs, determined that my first airplane trip would not be my last. And boy was it not. Over the next 40 years, I travelled to 71 countries, called Amsterdam and Dubai home, learned to speak German(ish), had two kids, and somehow squeezed in a career and some post graduate education at Harvard. These grand adventures continue to shape how I work as a coach: I listen and explore, looking to evoke my client’s yearning for greatness. We then put in a lot of hard work together. There is a fair bit of mischief, relentless optimism and sometimes tears. And when we get it right, like me, my clients often come right back to the heart of themselves. And there, the next journey begins.

Colleague, client lead

Coaching certifications, credentials and formal training: Internal Family Systems, Trauma Informed Coaching and Consulting, hypnotherapy, energetics, somatics, Growth Edge Coaching and assessments, Leadership Circle Profile (individual & systems)

Academic education: post graduate program at Harvard School of Public Health, Masters of Neuroscience at Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam (Magna com Laude), Bachelors of Psychology (Summa cum Laude) and Bachelors of Business Administration (Summa cum Laude) from Kansas State University

I raise chickens and drink wine, usually not at the same time. Also, I have two kids.

I quite enjoy working right at the boundary of most things. I find edges and extremes are often rich sources of insight and growth. While I am not a qualified therapist, clients often call my work therapeutic. At the same time, they find it delightful, light, and yet still transformative and deeply pragmatic.

I think this joke captures my work best: If you create a triangle, with a priest, a consultant, and a therapist in each corner, Jen’s coaching is what is in the middle.