Laura Atwood MCC, BCC, ACPC
 

Laura’s extensive experience in coaching includes over fifteen years training, certifying and mentoring professional coaches, and also teaching a “Leader as Coach” program. In addition to her private coaching practice, Laura is President of Adler Learning-USA in Phoenix, Arizona, offering Adler Graduate Professional School’s ICF-Accredited Coach Training Program. This combination of coaching plus training coaches has honed top-notch coaching skills, with structure
and tools to help others optimize personal and professional effectiveness. Laura is also a cofounder of Coach Collab, a gathering place for coaches to tap into the power of collaboration as a catalyst for success.

Certifications: A graduate of Adler Graduate Professional School’s coaching certification program, Laura has earned
multiple certifications, including MCC (Master Certified Coach) from ICF; BCC (Board Certified Coach) with specialty
certifications in Executive Coaching and Leadership from CCE; C-IQ® trained coach; Living Systems Team Coach;
Adlerian Relationship Coach; Master Practitioner in Tilt assessments; 4-D Systems Trainer (How NASA Builds Teams).

Coaching Specialties: Executive & Leadership Coaching, Team Coaching, Conflict Coaching, Leader as Coach,
Feedback Culture, Mentor Coaching. Laura is often sought out to help high-performing leaders who exhibit disruptive,
career-limiting interpersonal behaviors to evolve toward greater effectiveness, and grounded executive presence.

Coaching Style & Approach: Laura is a possibility-oriented coach. Her coaching style is highly intuitive in quickly
picking up patterns and zooming in on core issues; adept at pinpointing and clearing roadblocks; direct and caring in
providing impactful feedback; and expansive in helping clients find fresh perspectives. She frequently uses humor to
bring valuable perspective. Drawing on domains such as psychology, neuroscience, and change theory, she works with
clients at two levels: both tactical-strategic and transformational-developmental. She works in a collaborative coachclient partnership that moves toward achievement of the client’s specific goals using a strengths-based approach. The process unleashes the client’s own wisdom, while amplifying personal and professional capacity and developing intentional inside-out leadership, grounded in Laura’s trademark Self-Continuum Model. As a result, clients are delighted to not only get great traction on their goals, but also take ownership of their lives at a deeper level, clarify what they really want in life, and claim the gifts and resources they have to make it happen.

Biography: Laura has also been an anthropologist, an art gallery director, a nonprofit leader, a professional mediator,
and for 20 years an entrepreneur – a winding career path following the inner logic of her strengths and passions, and a
drive to thrive on her own terms! Laura’s initial career as a Social-Cultural Anthropologist was driven by her fascination
with how people organize and make sense of their world, which continues to serve her as a coach. Her expertise in the
study of complex culture systems provides valuable context for her current work in organizations. It has also attuned
her to the social context within which we all operate, and knowledge of human meaning-making provides insights into
clients’ subjective reality. Laura served as interim President & CEO of Lead for Good, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
specializing in social sector leadership development to facilitate capacity building and collective impact. In addition to
coaching, Laura was a professional mediator with experience in both civil and family & divorce mediation, and Conflict
Coaching is one of Laura’s specialties. She is a sought-after Mentor Coach to other professional coaches, known for
accelerating the process of developing effective coaching skills, confidence, and movement toward mastery.

Her experience includes clients across a broad spectrum of sectors including construction, healthcare, government,
education, technology, small business owners, manufacturing, insurance, and nonprofits. This diverse range has built
agility in working with any kind of client.

Laura is recognized as an active global leader in the coaching profession. She has championed professionalism in
coaching as Co-Chair of the Regulatory Committee of ICF (International Coach Federation) and as a mediator in ICF’s
Ethical Conduct Review process. She served two terms (2010-2012) as President of ACTO (Association of Coach Training
Organizations), the global organization of coach training companies, which facilitates collaboration, research and
advocacy to ensure the highest standards in coach development for the profession throughout the world. Laura
collaborated on a steering committee to convene an invitational global summit on coach development and certification
in July 2012. She was also an organizer of the first global forum on The Future of Coaching (Vancouver 2006). She has
served on the ACTO Task Force on Cultural Awareness, Power & Privilege. Laura was 2006 President of the Greater
Phoenix ICF Chapter. She is a member of the Association of Conflict Resolution (ACR) and MCAFM (Maricopa County
Association of Family Mediators), for which she previously served as a Board member. Laura was recently invited to
present a paper and participate in a symposium at the 10th Biennial Conference on Meaning in Vancouver. 

laura@lauraatwood.net 

Read about Laura Atwoods master coaching demonstration of a real-world client