What Kind of Coach Am I?

by Laurie Ruettimann

Someone at a conference in Atlanta recently asked me what kind of coach I am.

I stumbled and tried to say something witty. Of course, I failed. It was akward because most coaching language is borrowed, softened, or inflated. I am not about that. I’m interested in being helpful to people who want clear thinking, honest reflection, and forward motion inside real constraints.

So here is the answer I wish I had given instead of trying to be aloof and detached. Dang, I need a coach!

This Is Not Therapy

I respect therapy deeply and recommend it often, but my work is different. Coaching with me is about judgment, clarity, and action. We talk about work, power, money, leadership, and tradeoffs. We look at systems as they are, not as we wish they were. There’s no diagnosis, no healing arc, and no attempt to turn your job into a self-actualization project. The goal is discernment and movement, not emotional processing for its own sake.

Phone, Not Video

We meet on the phone. That choice is intentional because video creates a big ol’ performance, even when people pretend it doesn’t. On the phone, you can pace, stare at the wall, or snack on pretzels. You don’t have to manage your face or your background. The conversation stays focused on what matters, not how you look while saying it.

Your Words Stay Between Us

I don’t record sessions, and I don’t use AI to transcribe them. I don’t how your conversation will be stored by a software tool, and that really bothers me. Privacy is not a value-add. It is the baseline.

I also don’t send session summaries. I used to, thinking I was being helpful. Then I tracked engagement. Every email was opened once. Fewer than five percent were opened again. People don’t need another document. They need ownership: insight, decision, and the next step. That is how change sticks.

Access, Not Minutes

You pay for access, not time on a stopwatch. If a session runs short because we reached clarity, that’s a win. If it runs long because the conversation matters, I don’t bill you anything extra. If you paid for four sessions and need to text me between them, I do what I can. The goal isn’t to make you dependent on coaching. The goal is to help you build judgment and confidence so you don’t need me forever.

No Artificial Distance

Some coaches insist they can’t be friends with clients. That has never made sense to me. I am not neutral. I am invested in your ability to think clearly and act in your own best interest. That doesn’t mean I will flatter you or agree with you. It means I show up honestly.

Judgment Without Declaring Judgment

I don’t judge your career choices as right or wrong. That doesn’t mean I turn off my brain. It means I help you see the difference between wisdom, maturity, and reality. Then you decide how to move forward with your eyes open.

What 105 People Taught Me

I’ve been coaching for more than two decades and worked with leaders and individual contributors across organizations like Instacart, Google, Cisco, NBCUniversal, Microsoft, Lenovo, IBM, Red Hat, Lush, LinkedIn, ADP, Comcast, SAP, UKG, and others. I thought I knew a lot. Then I offered pro bono coaching to 105 job seekers across all industries and learned something: I’d been moving too fast and trying to shoe-horn people into a program. Even my paid coaching engagements were too programatic. So, I’ve limited my bandwidth by design.

I no longer take on many clients because I don’t want a coaching factory. I choose depth, relationship, and attention. (Plus, hearing too many stories starts to wear you out!)

That’s what I have to offer. If you are looking for one focused conversation or a longer working relationship, you can find details on my site. If it sounds right, reach out. I’m happy to answer any questions.

But let me answer this one more time: What kind of coach am I? Hopefully a good one who listens, makes space, and is ultimately helpful. That’s the entire point of it!