Celebrating 10 years successfully serving midcareer professionals as an external coach, Monique Betty, PCC, ICF Florida, found that she was being drawn to a new niche of young professionals in Silicon Valley who were seeking her services.

Initially, Betty was somewhat reluctant to serve this niche because of their limited years of workplace experience.  However, after coaching a couple of young professionals, and volunteering time to young professional groups, she discovered that they had a level of ambition and positive outlook that she found enjoyable. As a result, she made the conscious decision to refocus her niche to young executives with ambitions.

Investing in Professional Development Early

Betty recognized that, “when you invest in your professional development early in your career, you are then better prepared for the various leadership roles you will have as you ascend to the executive level.”  She also discovered that all of her young professional clients had in common the experience of becoming a first-time manager.

As part of the process, assessment tools such as Leadership 360, DISC, CliftonStrengths or Emotional Intelligence to name a few, complement the coaching in support of the client’s increased awareness of their current talents and behaviors.

In addition, Betty offers virtual training on the fundamentals of coaching skills in a course titled, Coaching for Professionals (through the Center for Coaching Certification).  Betty said, “I believe that coaching skills are foundational for effective leadership and are a necessary competency to be mastered early in the career.”

Continuous Growth

Betty’s first year of experience working with these young professionals has been beneficial for them and enjoyable for her.  “I am humbled by their expressions of appreciation for growing in ways they never imagined,” she explained.

Beyond supporting young professionals in their leadership proficiency, she also supports them in developing a plan for continuous growth over the long-term.

In addition to the content offered in her new bi-weekly podcast, Tuesdays with Coach Mo, she also offers a unique self-paced virtual course called 7 Guiding Principles to Achieve a Career Advantage.

The virtual course, offers professionals a framework for creating an annual professional development plan (ADP) for themselves, putting them in the driver’s seat for developing their best self as an authentic leader. “I find that clients are often consumed with the goals and needs of the organization and too often fall short of giving themselves as professionals the same consideration,” Betty said.

The ADP provides an opportunity for increased self-awareness on strengths, career ownership, continuous learning, life purpose and more.  In addition, participants are encouraged to design a long-term accountability plan by creating a virtual advisor board or working directly with Betty.

Betty concludes, “The primary goal of the virtual course is to create a career advantage for yourself. Be deliberate in how you engage with your network so that you create a tribe of people who get to know, like, and trust you so that opportunities naturally come your way.”

Monique ‘Coach Mo’ Betty is an executive coach, coach trainer, speaker, podcast host of Tuesdays with Coach Mo and specializes in coaching high-achieving professionals with executive ambitions.  She has an MBA in corporate strategy and marketing from the University of Michigan and has held senior leadership roles in sales, marketing and administration with Eli Lilly and Company, Abbott Labs and The Coca-Cola Company. She is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and resides with her husband and two sons in Boca Raton, Florida.