my coaching philosophy

A core belief of mine is that the Devine Creator molded each human being as a Masterpiece from the start. The wildness of our world piles on heaps of trauma, pain, and poor messages which distorts our original design and distances us from the Devine and that’s when we find ourselves trapped in patterns of ego and shame. 

I coach from a belief that if we can find our original design buried beneath all the crud of the world and then learn to embrace our Masterpiece design functioning in the midst of a messy reality, that’s when we can find true contentment and purpose in our lives.

This is the mindset of Compassionate Confidence.

It’s my goal as a coach to help you discover the beauty of who you are, without judgment. As we walk together I’ll show you how to view your strengths and weaknesses with empathetic curiosity, compassion, grace, and love. And as you learn how to show up for yourself in these new ways, you’ll be able to more genuinely show up for others in the same way.

Our world is full of competition, protectiveness, ranks, judgment, anger, and hate the antidote to all of this is people who are able to face both the hard and the good in life with confidence and compassion!

I live from a set of personal values which influence my coaching method.

  • • I listen to understand.
    • I practice active listening.
    • I ask clarifying questions and leave my assumptions at the door.
    • I am anti-interrupting. I’ll take notes to remember questions that come up instead of pausing your train of thought.

  • • Part of living in Compassionate Confidence is learning how to take off our personality masks and showing up as ourselves no matter the context. This means…
    • Who I am online is who I am in sessions, who I am at home, who I am with my friends, etc.
    • I value vulnerability. What you share in our sessions remains confidential. I see the vulnerability you offer me as a gift, and you may hear vulnerable parts of my own story too.

  • • I know that perspectives evolve, mine do too!
    • I keep an open mind and practice judgment-free understanding.
    • I am willing to hear challenges to what I believe.
    • I celebrate wins - big and small. I’ll point yours out too!
    • I see and embrace steps backward as part of the process, growth is not linear.
    • I reject perfectionism. It is a lie, our goal is growth, not perfection.

  • • Our healthy relationships will deepen as we grow (including yours and mine, coaching relationships take time to build).
    • As we grow into a Compassionate Confident mindset, we contribute to society in meaningful ways - I’ll notice this in your potential too.
    • Unlocking our gifts brings more of the intended goodness into the world. I want to help you lean into this whatever your context may be.
    • Compassionate Confidence reduces competition and increases cooperation and community. I’ll point out the abundance we often overlook!
    • Hard things don’t have to be lonely too. I won’t come to you with glossed-over answers to life’s harder questions, but I’ll sit with you as you grapple with them. Sometimes we’ll brainstorm action plans, sometimes we’ll mourn what’s difficult and lean on grace.

Cultivating Compassionate Confidence

I teach four primary ways to cultivate a mindset of Compassionate Confidence in our lives: know yourself with empathy, confidently know your values, align your life to your values, and learn to embrace the journey of growth with grace. You can visit each of these pages to see the courses, freebies, and coaching options that are designed to support you in each area.

Quick Facts about bonni

  • Certified Enneagram Coach via Your Enneagram Coach with Beth McCord

  • Enneagram 9w8, 1-to-1/sexual subtype.

  • Public speaker. I’d love to come talk to your groups or events about the enneagram, burnout, rhythms, or Compassionate Confidence.

  • Married for 11 years to Marc, a data scientist currently working for International Justice Mission.

  • Mom to two boys who are 6 and 2 and loads of silly fun.

  • Dog mom to a beagle mutt named Beignet who is as rotund as her name suggests.

  • NOLA born, temporarily Texan, and currently living in Maryland - will pick crabs for hours.

  • Worked in church ministry for nearly 10 years before making the leap to start Empathetic Enneagram.

  • Recent hobbies include: puzzles, pottery, plants, and paint-by-numbers for grownups.