Our Consultant Spotlight series lets us tell the stories of the people who make up the Lions & Tigers community. This week we talk with L&T Consultant, Barbara Visser, who carries many titles including Mother, Leadership Coach, Childbirth Educator and even Distinguished Toastmaster.

ABOUT BARBARA
Community and connection are important to me, perhaps because I grew up in a very small town (population 700) two hours north of Seattle, where the family dairy farm is still in business. I’m mom to an 11 year old and a 17 year old, with school-from-home running smoothly for now. While I planned to build a business in 2020, I did not expect to have that timing tied to a pandemic and social distancing. I’m grateful for the extra layer of community and flexibility found with Lions & Tigers that helps me manage the unexpected twists on the journey.

AS A CHILD WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP
Growing up, I had a dream to be a writer and artist. For most of my career, I have written in one form or another, but I left the art dream behind. This year, I began creating abstract nature-inspired paintings to practice my creativity, embrace a growth mindset, and reduce my perfectionistic tendencies.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE
I began my career in the non-profit sector, raising funds and managing programs for several organizations including the Spokane Food Bank, Children’s Home Society of Washington, and Bastyr University. I volunteered on the board of the Pacific Association for Labor Support while I became certified as a birth doula and attended more than 15 births. I then transitioned to corporate life and, in 20 years at Microsoft, I developed expertise in program management, executive communication, and employee engagement. I grew through seven unique roles and navigated multiple organizations (Hardware, HR, Marketing, Online Advertising, Datacenters, IT, Cybersecurity), while managing frequent changes (including 27 managers in 20 years!). In the same time frame, I got married, raised two children, bought a house, and added four pets. My move to coaching and consulting adds flexibility, creativity, and meaning to this new season of my career journey. My specialized certifications include: Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) with the Co-Active Training Institute (CTI), and OKR Expert.

WHY DID YOU BECOME A DOULA AND BIRTH EDUCATOR
If I could talk or teach about anything full time, it would be pregnancy and childbirth. These experiences transform us — our hearts open wide. Yet even with support from family and friends, we can find ourselves feeling overwhelmed or unsure of our ability to birth or parent effectively. After some specialized training, I’ve begun offering consultant-style childbirth education to help expectant families navigate options while preparing in a way that strengthens their confidence.

RECENT PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT
This spring, after five years of intentional practice, I earned the designation of Distinguished Toastmaster. If you’ve ever thought about joining Toastmasters, and haven’t yet, let’s talk!

WHY LIONS & TIGERS
As I designed my ideal portfolio career vision, I knew that I wanted to partner with a consulting firm where I could do the work I loved on a part-time flexible basis. I happened to visit the Lions & Tigers booth at the Women in Cloud event the day after my role at Microsoft ended, and began the conversations that led to my current role as an executive coach and OKR coach. I admired the L&T focus on creating flexible opportunities for people who have full and interesting lives beyond work. And I love any organization that boosts the success of working parents. Here I can do work that I love, in that spirit of “highest and best use,” for the amount of time that works right for my family in the moment. It’s a win-win-win-win: for me, my family, L&T, and our clients.

AREAS OF INTEREST & PASSIONS
I believe that nurtured people change the world. Whether in my role as a coach, consultant, facilitator, speaker, or trainer, my goal is to provide a nurturing presence, calm reassurance, relevant experience, and helpful support so my clients can thrive with strength and confidence. I’m passionate about coaching because I can I help people reconnect with what motivates and energizes them so they can do the amazing work they are meant to do in this world.

SUMMER HIGHLIGHT
I used our kayaking exploration this summer as a way to teach my daughter about research, critical thinking, and prioritization. She rated which lakes we liked best based on drive time, water temperature, cleanliness, crowds, mask-wearing rule-followers, parking availability, restroom proximity – the criteria list grew as we figured out what was most important to us. Our favorite location this summer ended up being Beaver Lake in Sammamish, WA.

BENEFIT OF FLEXIBLE, HIGH IMPACT WORK
Flexibility allows me to live in a whole-hearted way across my professional goals, my personal goals, and my family needs. Day by day, week by week, month by month: with a flexible focus I am able to find a rhythm that works. My energy expenditure can be fueled by energy regained through flexibility. I am enjoying life so much more now when I can blend time that satisfies multiple fronts: self-care coffee on the deck, prepping food for the kids, helping with homework, troubleshooting tech issues with school computers, engaging deeply with clients, driving rigorous business processes, delivering solid results – all from a place of flow rather than overwhelm. Work now fits into my life, rather than my life taking a backseat to work.

ADVICE TO OTHERS NAVIGATING CAREER TRANSITIONS
Be aware that your goals, skills, experiences, and needs will change over time. With every season of family life, the kids need different things; the trials of toddlers and teens are very different. You must stay tuned in to yourself in order to recognize when things may be veering out of alignment. A great fitting role may one day become outgrown, and the sooner you become aware of that, the sooner you can pivot and move to the next great fit where you can continue to do amazing work.

Interested in joining Lions & Tigers?  Check out our open roles here.